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SD63 Update for April 29

In the Update

Our first Senate District DFL meeting of the new term

Please join us at our first Senate District DFL meeting of the new term! We will be in person, at the McRae Recreation Center, 906 East 47th Street, 6:30pm on Wednesday, May 1. Come find out what we’re planning, and sign up to help out with projects that match your interests and skills!

The meeting will be broadcast via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83453306758

Can you help with the CD5 convention?

Our Congressional District DFL will hold its endorsing convention in two weeks, on May 11. It will be right in our backyard, at South High School. Can you lend a hand to make this convention a success? The CD5 Arrangements Committee is looking for logistical help before and during this convention. You do not need to be a delegate to help (and in fact, if you are not a delegate it might be easier to help during the event!).

If you are able to help, or would like more information, just reply to this email and we will put you in touch.

Apply now for Congressional District DFL positions

In just the same way that we elected party officers at our SD63 convention, the Congressional District 5 DFL will elect several party officers at its convention. The CD5 Nominations Committee is currently screening applications: apply now!

Those committees in particular are a great way to get involved — these are State DFL standing committees which draw their membership from the state’s eight congressional district DFL units. It would be wonderful to have robust local and city representation on these committees! Five of these in particular are:

Another great way to get involved is as a Director or State Central Committee (SCC) member. We’ve already elected SCC members for SD63 at our convention, but there are additional SCC seats which are at-large within CD5. There are two State Director slots, and seven SCC seats, to be selected for CD5.

Screening by the Nominations Committee for these positions will continue right up to the day of the convention, but to be guaranteed an interview you must apply this week! Please put your hand up to help steer the DFL for the next two years — get your application in today.

Be it resolved!

At our SD63 convention, your delegates endorsed resolutions forwarded from precinct caucuses. The state DFL gave us an allowance of 64 resolutions that we can send to the state convention, which will update the party’s platform. Here are our 2024 resolutions — Be it resolved that:

