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THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1934
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October 25-31, 2018 Vol. 85 No. 12 www.spokesman-recorder.com
DAY OF RECKONING APPROACHES Many view midterm elections as referendum on Trump administration
Sound Off: Who’s voting in this midterm election and why MSR contributors hit the pavement to ask community members whether they plan on voting in the midterm elections and what are the most important issues on their minds. 3YES Voneisha Harris, 25, Brooklyn Park “The most important issue for me is health care because that is what affects my family and I the most, especially with having a little one; I have to think about healthcare costs and have coverage at all times just in case something happens. “Healthcare is already so expensive and something that everyone deserves to have and be able to afford.”
The races are on Photo courtesy Getty
This year’s midterm elections are proving to be a competitive hotbed for candidates across the country. Many seats are up for grabs that will shape Minnesota’s political and legislative landscape, including governor and attorney general, along with control of Congress. While most of the election drama has been focused on state and federal races, county and city races have no shortage of interesting candidates and issues ranging from commissioner and judge to school board and referendums. The race is on for more than candidates. After a record-breaking turnout during the Minnesota primaries, early voting has already surpassed the 2016 presidential elections and shows no signs of slowing down. Voters are ready for change. Which way the tide rolls depends on who hits the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Tracy Wesley, 52, Minneapolis “The most important issue is electing people in office who have the meaning and well being to try to serve everyday common man. Not just the rich, not just the White, not just the affluent, but all people.”
■ See Races on page 9 Jocelyn Wallace, Bloomington
‘Down-to-earth brother’ sends out wake-up call
“I already sent in my absentee ballot. However, the important issues for me personally are affordable health care and housing, as well as increase of the minimum wage.”
Judicial candidate Anthony Brown is committed to excellence
things up in the judicial communi- nate while working as an attorney for ty. A novice political candidate, Brown almost two decades in Ramsey Countossed his hat into the ring for this state- ty. Now, he stands as an underdog candidate to serve as a Minnesota Appeals Court judge in November. Of the nearly 100 judges up for reelection this midterm, only nine are facing challengers. Brown is challenging incumbent Lucinda Jesson, who hasn’t faced an opponent since 2010 and was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton. Br own said he hopes his campaign “will be a wakeup call for other lawyers to consider running for judge in the future…so the people making laws will be more a reflection of the voters they serve.” The 41-year-old Chicago native graduated from Hamline University Law School and practices for Capitol City Anthony Brown Submitted photo Law Group in St. Paul and the Ramsey County Public Defenders Office. He This article is part of an ongoing series wide seat on the bench, he says, “to fos- currently serves on the boards of both profiling candidates running for various of- ter more of a connection between judg- the Saint Paul Human Rights Commission and the Innocence Project of Minfices and how their election might impact es and the people they represent.” Brown said that prior to his run he nesota. our communities. defended the underdog and champi■ See Brown on page 9 Anthony L. Brown is ready to shake oned criminal cases for the less fortu-
By Sheletta Brundidge Contributing Writer
Gary Courtney, Metropolitan Council “Right now, with the current administration at the federal level, I don’t think there is the proper presentation. When I say proper, one that reflects…the general public of America. I think that it’s important during these midterm elections that we all exercise our vote to roll that change uphill. It’s at this level, the city level, the state level, where the real laws get made and impact change within America.” Mary Thomas, Minneapolis “If you don’t vote, you can’t be accountable. My most important issue is “finding homes for the homeless.”
Sabrena Hildreth, 50, Bloomington “What I want to see changed is health care. A lot of people cannot afford medicine, can’t afford to go to the doctor. Everyone should be able to go to the doctor when they are sick. Also, education is important. That’s how people become CEOs of corporations — education. Education is key; it changes the world.”
Black, pro-business, Republican and not a sellout State rep candidate Lacy Johnson describes his vision for North Mpls
By Solomon Gustavo Contributing Writer This article is part of an ongoing series profiling candidates running for various offices and how their election might impact our communities. Systems engineer and longtime North Minneapolis resident Lacy Johnson is a state representative candidate for Minnesota District 59B, which covers North, North Loop and Downtown Minneapolis. Johnson’s approach in ap-
North Minneapolis’s Black community, he said, is to try new things. Johnson is running in the heavily liberal district as a Republican. “First of all, I’ve got the street credibility,” said Johnson of his upbringing and decades living in North Minneapolis. “They can’t accuse me of being a sellout, an Uncle Tom.” Johnson, who grew up poor in pre-segregation Mississippi and distances himself from Trump (but won’t say if he voted for Obama), insists
“We need to be less partisan in our outlook and make ideas and proposed solutions more important than political
Lee H. Jordan, 61, Mpls “My three issues are: Health care for seniors — [I’m] dealing not only with my parents’ healthcare issues, but now I have to deal with my own. Youth education — We need better education programs for our youth. Justice system [reform] — Everyone wants the criminal justice system to be fair. Whatever one’s values, political affiliations, or ideology, an unfair criminal justice system is a faulty criminal justice system.” ✘ NO Lacy Johnson
less. In his view, nothing has worked. An alternative worth trying, he said, is Black wealth creation and a strong family unit. This Black man’s Repubpealing to better-off 59B pock- his allegiance is only to results ets while negotiating for for the Black, poor and home- licanism came to him as he
Winston Bickam, 64, Minneapolis Submitted photo watched football great and civil rights activist Jim Brown come on the news for visiting Trump Tower. At the sight of Brown’s excoriation by many ■ See Johnson on page 9
“They ain’t doing nothing for me.”
Tree, 26, Minneapolis (not pictured)
“They ain’t coming to help us, so that don’t matter.”