Ward Ten: Four candidates vie for Uptown council seat

Ward 10 candidates Meg Tuthill, Kim Vlaisavljevich, Dan Alvin. Not pictured: Matt Dowgwillo

Ralph Remington, who represents Minneapolis’ Ward 10, announced his retirement in January, leaving an open seat that four candidates are attempting to fill. The ward encompasses much of densely populated Uptown including the East Isles, East Harriet, Lowry Hill East, ECCO and CARAG neighborhoods.

“I just feel like these jobs should have a shelf life,” Remington told the Southwest Journal at the time. “And I didn’t come into the City Council to stay for 12 or 15 years. That’s just not me.”

He did explore a run for mayor, but when current mayor R.T. Rybak announced he would seek another term, Remington bowed out.

Four candidates are currently vying for the seat he’ll be vacating.

Meg Tuthill is the DFL-endorsed candidate and has some pretty impressive endorsements including the DFL Feminist Caucus, Stonewall DFL, Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council, Teamsters Joint Council 32 DRIVE, Sierra Club, MN Women’s Political Caucus PAC, and womenwinning.

Tuthill got the DFL nod after beating the frontrunner, Matt Filner, on the second ballot, despite Filner’s big name backers which include U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, two state senators, five state house representatives and three city council members.

Tuthill, who’s lived in the ward for 30 years and runs Tuthill’s Balloon Emporium at 25th & Hennepin, is a longtime neighborhood activist. “I am a founding member of not only a neighborhood association, but a business association as well,” she said. “The first recycling program in Minneapolis was started in the back of our business at 24th and Dupont in 1970.”

She said the previous city council member didn’t focus enough on local issues, citing Remington’s support for anti-war resolutions and circus animal bans.

“[A council member’s] job is to look at local issues, things that affect the day-to-day living in the city of Minneapolis,” Tuthill told the Southwest Journal. “Issues that should be handled at the state and federal level should be handled at the state and federal level. Things we can have some impact on should be handled at the City Council.”

Asked if she feels the DFL endorsement is enough to win in a DFL-dominated city, Tuthill said, “I have to earn their trust and confidence like anyone else. That’s why I am out door knocking every night after I close Tuthill’s Balloon Emporium. I am getting a great reception at the door from voters. This energizes me to work even harder.”

Also running for the open seat is Kim Vlaisavljevich, an independent with no party affiliation. An accountant by trade, Vlaisavljevich’s platform focuses a lot of attention on property taxes and city finances.

“A big piece of why I’m wanting to run is that I feel real passionately about prudent fiscal management,” Vlaisavljevich said in a YouTube interview. “It’s something I feel I have as a skill set and I would be happy to bring that skill set to the table.”

“I think some financial expertise on the city council would be of huge value,” she said. She disagrees with tax increment financing, saying that it leaves small businesses “not on even ground” with larger ones.

In an email to the Minnesota Independent, Vlaisavljevich said, “I feel my campaign is addressing the heart of the whole problem [of] finance and tax reform. It has a direct effect on everything that goes on in the community. My campaign is unique because I have a diverse political and social following.”

In terms of partisan politics, she said, “I have not been looking at this as partisan race. I am getting overwhelming support from people of all parties and social backgrounds. It’s encouraging to get emails and offers to help with the campaign. It seems the community is ready for people to represent them not political machines.”

Dan Alvin, a Green Party activist, has the backing of the Independence Party. “My platform is totally Green,” he said. “I really like the quality of the Independence Party candidates statewide, so I called them up. Their positions are about 90 percent the same as mine.”

Alvin said one issue he would follow as city council member is development in the ward — and specifically the talk of allowing a Trader Joe’s being considered in Uptown to get a liquor exemption. Alvin says OKing an exemption for a chain store is unreasonable and harms small businesses in the area.

“It’s not fair,”he said, to provide incentives to one business and not others. Alvin also said that property taxes are out of control and that the city needs to live within its means.

Alvin has a background as a musician and a chef focusing on natural foods. He’s been involved with the opening of Café Agri and was head chef at Ecopolitan.

Another DFLer, Matt Dowgwillo, has entered the race as well. Dowgwillo’s website lists transportation as a key issue, along with property taxes, safety and development. “I am running for City Council because I have the skills, contacts, ability, and drive necessary to create a better, safer, more sustainable community,” Dowgwillo wrote on his website. “My work with over 60 local small business owners, city permit departments, and local non-profits have broadened my understanding for the various issues that arise in any project.”

In an email to the Minnesota Independent, he says, “Many of the younger democrats in Ward 10 really influenced me to run. I don’t necessarily disagree with Meg getting the endorsement, however, from what I’ve discussed with them and other council members, is that Minneapolis is, obvious by the 93 percent city council seat holding, very DFL,” he said. “What I can say is that I’ve failed horribly to find any of Meg’s real specific stances on anything that she plans to do.”

He continued, “Like her, I’m very progressive. However, unlike her, many people believe that I’m extremely capable of working WITH other people in order to accomplish goals.”

He says youth and technology are key components of his campaign. “Bottom line: I represent the youth, energy, and creativeness that is going to be necessary to bring Minneapolis into the next decade. The future of operations and politics, I believe, is one of collaboration and science and technology,” he said. “Our leaders must understand technology and how to harness it to make our city greener, more sustainable (both economically and ecologically), and grow jobs.”

Financially, Tuthill has a strong advantage in the race. So far this year her campaign has taken in $22,591.96, compared to Dowgwillo’s $2,630, Vlaisavljevich’s $2,037 and Alvin’s $25.

This is the third in a 13-part series on Minneapolis City Council races.

The full series:

Ward One: Five seek open seat in northeast Minneapolis
Ward Two: Gordon, Aigbogun and … no DFLer
Ward Three: Hofstede tries to hold off four challengers
Ward Four: Trio of challengers take on political dynasty
Ward Five: Crime and economic development dominate North Side race
Ward Six: South Minneapolis contest draws crowded field of contenders
Ward Seven: Despite full campaign coffers, lawsuit clouds Goodman’s prospects
Ward Eight: Glidden faces four rivals in south Minneapolis
Ward Nine: Schiff, Bicking vie again
Ward Ten: Four candidates vie for Uptown council seat
Ward Eleven: Three vie for Benson’s South Minneapolis seat
Ward Twelve: Colvin Roy faces three challengers
Ward Thirteen: The independent ward could see fireworks in November