  1. We support the protection of all reproductive freedom from a reproductive justice framework; This includes the right to decide whether and when to grow our families, the right to safe and accessible means of birth control and abortion, as well as the right to have children and raise them in healthy and safe communities.
  2. In order to insure the safe, free and democratic elections, state and local governments commit to these actions: 1) protect election officials if threats are made against them;. 2) prevent the presence of those seeking to intimidate them; 3) and actively enforce punishment fo such activity as described by Minnesota state statute; 4) prohibit attempts to impersonate election officials; 5) make secure abstentee ballot boxes available and accessible regardless of zip code; 6) provide materials and interpretation support in the languages spoken by communities; 7) ensure polling places are welcoming to all voters.
  3. We in the Minnesota DFL endorse comprehensive measures to safeguard pollinators, including bees and butterfiles, crucial for crop pollination. This resolution commits to the implementation of pollinator-friendly agricultural practices, recognizing the vital role these species play in sustaining our food supply and ecosystem health. In order to protect the health of the environment, pollinators, wildlife and humans from the harms of neonicotinoid incecticides (neonics) we urge the US EPA & MN Dept. of Agriculture to prohibit these dangerous pesticides. Prohibit neonicotinoid incecticide use.
  4. Support the passage of legislation that addresses the shortage of available child care in rural areas
  5. We in the Minnesota DFL endorse the widespread adoption and promotion of regenerative and agro-ecological practices to fortify family farms, enhance biodiversity, enhance biodiversity, and foster soil health, thereby contributing significantly to climate resilience and sustainable agricultural practices.
  6. Guns be registered and stored safely and that assault weapons be banned and a limit be placed upon [high capacity] magazines.
  7. All gun owners be required to report lost and stolen firearms to local law enforcement.
  8. The DFL party of Minnesota supports preventing the further corporatization of healthcare through legislation tht holds nonprofit healthcare organizations accountable to their mission, their tax-exempt status, and their defined legislative purpose of providing a community benefit to the public; and Be it further resolved that, the DFL party of Minnesota supports and creates a stronger healthcare regulatory system that provides financial and geographic access to quality healthcare services based on community need and not profit.
  9. The MN DFL affirms that comprehensive sex education be taught to all students in all public and charter schools.
  10. The DFL will firmly support the people and nation of Ukraine in their struggle against Russian aggression.
  11. The DFL Party make the Minnesota Equal Rights Ammendment a top priority in 2024. 1. to ensure the rights of all Minnesotans are secured into our strongest legal document. 2. to promote the robust MN State ERA to ensure passage through the MN Legislature this session. 3. to help lead the charge for a successful robust state ERA ballot initiative in 2024.
  12. The DFL Party should encourage the passage of legislation that addreses the shortage of available housing, affordable and traditional, in rural Minnesota
  13. That we in the Minnesota DFL recognize the Manoomin/Psin (MN wild rice) is sacred and central to the culture and health of Indigenous Peoples in Minnesota and critical to the health and identity of all Minnesota citizens and ecosystems, and deserves protection from climate change, invasive species, pollution, and destructive development.
  14. The DFL supports Right to Repair Laws to protect consumers from manufacturers that restrict the ability of third party and self-repair of agricultural equipment that is already purchased.
  15. As the MN DFL Party, we reject anti-Semetism, Islamophobia, and discrimination in all its forms. We are centering and uplifting the safety and well being of our Jewish, Muslim, Palenstinian and Arab community members.
  16. The MN DFL supports steps to ensure equitable access, that abortion care needs to be treated like other essential health care, and that every Minnesotan has unrestricted access to the full spectrum of pregnancy care.
  17. We in the MN DFL champioin the development and implementation of community-based renewable energy projects, emphasizing local ownership and economic benefits for communities. This resolution underscores our commitment to empowering communities, fostering sustainability, and creating economic opportunities through decentralized renewable energy initiatives.
  18. The Minnesota DFL Party supports the enactment of a MinnesotaCare Public Option that expands MInnesotaCare coverage to those not currently eligable; offers premiums based on a sliding scale based on income; offers comprehensive coverage including vision and dental care; and that has broad network coverage, especially in rural areas.
  19. The DFL party supports passage of the Minnesota End-of Life Option Act, affirming that terminally ill, mentally capable adults should hae the freedom and bodily autonomy to request and obtain from their healthcare provider medication that may self-administer for a peaceful death.
  20. In order to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) and Voyageurs National Park, two of Minnesota’s great natural treasures, from pollution, impairment, and destruction, we support a ban on sulfide-ore copper mining on lands in the watershed of the BWCAW.
  21. Using California SB43 legislation as a model framework, help provide care plans for individuals caught in addiction who struggle to care for themselves.
  22. The MN DFL urges that the MN state legislature pass the Utility Accountability Bill to protect energy customers from paying for inappropriate expenses that should be paid by the utility, that we pass state legislation to ensure MN utility customers are not paying for costs associated with utilities’ policial influence activities, including lobbying, membgership in industry trade associations that advocate for utility interests, and marketing initiatives or event sponsorships. In includes expanded disclosures to ensure transparency and enforcement mechanisms to encourage compliance. The bill will also cap the portion of utility executives’ compensation that is paid by customers.
  23. The DFL condemns anti-Muslim activity in all its forms, including the targeting of individual Muslims and as a people, and that the party be committed to combating anti-Muslim bias in all of its manifestations.
  24. The MN DFL demands that the legislature look into how to protect LGBTQIA2S+ students, educators and staff from the rising level of personal and professional attacks.
