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I’m gonna do some more write-ups on local (Edina) elections this year. (Those of you here for software development thoughts: I’ll go back to that soon.)
Today’s race: Hennepin county commissioner for district 6.
There are two candidates for this race:
If you’re feeling some deja vu, it’s because there was a special election for this seat just a few months ago with the same candidates (Edelson won).
While this is a non-partisan race, it’s worth noting that Edelson was a DFL state house representative for five years. During the special election, Simonetti called herself the “only conservative candidate” on her campaign website (wording she has since removed, but it’s still on the wayback machine). So, there’s some known political leanings here.
Heather Edelson
Edelson was a DFL house representative for years before winning the aforementioned special election for this seat. She did a bunch of work there (most notably sponsoring the bill that surreptitiously legalized edibles in Minnesota).
She’s only had a few months as a commissioner, so not much history there, though she was on the right side of the pay raise debacle where the other commissioners tried to give themselves a salary increase (beyond what most other officials make, including the governor).
It’s clear from watching the candidate forum that she knows what she’s doing and the complexities of the role. I was amused when she would sometimes respond to questions with “the commission doesn’t actually handle that” (e.g. mandating coverage for acupuncture or building codes/zoning changes). She seems competent and experienced, plus she has a ton of endorsements from a bunch of local leaders.
Marissa Simonetti
Simonetti is a political newcomer; this is her first foray into elections.
Simonetti is laser focused on two issues: lowering property taxes and crime. Her website makes that abundantly clear, as did her debate performance. She repeatedly brought up property taxes & crime if they were even remotely applicable to the topic at hand.
I got the impression that she was not as knowledgeable about being a commissioner outside of these focus points. There were numerous times during the candidate forum where she either seemed (or admitted) that she didn’t know anything about the topic (e.g. she didn’t seem to know about Hennepin Health’s problems, and admitted she knew nothing about building codes/zoning).
But these policy questions are overshadowed by her numerous scandals. Simonetti was briefly jailed for assaulting a tenant (including throwing a live tarantula). Her real estate license was revoked once for “fraudulent, deceptive and dishonest practices.” She allegedly tried to steal a townhome from a client while working as an escort. The list goes on.
It would be one thing if these were all indiscretions from the distant past, but many of them happened in the last year.
This explains why Simonetti has (as far as I can tell) zero endorsements. Even the Republican party pulled the plug in light of the scandals.
Conclusion
Heather Edelson is a serious candidate who understands the issues. Simonetti is inexperienced and also doesn’t seem entirely stable. Given Edelson’s general political leanings (DFL) and depth of experience, I’m voting for Edelson.