Conrad Zbikowski 11/7/24 Conrad Zbikowski 11/7/24

Thank you for being part of our Minneapolis DFL Coordinated Campaign

The days after an election defeat are hard, but volunteers with Minneapolis DFL did an incredible job and made a real difference.

Today is Thursday after the election. First of all, this is a time for grieving. Grieving not only for the immediate loss, but for the consequences that we know are coming. It is not true that we are all going to be alright.

If a Trump trifecta passes a national abortion ban, more women will die in miscarriage. If a Trump trifecta bans queer and trans visibility and health care, our neighbors will be attacked and suicides will increase like before. If a Trump administration really does ban vaccines, that will have enormous consequences for public health.

For the more than 4,000 volunteers and DFL staff that were part of the Minneapolis DFL coordinated campaign, thank you for everything you put into this campaign. Whether you canvassed apartment doors, made phone calls in an action center, wrote personal postcards in a library, or donated your hard-earned dollars to our efforts, thank you. Your efforts made a measurable, real difference in Minneapolis and Minnesota.

In Minneapolis, we made 371,000 canvass contact attempts and had 45,000 conversations, for a contact rate of 12.2%. Each of those 45 thousand conversations increased the chances that a voter would vote and that a voter would vote DFL. We saw that in the numbers for Minnesota compared to Minneapolis.

For the state of Minnesota, from 2020 to 2024, voter turnout decreased by 3.79% points from 79.96% to 76.17%. In the city of Minneapolis, voter turnout decreased by less than half that, from 87.34% in 2020 to 86.09% in 2024. Having a strong coordinated campaign to Get Out The Vote made a real, measurable difference.

We also saw this in the DFL nominee share of the vote. For the state of Minnesota, from 2020 to 2024, Biden to Harris went from 52.40% to 50.88%, a drop of 1.52% points. In the city of Minneapolis, Biden to Harris went from 81.93% to 80.65%, a drop of 1.28% points. Organizing in Minneapolis with Minneapolis DFL and our Minnesota DFL partners helped keep the statewide margin from slipping further.

There are 10 weeks until the inauguration, and now is the time to rest, take a little break from the daily news notifications, and start planning for what we are going to do to keep Minnesota and Minneapolis a welcoming home that invests in people and respects our neighbors for who they are and how they show up in the world.

With you in this work, together.

Conrad Lange Zbikowski
Chair, Minneapolis DFL
conrad@minneapolisdfl.org

Conrad Zbikowski 10/10/22 Conrad Zbikowski 10/10/22

Minneapolis DFL Members Stand in Solidarity with University of Minnesota Service Workers

This afternoon in Minneapolis, 1,500 University of Minnesota service workers voted to authorize a strike. These Minneapolis #UnionStrong custodians, cooks, mechanics, groundskeepers, transportation, and other service workers are represented by Teamsters Local 320. The University of Minnesota needs to do right by their workers with a fair contract. More than 62 percent of workers reported to the Teamsters that they are not earning enough money to pay for basic expenses every month. Almost 12 percent reported experiencing homelessness at least once while working at the University. These #UnionStrong workers' efforts and commitment to students and faculty makes the University run every day.

All workers have the right to collectively bargain for fair contracts with good wages, good benefits, and safe and stable working conditions. Minneapolis DFL members stand in solidarity with all workers, and today especially with University of Minnesota workers fighting for their own fair contract. If these 1,500 workers move forward with a strike on or after October 22, we and our DFL leaders will join workers on the line!

At our 8 pm meeting tonight, Minneapolis DFL members voted unanimously that we in #UnionStrong Minneapolis stand in solidarity with our custodians, cooks, mechanics, groundskeepers, and other service workers at @UMNews. #Solidarity, @IBT_320 workers! https://t.co/0EGmNagL6o pic.twitter.com/LdrNaov2JE
— Minneapolis DFL (@MinneapolisDFL) October 11, 2022

Conrad Zbikowski 3/1/22 Conrad Zbikowski 3/1/22

Minneapolis DFL to hold Virtual Convention in 2022

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Minneapolis DFL held its regular Central Committee meeting. At the meeting, Minneapolis DFL passed a resolution "to hold a virtual convention in 2022 with details regarding rules, arrangements, and procedures to be decided by the Minneapolis DFL Central Committee soon."

