For the past several years I’ve been blogging about local elections. I’ve tried to stay quiet about broader politics and avoid stupid comments, but this year I couldn’t help myself. Well, I hope I avoided most stupid comments, but I couldn’t stay quiet about what was happening in our democracy.

So this year, instead of just blogging about West St. Paul’s races, I found myself blogging about the entire ballot. From city council to U.S. Senator, I covered it all. 18 posts in 18 days (plus a lot of posts before that).

Let me offer an obvious disclaimer: This is my opinion. I’m biased. Take it for what it’s worth. Do your own research, make up your own mind. Then vote. Please vote.

The Ballot

You can get more information about where and how to vote from the Minnesota Secretary of State. You can also get a sample ballot there. West St. Paul also has a handy map if you’d like to know what ward you live in.

I live in West St. Paul, so this is my specific ballot (with one tweak, noted below). If you live somewhere else, you’ll get to vote on different stuff (though some of the federal, state, county, and/or judicial offices may remain the same)

In all of these ballot races I’ve written a detailed post about each race (in some cases several detailed posts). Click through and read those posts for the details of why I’m voting the way I am—many of those posts link to even more details. I won’t go into all that here—this is meant to be a quick overview.

I’ve skipped any race that’s unopposed.

Ready? Let’s do it:

• Federal Offices
  • U.S. Senator (1): Amy Klobuchar
  • U.S. Senator (2): Tina Smith
  • U.S. Representative District 2: Angie Craig
• State Offices
  • State Representative 52A: Rick Hansen
  • Governor and Lieutenant Governor: Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan
  • Secretary of State: Steve Simon
  • State Auditor: Julie Blaha
  • Attorney General: Keith Ellison
• County Offices
  • County Commissioner District 2: Kathleen A. Gaylord
• City Offices: West St. Paul
  • Mayor: Dave Napier
  • Council Member Ward 2: John Justen*
  • Council Member Ward 3: Wendy Berry*
  • West St. Paul Sales Tax: Yes
• (flip your ballot over)
• Judicial Offices
  • Supreme Court Associate Justice 2: Margaret Chutich
  • Court of Appeals Judge 2: Lucinda Ellen Jesson
  • 1st District Court Judge 2: Arlene M. Asencio Perkkio

(*Only one ward will show up on your ballot, I’m showing two because I wrote about both races; a third city council race in Ward 1 is unopposed.)

There you go. Now go vote.

Another Disclaimer

I don’t think I’ve ever been this up front and brazen with my politics. In the past that’s bitten me, and I’ve regretted it. So maybe I’ll regret it this year. But I don’t think so.

We’re in a weird space right now where it’s hard to disagree and it’s hard to talk about politics—but it is so incredibly important. I don’t always like talking politics. But I welcome those conversations—especially with people who know me. So if you know me and you’re confused by a political statement I’ve made, let’s talk.