WOW, nail biter, indeed!

Wow. I'm not surprised. Todd Fedora is the Jesse Helms of the 1st District. Excellent re constituent services, but a lot of noise and drama, so half the people loved him, and half hated him. Jen will do a great job -- without pissing everyone off.

I was a poll worker in precinct 6 (which is only 1 out of 36). Fedora won it by 1 vote. 

If precinct 6 is any indication (and take it with a grain of salt) all the school ballot questions failed, but the parks/library question passed. 

Larson and Krug won easily. 

Voter turnout was pretty much at 50% at my place.

Todd Fedora is a pre-civil rights bill, 90-year old racist South Carolina politician? 

Interesting comparison.

It's quite possible that 25 people who normally would have voted for Fedora instead wrote in "Daniel J. Golden."

Wow. No wonder I was getting calls from every DFL organization known to man, about 3 times a day for the last week. I was starting to feel like I was being pursued by a very nice but kind of frighteningly persistent cult.

My god it makes me happy when Republicans loose.

Charlie Bell got 6 write-in votes in P-6 today... giving him a better showing than the last time he ran (I kid). 

Other notables:
Alfred E Newman - 1
Mickey Mouse - 1
Herb Bergson - 1 (what is he doing nowadays?)

*lose. Now if only certain Democrats could spell....

So, Don Donny lost 5% of the vote to nobody in particular?  Seems kind of high.

Irregardless of the term schizophrenia being over used and used incorrectly... 

Letters were in the mail from the state essentially saying property values are going down while overall property taxes were going up as part of the state shutdown deal from this past summer (homestead credit is going away). The schools may have overreached asking for so much at one time with this news also coming down the pipe. And I say that as someone who does support increased funding for schools.

I wonder how many more cracks Stauber Jr. is going to take at Duluth public office. I think this is his second?

er.. and I want to offer a bit of an apology if the first part of my last part came off as rude, it wasn't meant to be just was a pet peeve of mine that perhaps shouldn't have reared it's head.

Too bad the smaller class sizes, etc., didn't pass.  Our students could have really used it.

I don't see the voters voting for Red Plan supporters but shooting down the three levies as contradictory. This tells me that people want to move forward, and not have a contentious school board rehashing the Red Plan controversy all over again. At the same time, voters are not willing to support more taxes if they don't trust the body asking for more taxes, and if they don't know what the taxes will be used for. Look at the fact that the Parks Fund passed -- the voters trust Mayor Ness, and also were told why they were asked to vote for the Parks Fund, what the money would be used for.

While I voted for the school levy, and beleive that its failure is going to cause huge problems for the schools, I totally get why it didn't pass.  To pass a levy, you actually need to make the case for why it is needed.  This is the second time in a row that the district has a adopted the "throw three levels of levies at the public and see what sticks" approach.  It is insulting to the public and a recipe for disaster.  Regardless of what people think of the Red Plan, we will be paying for Keith Dixon's arrogant and high-handed attitude toward the public for years.  Hopefully, the new board members and the new superintendent will be able to repair the damaged trust between the district and the taxpayers.

Yes, "irregardless" is not a word.  It should be "regardless", and perhaps "disirregardless" would work but then people have to think through a triple negative.

Duluth voters to Duluth kids: School? No, No, No. Go outside and play!

My apologies Jadiaz. In my exuberance for the conservatives who appear to have suffered an unheralded ass-slapping last night, I misused the verb 'to loose.'  No no, don't try to alleviate my suffering with kind words.  My replete embarrassment is now unrivaled,  perhaps second only to those who now seek to reverse course,  appearing to be desirous of a tax increase they previously abhorred.  I think I smell a change in the shit-winds.  Which brings me to, what would Herman Cain do?    I think he would say 'Stay the course, flip floppers, stay the course.  Or perhaps, 'I decided not to molest that woman, after I molested her.'

And kids, sorry about school, in general, keep in mind Jimi Hendrix dropped out when he was 15 and became a paratrooper... just sayin'.

I agree.  Especially the new Duluth Politics FB group.  They had nothing.

The anti-union (and especially anti-teachers) rhetoric coming from the right this past year certainly has done it's damage. The Scott Walkers and Koch bros of the world are still winning.  All they had to do was spread a little shit about teacher unions and how "cushy" their jobs are, and now everybody at Walmart thinks public education is the problem. Shame on this generation for dropping the ball.

Paul, I checked PDD about 8:15, you guys had results for the 1st. I think the DNT posted results around 8:20 pm, it was definitely after you guys, but not long after. I just looked at the DNT News Alert saying live results were being posted that was emailed to me last night, and it was sent out at 8:17 pm. The DNT called the race for Larson and Krug by sending out a News Alert email at 8:28 pm.

We need to get the word out better next time about how small class sizes, etc., will benefit students.  I think people will get behind the students once they realize what is at stake.