Members of the Committee discussed how Covid has taken the lives of family members and continued to be a risk to unvaccinated and immunocompromised people, especially young children.

Members also discussed the possibility of optional, in-person events as the public health situation evolves, including town halls, hosted meet-and-greets, and other delegate educational events.

The Minneapolis DFL convention is scheduled for Sunday, May 15, 2022.

Conrad Zbikowski 3/1/22 Conrad Zbikowski 3/1/22

Minneapolis DFL signs on to Open Letter in support of Minneapolis Students, Families, and Educators

Minneapolis DFL tonight passed a resolution to co-sign the Open Letter by Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals (MFT59). Below is the Open Letter as drafted by MFT59 and co-signed by many allied organizations.

Superintendent Graff and Board of Education Directors,

We, the undersigned community organizations, publicly support the demands of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals (MFT59) to improve the educational environment and outcomes for all of our city's students, no exceptions.

While we work to improve the lives of those we advocate on behalf of and with, we believe MPS needs to do what it can to provide the best possible education to every student. And we trust educators when they say what they need to do this:

A living wage for Education Support Professionals to stabilize this critical workforce
Systemic changes to improve the recruitment and retention of educators or color
More mental health supports by improving student to SP ratios
Lowering class sizes
Competitive compensation for licensed staff to stop the exodus of teachers from MPS

With hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds and new money from the State of Minnesota, the time is now to share power with our city's educators and use these new resources to meet their demands.

At a time when our communities have been impacted by the pandemic, the police murder of George Floyd and continued police violence, and an economic system that has created worsening material conditions for the families we represent, we believe that MPS needs to walk away from the status quo.

Clearly, the strike vote results of Minneapolis educators send a clear message that the time is now to make significant changes that our educators believe will improve outcomes for our students. And they are willing to do whatever it takes to make these changes.

Listen to them.

As community organizations that work to improve the lives of Minneapolitans from all parts of our city, we know that there aren't always resources to do every thing we want to do. But that is no excuse for power hoarding and failing to listen to those who carry out the critical work of providing public services.

We believe that something needs to change and support Minneapolis Public Schools educators in their demands that they believe will help create the schools our students deserve.

Respectfully,

Co-signed organizations.

If your organization would like to co-sign this Open Letter, please email solidarity@mft59.org.

Conrad Zbikowski 1/17/22 Conrad Zbikowski 1/17/22

2022 DFL Caucus in Minneapolis to be Contactless for Covid Safety

With the current Covid public health emergency, Minneapolis DFL and our partners are leading the way for public health and safety. Starting on January 3, 2022, Minneapolis DFL has collaborated with our partner 2022 organizing unit Senate Districts to accept non-attendee letters for Minneapolis residents. On Wednesday, January 12, 2022, Minnesota DFL State Central Committee passed new rules that allow contactless caucuses. We welcome this new development.

On Sunday, January 16, 2022, all Minneapolis-area election year organizing units — Senate Districts 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63 — are moving forward with contactless DFL precinct caucuses for 2022. Minneapolis DFL is providing technical support with a single, comprehensive, online caucus sign-up form that is available to all Minneapolis residents. Minneapolis-area Senate Districts will then process these sign-ups — and in-person, drop-off sign-ups from Tuesday, February 1. From there, residents seeking to be delegate are chosen by lot (randomly) with equal division based on gender self-identity.

Minneapolis residents have 3 options to participate in the DFL Contactless Caucus in 2022