  25. The DFL supports the legislature holding hearings on the proposed prove it first legislation, and supports the Governor withholding all permits for copper-nickel sulfide mines in MN until it can first be proven that such mines can be opened safely in our water-rich environment and not violate state, federal and tribal water quality standards.
  26. We in the MN DFL endorse establishment of incentives and programs that actively encourage the adoption of energy-efficient technologies across various sectors. This resolution aims to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon economy, emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency in mitigating environmental impact.
  27. All gun owners be required to store their firearms locked and separate from ammunition.
  28. That the state of Minnesota uphold its treaty obligations by prioritizing them as part of the MN DFL platform. We are all treaty people, therefore it is the duty of all elected officials (local, state,and federal) to uphold treaty obligations by building bridges with tribal communities and their constituencies through outreach, including obtaining freely given prior and informed consent in all important areas that affect communities’ health and well-being.
  29. The MN DFL party supports policies that protect and expand the revenues available for public investment, and be it further resolved that, the party opposes any tax cut benefiting primarily the wealthiest Minnesotans or any tax cut that would substantially impede the state’s ability to fund public goods and services.
  30. We support improving state programs and funding that work with local non-profit organizations to prioritize helping seniors, persons with disabilities, veterans, and first responders to age in plae and to help prevent homelessness.
  31. We in the MN DFL advocate for heightened investment in the research and development of energy storage technologies, aiming to bolster the efficiency and reliability of renewable energy sources. This resolution underscores our commitment to overcoming energy storage challenges and facilitating the widespread adoption of sustainable energy solutions.
  32. the MN DFL Party affirm opposition to Medicare privatization and urge our federal legislators and the Biden Administration to level the playing field as a first step towards increasing healthcare equity by (1) adding benefits to traditional Medicare now only offered in private Medicare Advantage plans (adding vision, dental and hearing, eliminating the 20% Medicare Co-Pays and setting an out-of-pocket cap), (2) eliminating the excessive administrative costs and profits in the Medicare Advantage and ACO-REACH programs, and (3) recouping funds for the Medicare trust Fund from fraud and abuse by Medicare Advantage plans and ACO-REACH contractars, as confirmed by the Department of Health & Human Services or Congressional investigations, in order to use the money thus saved to support a robust Traditional Medicare system that will lower costs and improve benefits, access, and equity for all beneficiaries.
  33. We in the MN DFL endorse the advancement of smart grid infrastructure to enhance the reliability, resilience and efficiency of the energy distribution system, fostering the development of a modern and sustainable grid. This resolution reflects our commitment to embracing innovative technologies that transform the energy landscape for the benefit of communities and the environment.
  34. The Minnesota legislature shall place on the 2024 ballot a constitutional ammendment creating a nonpartisan redistricting commission that shall without bias draw legislative and congressional districts following the decennial cencus by making districts compact and contiguous reducing the possibilty of gerrymandering.
  35. The DFL supports passage of the MN ERA to safeguard and expand reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy and anti-discrimination protections.
  36. Call for an ammendment to the United States Constitution to estabish that 1) Only human beings are endowed with constitutional rights and; 2) Money is not speech and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalant to limiting speech. Furthermore be it resolved, we support legislation to amend the U.S. Constitution accordingly as written in Minnesota SF 384 (Marty) and HF 1064 (Hollins) and U.S. Congress HJR54 (Jayapal)
  37. The DFL supports a plant-based option be required upon student request as part of the free school meals program.
  38. The MN DFL party supports investing in an equitable transition to zero greenhouse gas emmission residence in Minnesota by 2050.
  39. The Minnesota DFL supports the following: State programs and funding designed to help seniors age in place should be better organized to provide community based nonprofit senior support organizations the abilty to direct state funded services to individual seniors and families based on their individual needs with increased flexible funding to ensure a wider range of services including community building.
  40. We in the MN DFL oppose policies that lead to a disproportionate energy burden on vulnerable and marginalized communities, and we advocate for the implementation of measures to ensure equitable access to clean and affordable energy solutions. This resolution highlights our commitment to social justice, inclusivity, and environmental equity.
  41. The DFL Party 1) commits to condemning white Christian nationalism in all forms and considers it a threat to democracy. 2) commits to educate voters and its own members about the rising threat of white Christian nationalism. 3) Reiterates the platform support for the separation of church and state as enshrined in our constitution.
  42. The MN DFL supports protecting the health of Minnesota private well owners from the hazards of contaminated water by providing free water testing and safe alternative sources of drinking water or water treatment systems for imapcted wells. Because everyone deserves clean, healthy water. We expect all public waters to remain natural and pristine for future generations.
  43. US citizens deserve a clear and consistent process to welcome the next generation of immigrants, one that extends our commitment to justice and human rights to all, and one that is funded and equipped to succeed and be a source of pride.
  44. We in the MN DFL urge the MN State Legislature and our local representatives and senators to enact without delay the MN Sustainable Investing Act, empowering the MN state board of investment (SBI) to consider a wide range of factors and risks– including climate and other environmental and social facotrs– when making investment decisions.
