I am still, in a legal sense, a Minneapolis resident. My congressman is Keith Ellison, and it's a Minnesota absentee ballot that I vote on when I vote. After Arcata (Humboldt County), California, Minneapolis-St Paul is really my second hometown, and if I return to the US, it's at the top of the list of places I would choose to live.
Minneapolis is having a mayoral election, which is "wide open" this year because the fairly popular incumbent, Rybak, isn't seeking reelection. It's also wide open because they've implemented a new ranked voting system that changes the dynamics quite a bit. Basically anyone can run and there's no primary. So a lot of weird candidates are coming out of the woodwork. Apparently they're coming out of the lakes, too.
I wasn't planning to go through the rigamarole of voting in the election, as it wasn't that interesting or compelling to me, but the race is getting quite strange. Here's one possible candidate's ad.
So, how could I not vote, with such brilliant options as a foul-mouthed aquaman such as Jeff Wagner? Plus, he swims and drinks coffee at the same time. "The Legend of the Loch-Ness Mayor" begins…