Signing up online. Minneapolis residents can sign up for the DFL caucus in Minneapolis online any time up to 9 pm central on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. The Minneapolis DFL single, comprehensive, online form is available at minneapolisdfl.org/2022.
Signing up with a paper or PDF form. Residents may sign and scan a completed form (e.g., Adobe PDF scan or photograph of the completed form), type all information including their signature on the form, or may indicate in the email that the email shall constitute their signature to the completed form attached to the email. You can find your organizing unit contact information on caucus.dfl.org. These emails with attachments should be sent to the following emails. Emails must be sent by 9 pm central on Tuesday, February 1, 2022:
- Senate District 59 DFL: Chair Jeff Strand dfl59sd@gmail.com
- Senate District 60 DFL: Chair Marcus Mills dflsenatedistrict60@gmail.com
- Senate District 61 DFL: Chair Michael Waldrop chairsd61@gmail.com
- Senate District 62 DFL: Chair David Tilsen dfl.sd62@gmail.com
- Senate District 63 DFL: Chair Amy Livingston chair@sd63dfl.org
Signing up in-person at drop-off locations. Residents may sign up with paper forms at Minneapolis-area drop-off locations from 6:30 pm to 9 pm central on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. Residents can find their neighborhood precinct’s drop-off location at caucus.dfl.org.

Can I submit resolutions like I would on caucus night in-person?

Yes, most definitely! The Minneapolis DFL single, comprehensive, online form allows an unlimited number of resolution (policy idea) PDF forms and the link to the blank PDF form is available in the online form.

What will happen for precincts where there are less sign-ups for delegate than delegate slots for the precinct?

If there are more precinct delegate slots available than sign-ups for a given convention, everybody gets to become a delegate. For precincts where there is no contest for the election of delegates or alternates, those who have indicated the desire to be elected shall be declared elected.

If there are fewer precinct delegate slots than sign-ups for a given convention, delegates will be chosen by lot (randomly) with equal division based on self-identified gender identity. For precincts where there is a contest for the election of delegates or alternates, the Organizing Unit shall schedule public Zoom or other virtual meetings to draw lots where candidates and others may attend to observe. These meetings shall be scheduled between Monday, February 7, 2022, and Friday, February 11, 2022. A schedule of the meetings to draw lots shall be made available to all candidates for endorsement on or before February 6, 2022.

How will contactless affect equal division and self-identity representation?

Inclusivity is a foundational principle of the DFL Party. As always, DNC rules require that no gender identity represents more than half the delegates or alternates as participants are available. The Minneapolis DFL single, comprehensive, online sign-up form asks for gender self-identity to follow these rules.

Have more questions?

Learn more at dfl.org/caucus.

Conrad Zbikowski 6/17/21 Conrad Zbikowski 6/17/21

Minneapolis DFL city delegates endorse candidates for BET and Parks

Minneapolis — Minneapolis DFL city delegates endorsed candidates for Board of Estimate and Taxation and for Park Board. City delegates did not endorse for Mayor of Minneapolis.

2021 caucus turnout was more than double that of 2017, the last city election year.

More than 88% of DFL city delegates voted for endorsements.

Candidates that earn the endorsement are supported by a consensus of DFL members. At least 60% support is required to earn endorsement of city delegates. In the final round of ranked-choice voting for Mayor, Sheila Nezhad led with 53.1%, followed by Jacob Frey with 40.3% and “No Endorsement” with 6.6%. No candidate earned the DFL endorsement for Mayor.

For Board of Estimate and Taxation, Christa Moseng was endorsed with 62.9% of “approval” votes. Because the Board is an at-large body with multiple seats, Minneapolis DFL uses “approval” voting where delegates can vote for up to two candidates. No other candidates were endorsed.

No candidates for Parks At-Large reached 60% to be endorsed by city delegates.

Three candidates for Park Board district offices were endorsed: Billy Menz in District 1 with 89.6%, Eric Moran in District 2 with 77.8%, and Jono Cowgill in District 4 with 65.3%.

Thank you to all the incredible Minneapolis DFL volunteers, the volunteers and staff of candidate campaigns, and the Minnesota DFL for all their help in increasing turnout and making this year’s caucuses and conventions more accessible than ever.

We look forward to knocking on doors, organizing our neighborhoods, and getting out the vote for our DFL-endorsed candidates!

You can dive into the vote data here:

Final Ballot List

Mayor Tabulation

BET and Parks At-Large Tabulation

Parks Districts Tabulation

Conrad Zbikowski 6/10/21 Conrad Zbikowski 6/10/21

Minneapolis DFL delegates endorse 7 candidates for City Council

From June 2 to June 8, over 4,800 DFL ward delegates voted for DFL endorsement for City Council. Most took less than 10 minutes to vote, and every vote was cast without risk of Covid during a global pandemic. Delegates voted on their own schedule, in the comfort and safety of home.