  45. The MN DFL supports legislation mandating that insurance plans cover gender affirming care, contraception (including over-the-counter birth control and vasectomy), anesthesia for IUD services, IVF and infertility treatments, 3d breast imaging, reconstructive surgery for breast cancer patients and over-the-counter PEP/PREP
  46. The MN DFL supports the declaration of a climate emergency and a green new deal to provide a just energy future in which all Minnesotans can reap the health and economic benefits of efficiency programs, renewable electricity, and clean energy jobs. Mandate or give preference to union labor in development of new energy infrastructure.
  47. The DFL prioritizes and commits signifigant resources for a compaign to promote legislation for a patient-centered healthcare system, by enacting the Minnesota Health Plan (Marty) at the State Level and the Medicare for All Act of 2023 (Jayapal) at the National Level. With this model: residents will be healthier; everyone is covered without fear of medical debt; patients choose their doctor; the emphasis is on health and prevention of poor health; profit-driven insurance companies do not get to deny care or override doctor’s descisions; doctors get to provide care instead of managing insurance company profits; the complex bureaucracy of “who pays” is eliminated. thus signifigantly reducing administrative costs and simplifying the system, for all to understand.
  48. The MN DFL party supports ongoing legislative efforts to advance the rights of individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) holders, so that all MN Taxpayers, regardless of federal immigration status, are afforded the same access and opportunities as other Minnesotans.
  49. The DFL support protecting the health of Minnesota private well owners from the hazards of contanimated water by providing free water testing and safe alternative sources of drinking water or water treatment systems for impacted wells, because everyone deserves clean, healthy water
  50. The Minnesota Department of Health & Human Services and/or Department of Health will be charged with the task of protecting our citizens from accidental fentanyl deaths in the following ways: Require each county to create and maintain a dependable supply system that makes harm reduction tools readily available to all county citizens who are using illegitamate street drugs. these lifesaving items will be availabe in places that maintain the dignity and privacy of those whose lives are at risk through accidental poisoning, They will include but will not be limited to fenanyl test strips and naloxone (or its equivalent Narcan). The items will be packed with an instruction card and a list of “safe use” instructions. Also included would be a list of community resources for those ready for rehabilitation
  51. The following language be added to the Minnesota DFL Action Agenda: The Minnesota DFL supports the passage of Logan’s law which would ensure that LGBTQIA2S+ families would not have to adopt their own children conceived throught artificial insemination.
  52. We in the MN DFL oppose the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, encompassing new pipelines and extractions projects, in pursuit of expediting the transition towards cleaner and more sustainab le energy alternatives. For new infrastructure projects, mandate the calculation of climate impacts including external and social costs of carbon; deny funding or permits for high impact projects and incentivize those with no significant carbon footprint; transition from existing fossil-fuel-based infrastructure as quickly as possible. This resolution reflects our commitment to environmental responsibility, climate action, and the prioritization of renewable energy sources.
  53. The DFL establish a rule that whenever AI is used, that it is announced loudly and/or in large legible letters throughout any and all ads, including those endorsing or against all candidates, as well as those ads by the candidates themselves.
  54. We fund our childcare system so that no family pays more than 7% of their annual income for childcare, all children have access to high quality childcare and childcare providers have the resources they need to provide workers with living wages.
  55. We in the MN DFL urge the legislature to support SF3260/HF3200 introduced by Rep. Jordan and Sen. Morrison which requires beverage producers to include a deposit amount on their beverage containers (plastic, metal, glass) that is charged to the consumer at the time of purchase and refunded when it is returned. Returned beverage containers must be recycled or reused. The beverage producer organizations are responsible for funding the take-back depots and infrastructure to collect, recycle or resuse the beverage containers.
  56. MN must enact extended producer responsibility legislation– a law that will extend producers’ financial and managerial responsibility for their products and packaging beyond the manufacturing stage– both upstream to product design and downstream to post-consumer use, recycling or safe disposal. The law must require producers to collect 70% of the packaging they generate within 5 years, reduce the amount of plastic packaging they produce by 50% within 10 years, and prohibit all toxic substances and materials in the manufacturing of plastic.
  57. The Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) divest from any country or corporation which violates international or US laws prohibiting human rights violations, especially ethnic cleansing, illegal land appropriation, and terror and violence.
  58. The MN DFL promotes competition and fairness in our economy amongst workers, businesses and consumers through strengthening antitrust laws and adopting an abuse of dominance standard.
  59. The MN DFL calls on local and state leaders to support a humane encampment response that recognizes homelessness as a public health issue.
  60. The DFL Party prioritizes protecting and promoting access to foraging for wild berries, plants, nuts, and mushrooms for all Minnesotans. Additionally, we Democrats support knowledgeable, experienced, and sustainable management of these resources to increase the populations of native plants, fungi, and wildlife.
  61. All Healthcare and health insurance policy will advance patient well-being and not corporate profits.
  62. All publically-supported State Universities and Colleges, including the University of Minnesota, respect the tradition of academic freedom and never silence or censure curricula, lectures, or campus organizations, based simply on the possible unpopularity of ideas or on political pressure from financial donors.
  63. The Minnesota DFL supports the Gender-Affirming Rights Act
  64. The MN DFL acctively seeks to increase participation in the DFL caucus and convention process to hear more diverse perspectives and to ensure that endorsed candidates are more reflective of the party as a whole.