Rand, I don't believe a single Republican in Duluth is shocked the Democrats won. This is after all a large Democrat strong hold and always has been. Perhaps that's why we have to vote to raise our own taxes to keep libraries and parks open and maintained, or why stuff like the Red Plan happen without voter input. Maybe just maybe, the Democrats ruling Duluth is the cause of all the financial hardships Duluth suffers. Mayor Ness has done a fine job and holds my respect, but the rest of the DFL Union controlled politicians people like you vote for haven't done much for this city at all. So gloat that once again the city is in the hands of those who have done nothing to bring in business or solve the city's financial woes except by trying through more and higher taxes. Hurray, we're fucked!

Statewide school referendums fared much better. According to MNPost about 80% of them passed, which is a huge number. As we saw with the Parks question Duluthians are willing to pay extra for what they value, so I'd say the argument that the PR for the school board could shoulder a sizable portion of the blame for the lose.

(should I throw in some irregardless here and there?)

I am about to get a bill for around $1400 from the city for my "share " of the new Arrowhead Rd. in front of my house even though I already paid for it with my gas taxes. The county assessor just came to my house (and trying to be a good and fair citizen, I let him in)and he informed me that he just valued my house $12,000 higher than it was the minute before he showed up. The next day , literally the next day, I get a piece of mail informing me that due to the shell and pea game Gov Pawlenty played for the last 8 years everyones property taxes in St. Louis Co. will be going up. So if you take the $12,000 revaluation of my house along with the higher over all property tax rate you see my property taxes were raised twice in a 24 hour period. When you throw in the (estimated) $1400 dollars for the street you may see that it is kind of hard for me to vote for more taxes for the schools. Even though I don't have kids I have always voted for the levy increases in the past. Unfourtunatley the well is not only dry but there is a bad taste in my mouth from having the Red Plan rammed down it.
On the other hand I did vote for the library and parks bill. First of all because I believe the public library is one of the most important institutions in a free and democratic society (read everything, believe little of it). Secondly I voted for it because if the kids are missing some educational opportunities because I didn't vote for the school levy they can pick up the slack by going to the public library to round out their education.

Bill
  
PS: Enjoy driving on my/yours/our new Arrowhead Rd. and if you like it feel free to throw a few dollars in my driveway as you go by.

To paraphrase jessige, if you are upset about taxes, take it out on the children and our future!

Some great stuff in this thread.  I think it is sad that classes have 40+ students in them in the new schools as was reported this morning in the DNT.  I would hate to be teaching a class of 42 kids that are 16 years old and don't want to be there in the first place.  Multiply that times 5 and that means the teacher has to get through to over 200 kids in a day.  Imagine any job where a manager would be in charge of that many employees daily.  

The kids become a number and not much learning happens.  Then imagine the parents who complain to that teacher daily to help their kid more and the teacher who has to email back or call.  

Then the district lays off more teachers and the class size grows again.  Good thing I graduated years ago and never had a class size bigger than 30 people.  Charter schools are closing, but you could send your kid to a private school where the teachers are paid below the poverty line and the parents have an open line to the teachers and small class sizes.  

Let's all live below poverty and increase class sizes more!  Let's follow the private school plan and pay people who went to college less than someone at WalMart!  

What a great future we are making for our children!

That is what I would have said if I was doing PR.

Jadiaz, can you name one Republican who has brought in a miraculous proliferation of jobs to Mn or Duluth?  Where it was like, 'holy shit. they brought in some serious jobs here! I don't know where to start working?'  Was it Pawlenty?  Who, after deregulating highway safety, put people to work by rebuilding I-35, which perhaps collapsed as a result of his golf game?  Who are these great job bringers to which you speak, whose job creating so greatly  overshadows their Democrat counterparts?  Or are Americans finally getting wise to the whole carnival?  And when someone like Palin, Cain, or forgetful Rick Perry say they have the new magic pill,  are they really just blowing smoke rings up your ass, because all they really want is more money so they can buy a one way seat on that grandfatherly spaceship with a thousand buxom blonds and a case of champagne to get off Earth with, when the whole thing blows?  To the heavenly places you aren't invited.

 To cap, I guess Republicans remind me of slimy little shit-weasels just a little more than Democrats do, for I just can't seem to erase this unfair assessment of them as 'pig-men' in my brain. Maybe a decade of roving Dick/Bush mistakes,  if you can call testing out new secret weapons on  influential senator's planes, so they can show daddy how it's done overseas,  a mistake. Or years of them masquerading as folksy folks who promise to bring in jobs and save us with no new taxes, and deregulation (as a surefire path to job creation) instead bankrupting the world because they don't understand economics like Clinton does (or the importance of regulation on Wall Street), which is why they used his budget surplus to squander on illegal wars they had war stocks for.  Maybe these-your-heros don't really care what happens to you Jadiaz, which is maybe why you feel fucked in the first place?  As a child, don't you remember the shit-times of the Reagan/Bush years, the run down neighborhoods, the lack of avocados and good coffee beans, versus the renaissance that followed, called the Clinton Era, when there were jobs? You really think Republicans are going to save you?  I don't think Democrats are going to save me.  I just think they're a little less evil is all,  maybe only 31% less likely to try to have sex with children at airports.  But if you're smart, like 'sore loserman,' you'll switch to the other side of the boat when it starts to sink.