2021 caucus turnout was more than double that of 2017, the last city election year.

More than 94% of DFL ward delegates voted for City Council endorsement.

DFL delegates endorsed seven candidates for City Council in Minneapolis. This means that more than 60% of delegates in the final round of ranked choice voting supported one candidate. In other words, Minneapolis DFL members have a consensus that these candidates share our values and we support them as a grassroots party!

The Minneapolis City Council candidates who earned the endorsement of DFL delegates are:

Elliott Payne for Ward 1 with 78.2%
Phillipe Cunningham in Ward 4 with 63.1%
Lisa Goodman in Ward 7 with 61.6%
Andrea Jenkins in Ward 8 with 76.3%
Jason Chavez in Ward 9 with 69.0%
Andrew Johnson in Ward 12 with 80.6%
Linea Palmisano in Ward 13 with 67.7%

There were no endorsements in Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 5, Ward 6, Ward 10, and Ward 11.

Thank you to all the incredible Minneapolis DFL volunteers who worked hard with no pay to help thousands of ward delegates make their voices heard. This past weekend, volunteers hosted 13 ward convention live events, which are available for replay right now. Thank you to the volunteers and staff of the Minnesota DFL, who have been working hand-in-hand, double-checking numbers and sharing data with candidate campaigns through the DFL party voter file database, the Voter Activation Network (VAN).

Voting for city convention contests, including Mayor, Board of Estimate and Taxation, and Park Board (both At-Large and Districts) is happening right now. The voting window opened yesterday, June 9, and closes on Tuesday, June 15 at midnight.

Thanks to everyone, and see you all on Saturday, June 12 for the 2021 City Convention live event!

Conrad Zbikowski 3/18/21 Conrad Zbikowski 3/18/21

56 Candidates Seek Minneapolis DFL Endorsement, Four for Mayor

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More than four dozen candidates have filed digital paperwork with Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) to seek the endorsement of the party’s members during the upcoming caucus and convention process. Four candidates are seeking endorsement for Minneapolis mayor: Sheila Nezhad, Kate Knuth, Phil Sturm, and Jacob Frey, in order of time registration was filed. Knuth and Sturm pledged to abide by the DFL endorsement and not continue campaigning if another candidate was endorsed by the upcoming convention. Nezhad and Frey declined to make that same pledge.

Members of the media have been sent a complete rundown of the paperwork and a public version is available.

Four candidates were added on Thursday, March 18 who had previously expressed that they were seeking DFL endorsement: Kevin Reich, Kristel Porter, Jamal Osman, and Yusra Arab. Minneapolis DFL seeks to be accommodating and thanks all candidates that are seeking DFL endorsement.

Minneapolis DFL members will be able to register for the 2021 caucus beginning April 1 and ending on April 30.

This year there are three parallel ways to register. For attendees with Internet access, they can register online starting April 1 at caucus.dfl.org and take just 10 minutes to fill out a form that includes translations for Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. For attendees without Internet access, they can call and leave a voicemail at (612) 552-4215. Minneapolis DFL will record the registration or call back if an attendee wants to be called back at a later time. The third option available is to text “2021” to (612) 712-7461. Attendees can chat with Minneapolis DFL on their own schedule in their preferred language.

“The 2021 caucus will be the most accessible in Minneapolis history,” said Minneapolis DFL Chair Devin Hogan. “This year, working parents and folks with disabilities will have full and equitable access to make their voices heard.”

Minneapolis DFL also announced today the roll out of new translations. The entire website and registration process will be available in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. Caucus information is available in all four languages at the following links:

English: https://minneapolisdfl.org/english/caucus

Spanish: https://minneapolisdfl.org/espanol/caucus

Hmong: https://minneapolisdfl.org/hmoob/caucus

Somali: https://minneapolisdfl.org/soomaaliga/caucus

“Our caucuses signal the start of the 2021 elections in Minnesota, which are sure to be some of the most fiercely contested political battles in our state's history,” said Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “The DFL is a people-powered party and our caucuses give everyone, from seasoned activists to the newly engaged, a chance to endorse local leaders and shape the future of the DFL. This is especially true this year. I encourage everyone to make their voices heard.”

