Charley Underwood

In Minneapolis’ southeast corner, all candidates for the city council share concerns about saving small businesses and keeping big developers in check. But beyond this agreement, the three candidates vying for the seat now held by Sandy Colvin Roy offer distinct choices for Ward 12 voters.

Although Minneapolis held no primary election this year, candidates for city office still had to file “pre-primary” campaign-finance reports under a new ordinance passed this summer. Yet for two weeks after the Sept. 8 deadline, confusion and other delays kept a couple dozen candidate and political committee reports from reaching the public.

Gov. Pawlenty isn’t the only one feeling a chill at the one-year anniversary of events around the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The RNC cast a few odd shadows at a forum for candidates seeking to replace Pawlenty in Minneapolis this morning.

When locals gather to choose delegates at DFL precinct caucuses Tuesday, three Minneapolis City Council candidates will be looking for the first signs of success from skills they picked up at a recent weekend at Camp Wellstone.

As a follow-up to President Bush’s speech on troop increas, we have asked Charley Underwood, peace activist, for his reaction.

Watching the president’s speech tonight is a lot like watching a Greek tragedy.  You know that the ending will be unspeakably sad, but there is a morbid fascination in watching it all unfold.

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