I live in the Anoka - Hennepin School District, and once again they faired pretty well, with 2 of 3 levies passing.  They do a great job of outlining what it will mean if a levy should pass or fail, although they have been accused of being a little "apocalyptic" about the outcomes should the first levy not pass. 1 mile north of my house is the shool district boundary.  The St Francis School district fails to pass a levy year after year (I don't think they had any this time).  Property values on that side of the boundary are lower, houses don't sell as fast, etc.  Families are less willing to move into a community that doesn't support schools.

What Doug said.  We need to start passing these school levies.

It might help if people understood the difference between a bond and a levy. The Long Range Facilities Plan (the Red Plan) was a bonding project. Most bonding projects are decided upon by the particular governing authority seeking to sell bonds- in this case, the Duluth school district, and are not referendums. We elect school board members who decide what they need to bond for- levies are different- they are a direct appeal to tax payers to have their taxes raised to accomplish an operational goal. In the case of the Red Plan, the district held over 100 (yes, 100) public meetings where the citizens of Duluth could actively participate in the formulation (and cost) of the plan. Lots of people attended these meetings. They came up with a few different options. In the end, the plan sent up the chain to the full school board was the Red Plan. The board then approved the plan and subsequent bond issuance. A handful of public school haters then had a conniption and did everything they could to spread misinformation throughout the community. Our local media sensing a dog fight didn't help matters much by offering no actual insight or explanation, instead focusing on the battle. Yes, the district could have done more in the PR department then AND now, but I am very happy that the Red Plan was implemented and very disappointed that the levies did not pass. If you feel "alienated" from the school system, than do something about it. Go to some meetings, talk to school board members, talk to your kid's teachers and principals. If all of your information comes from Area Voices or for that matter, PDD, you probably aren't getting the whole story.

When the decision was made to implement the Red Plan without a public vote on the bonding, I remember saying to someone that it would be years before Duluth voters approved another operating levy.  I take absolutely no joy in being proven right.

I remember that the argument against taking the Red Plan to a vote was that "voters always vote against schools."  In fact, in the time I've lived in Duluth, I've seen school referenda pass and I've seen school referenda fail.  The difference between victory and defeat is always the degree to which the district, the board, and PTA's do their homework, put together a well-thought out package, and make the case for it.

If you tell the public that you don't trust them (like Dixon and the board at the time did), you shouldn't be surprised if the public returns the compliment.  I just pray to god that the new superintendent and board are able to repair the relationship between the district and the public.  If not, our schools are in big trouble.

Hire more teachers so class sizes will be smaller, and buy textbooks.

Emmadogs is totally right, that's exactly what people were telling me about the school levy the day before the election when I was leafleting outside the library. It's a shame, because the anti-levy people were out there, writing op-eds, talking smack about it all over the place. The new superintendent should have been out there too, writing his own op-eds, making his case. If he did write any op-eds, I don't remember seeing them. ISD 709 needs to work on their public relations.

I got my school levy info in the mail the day after the election.

According to the Dull News, there was a distinct East /West gap in the voting for both the school levy and the park/library levy. East was fairly heavy pro both, and the West (and North) very against both.

In many other states, school levy's are done by districts.  The schools in district #3 (for example) would have its own school levy voted on and paid for only by those in that district.  The result is some districts always vote yes and others no, and huge inequalities result among the district schools.  District #3 might have great public schools as a result and district #1 not so much.  

But this is like the difference between Duluth schools and Virginia schools (which apparently, according to a post above, have nearly twice the funding per student; I'd love to see the numbers and source of this information).  The result of the inequality is that anyone with a family who can afford it moves to district #3 for the superior schools, and then district #3 becomes really nice and fancy, and then everyone with financial means wants to move to district #3.

Duluth does not do the school levies by district, in part because it is unfair to punish kids who live in the districts where people vote down the levies.  Under a district based levy system in Duluth, extreme inequalities would arise between the East and West school districts (given that the East more often votes yes and West no for levies).  Someone was recently arrested in Michigan for sending her child to another far better neighboring school district that votes yes for levies.  Any good parent wants a good education for her children.  So the Duluth system has its virtues.  

However, the result of the Duluth levy system is that ALL the kids get punished if the whole city votes down the levies.  In other places, the punishment is by district.  And I say "punishment" because the huge class sizes and lack of textbooks punishes kids for life since they get less of an quality school education and more of a "child care center" babysitting experience. Poorer education now can affect a child's opportunities and intelligence down the line.

One problem with state funding of schools is the large voting population in the Twin Cities metro area. The people in that area like districts to be funded by pupil unit. This works in areas that have 300 or so pupils per square mile. When the pupil count per square mile is considerably lower, not so much.

Something needs to be done to convince people to both live and work in the city of Duluth. I know a lot of people who live outside Duluth and drive in every day to work.