Contact:
, State Director, Sierra Club North Star Chapter, (612) 659-9124
Environment Wins in Minneapolis
Sierra Club Endorsees VictoriousMinneapolis — The environment was the big winner in Minneapolis elections this year. Sierra Club endorsed winners included Mayor R.T. Rybak and seven out of eight endorsed candidates for City Council. In all, twelve of seventeen Sierra Club endorsed candidates won on Tuesday.
"We're thrilled with the outcome," said Jill Boogren, spokesperson for the Sierra Club's Minneapolis Political Committee. "We put a lot of effort into these races, working with candidates and promoting the election among the more than 4,000 Sierra Club members who live in Minneapolis."
"Of course the big winner is the environment," said Boogren. "We've been saying for months that these candidates would be the best choice for maintaining a quality urban environment. We're looking forward to working with the Mayor, City Council and Park Board to make our air cleaner, our lakes and streams more pure, and our urban landscapes healthier and attractive."
Sierra Club volunteers put in hundreds of hours of phoning, door knocking, and other work to support the endorsed candidates. "We recognize that an important element of environmental protection is having good folks as decision makers," said Scott Elkins, state director of the Sierra Club in Minnesota. "That's why its important to our members that we are active in elections, ensuring that citizens understand that when it comes to the environment, it makes a difference who you vote for."
Sierra Club is a non-partisan, non-profit, advocacy organization.
Outcomes of Races with Sierra Club Endorsements
* - Sierra Club endorsed candidate
Mayor
| R.T. Rybak* 61% | Peter McLaughlin 38% |
City Council
| Ward 1: Paul Ostrow* 68% | Erik Johnson 32% |
| Ward 2: Cam Gordon* 51% | Cara Letofsky 49% |
| Ward 3: Diane Hofstede* 72% | Aaron Neumann 28% |
| Ward 5: Don Samuels* 56% | Natalie Johnson Lee 44% |
| Ward 8: Elizabeth Glidden* 59% | Marie Hauser 41% |
| Ward 10: Ralph Remington* 55% | Scott Persons 45% |
| Ward 11: Scott Benson* 91% | Gregg Iverson 9% |
| Ward 13: Betsy Hodges 64% | Lisa McDonald* 36% |
Park Board
| District 1: Walt Dziedzic 60% | LuAnn Wilcox* 40% |
| District 3: Scott Vreeland* 80% | David Donnelly 20% |
| District 4: Tracy Nordstrom* 59% | Christine Hansen 41% |
| District 5: Carol Kummer 51% | Jason Stone* 49% |
| District 6: Bob Fine 54% | Jim Bernstein* 46% |
At-Large
Mary Merrill Anderson 37%
Tom Nordyke* 37%
Annie Young* 32%
Meg Forney 30%
Daniel Froehlich 29%
Rochelle Berry Graves* 27%