Thanks to Resolutions Committee for their work to get the resolutions ballot together for the convention. And thanks to Jonah Rothstein, Amy Livingston, Brian Clark, Anne Jones, Eric Ferguson, and our past Secretary Larry Nelson (visiting from his post-redistricting home in SD51) for a big push to finish tallying.

Candidates, calendar and links

Endorsement candidates

To the best of our knowledge, these are the candidates seeking the DFL endorsement this year for races which overlap SD63. If you are a candidate for DFL endorsement in a race overlapping SD63, and you are not mentioned here, then please let us know! We will be happy to include you.

Events

Ongoing

Through Friday, May 3

Through Friday, May 24

Through Thursday, May 30

Thursday, May 2

Saturday, May 4

Saturday, May 11

May 31-June 2

Other newsletters

Many of our elected and appointed officials have their own official newsletters, discussing local needs and opportunities. They are great starting points for getting more involved in our community! You can subscribe for new updates, and in many cases find back issues, at these sites:

Our meetings

Support SD63

Donations to SD63 are used to run caucuses and conventions, maintain web and email servers, support campaigns, and hold issue forums and other community events. We have no paid employees.

Mission statement and editorial policies

The mission of the SD63 Update is

  1. To promote the DFL and the DFL’s values, activities, endorsed candidates, and platform,
  2. To develop community support, volunteers and material support for the above, and
  3. To raise public awareness and involvement in civic and other community processes as a means to implement DFL values and platform items,

especially as originating from and applying to Minnesota Senate District 63, and especially with the target audience of SD63 DFL participants and supporters. The editors and contributors of the Update shall execute this mission in a manner consistent with DFL policies and codes of conduct.

Inclusion of official public material

The Update may include content from or references to newsletters and announcements from community groups and elected officials when, at the sole good-faith discretion of the Update editor, these materials support the mission of the Update. Such official, non-campaign materials may be excerpted or referenced even when originating from an elected official who was not endorsed as a candidate by the DFL. Excerpts of and references to such material shall not be understood to be an endorsement, material support or other support of any kind of any candidacy by DFL SD63.

Contested endorsements

Between Election Day of one year and the convention of the relevant DFL Endorsing Unit of the following year, the Update editor may choose either:

  1. To provide coverage of campaign events, volunteer opportunities, and material support opportunities of all candidates who have informed the Update editor of their intention to seek DFL endorsement for a particular endorsement contest, or
  2. To cover no candidates for that endorsement contest.

If a DFL Endorsing Unit (and the SD63 DFL, if different than the Endorsing Unit) declines to endorse any candidate in some endorsement contest, then this policy shall also apply to that contest between the Endorsing Unit’s convention and the subsequent primary election or ranked-choice general election.

Some notes on the Contested Endorsement policy:

  1. Excerpts from and references to the announcements of public officials as described in the Policy on Inclusion of Official Public Material shall be seen as separate from campaign activity for the purposes of this policy.
  2. Note that the editor may opt to cover some endorsement contests but not others, as deemed feasible and appropriate by the editor. The editor’s two options in this Contested Endorsement policy are intended to provide fairness to the candidates for endorsement in any given endorsement contest. The statement of two options for each contest shall not be interpreted to compel or forbid coverage of candidates in any particular contest.
  3. The description of informing the Update editor of candidacy for endorsement described in Option 1 of this Contested Endorsement policy shall be satisfied by a direct communication to the Update editor, or by inclusion in an announcement recorded in the minutes of a meeting of the SD63 Central Committee. The Update editor may also take note of announcements in public forums, or of campaign activity oriented to potential caucus-goers or convention delegates, to serve as such a declaration. However this policy shall not be interpreted to expect the Update editor to discover endorsement candidate intentions outside of the two forms of declaration specified in this note.

No part of the Contested Endorsement policy is intended to contradict the prohibition of supporting candidates opposing a DFL-endorsed candidate, nor shall it compel any SD63 editor or contributor to do so.

Promulgation of this statement and policies

From their approval, the full text of this statement and these policies shall be included below the web publication of all Update issues. Moreover, a reference and link to that web publication shall be included in all email or physical transmissions of the Update. These publications of this statement and policies shall be taken as sufficient disclaimer that the contents of the Update represent a good-faith effort to adhere to all DFL policies and codes of conduct, including but not limited to the avoidance of endorsement of non-DFL-endorsed candidates in the context of an election including one or more DFL-endorsed candidates.

Questions and comments

Questions, comments and concerns regarding this policy or any content in the SD63 Update should be directed initially to its editor, currently the SD63 Secretary, via email to secretary AT sd63dfl DOT org. Further inquiries may be directed to the SD63 DFL Chair, or to DFL Party Affairs.