To re-create the live experience of meeting candidates, Minneapolis DFL will host 13 caucus events on the night of Tuesday, April 27, 2021. These events are entirely optional for attendees and are not required to complete a registration. The live events will be organized by Minneapolis ward, and are entirely virtual this year. All 13 live events will be livestreamed with staggered schedules so that city-wide candidates can attend all of them.

Conrad Zbikowski 3/15/21 Conrad Zbikowski 3/15/21

2021 Minneapolis DFL Caucus Registration Begins April 1

Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) members will be able to register for the 2021 caucus beginning April 1 and ending on April 30.

English: https://minneapolisdfl.org/english/caucus

Spanish: https://minneapolisdfl.org/espanol/caucus

Hmong: https://minneapolisdfl.org/hmoob/caucus

Somali: https://minneapolisdfl.org/soomaaliga/caucus

What: Minneapolis DFL Caucuses

When: Thursday, April 1 - Friday, April 30, 2021

Where: https://minneapolisdfl.org

Conrad Zbikowski 3/5/21 Conrad Zbikowski 3/5/21

Updates for March 5, 2021

Here are the delegate calculations for each precinct. You can sort by Ward and Park District. Please note the total number of Ward delegates has increased by about 430 citywide, simply due to more people voting in 2020. We also voted to double the number of City delegates as well to 3,744. Reminder that there are no alternates this year.

Please fill out this form if you are seeking endorsement. Only 24 out of about 42 known campaigns seeking endorsement have completed the form as of Friday at 1:41 PM. You must complete by Wednesday, March 17, 2021 to be included in caucus registration materials, but you have until May 26, 2021 to be considered for endorsement at the conventions.

Our next Central Committee meeting is Tuesday, March 16 at 6 PM. We will be convening the Ward Committees and explaining their roles for the 2021 process. It is vital that all Ward Representatives attend if your ward has not already convened (all but 3-4-5). We will also have a slide deck walking through the process that will serve as basic training. I hope to record this and post online.

Minneapolis DFL Outreach and Inclusion is looking to host a mayoral forum in April, with potential dates of April 15, 17, or 22. Wards 3 and 9 may be hosting forums in April as well. Ward Committees are welcome to put on forums - contact us for help. teams@minneapolisdfl.org

Finally - can you help support Minneapolis DFL this year? We need to pay for translations/interpreters, and to mail postcards to every participant. Normally we would "pass the hat" at caucuses so we're doing so virtually this time around.

Conrad Zbikowski 2/23/21 Conrad Zbikowski 2/23/21

Minneapolis DFL announces three new ways to caucus starting April 1, 2021

With the risks of the global pandemic, Minneapolis DFL is doing all we can to make the democratic process fully accessible this year. You should never have to risk your health to participate in politics. So that's why we are excited to announce three (3) new ways to participate this year starting April 1, 2021: Web, Call, and Text!

Web at caucus.dfl.org

Like in past years, we are using the Minnesota DFL Party's tool caucus.dfl.org. You can put in any street address, and it gives you the precinct caucus information for that location. This year, we are using this proven tool and substituting online forms for the physical location that was listed in past years. It takes 10 minutes or less to fill out the form, and you don't even have to wear a face mask!

Call (612) 552-4215

This is a new tool introduced today! We have set up the phone number (612) 552-4215 as a call-in number. You are prompted to leave a voicemail. Starting April 1, you can leave a voicemail with your full name, your birth year, your ZIP code, then share which candidates you would like to caucus for. You can also let us know a good time to call back, and we will call back from that number in your preferred language.

Text (612) 712-7461

Don't miss our training this Saturday!! We know folks love to text on their own schedule. So we have set up a dedicated text-in number, (612) 712-7461. Starting April 1, you can text your name to that number and a volunteers will walk you through the entire process in your preferred language.

Do you have fluency in another language? Minneapolis DFL would love to have you join as a volunteer! Sign up for our "text to caucus" training for this Saturday and we would love for you to join! dfl.link/text

Support a candidate, but still want to help out? No problem! Supporters of local candidates are encouraged to become DFL volunteers. Even if we disagree on our favorite people, we can still work together to make the process more welcoming to all.