David Sullivan-Nightengale, Ward 5 City Council Candidate, Independence Party

Audio File:  here (39:05) and at SPIF 

Co-hosts: David Rasmussen, Alex Gedstad

Guest: David Sullivan-Nightengale, Ward 5 candidate for City Council

Taped at Nina's, Western and Selby, Saturday, February 7, 2015

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade

David Sullivan-Nightengale identifies with the Independence Party and is a candidate for Ward 5.  A graduate of West Point, David offers his engineering skills.

A goal of This Scene is to interview each of the candidates for Saint Paul City Council, such that this an an open process where voters have a chance to hear each of the candidates in their own words. Maybe, we will even hear from a  couple of candidates twice.



This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.

Cara Martner, Independence Party Candidate for City Council, Ward 2

Audio File:  here  (30:03) and at SPIF

Co-hosts: David Rasmussen, Alex Gedstad

Guest: Cara Martner, Ward 2 candidate for City Council

Taped at Nina's, Western and Selby, Sunday, January 25, 2015

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade

Cara Martner is the presumed Independence Party candidate for Ward 2 and will be on the ballot in November.  Born in Ward 2, she would apply her background in small business, social media and the arts to improve the functioning of St. Paul.

Caucuses are coming soon.  Ward 2 and Ward 7 are open positions where the incumbents are not seeking reelection.  A goal of This Scene is to interview each of the candidates such that this an an open process where voters have a chance to hear each of the candidates in their own words. Maybe, we will even hear from a  couple of candidates twice.



This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.

Rebecca Noecker, Ward 2 Candidate for City Council

Audio File:  here  (37:45) and at SPIF

Co-hosts: David Rasmussen, Alex Gedstad

Guest: Rebecca Noecker, Ward 2 candidate for City Council

Taped at Tracks, University and Prior, Sunday, January 11, 2015

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade

Caucuses are coming soon.  Ward 2 and Ward 7 are open positions where the incumbents are not seeking reelection.  A goal of This Scene is to interview each of the candidates such that this an an open process where voters have a chance to hear each of the candidates in their own words.

Rebecca Noecker got back to us first, and has set a high bar for the other candidates to try to match.

All candidates who have a message they wish to articulate are welcome to appear on This Scene.   The messages of the candidates would be good to hear before the elections.



This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.

Storytelling... with Jerry Grant

Audio File:  here  (22:24)

Host: David Rasmussen

Guest: Jerry Grant

Taped at Caribou Coffee, 4345 Nathan, Thursday, December 4, 2014

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade

Stories are powerful and it starts at the beginning of human existence.  Think of the Iliad, Breaking Bad and Instagram.

Some references:

The Storytelling Animal, How Stories Make Us Human, by Jonathan Gottschall

Paid to Speak, Chapter 2, Sam Horn

The Story Factor, Annette Simmons 

This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.

Lena Buggs, Candidate for State Representative, 65A, Green Party

Audio File:  here or in  original glorious stereo (28:50)

Transcript: to become available sometime on 11/2/14

Co-hosts: David Rasmussen, Alex Gedstad

Guest: Lena Buggs, Candidate for State Representative, 65A

Taped near University Avenue and Western Avenue, Friday October 31.

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade


Lena Buggs has canvassed the 65A area four times.  That is a lot of door knocking.  I have personally seen Lena at intersections more than once promoting her candidacy and advocating for issues.  Even with this much presence, does she have a chance to beat an incumbent DFL candidate?  Why would people vote for a Green Party candidate?

The 65A district is a poor area.  Jobs are the number issue per the people Lena speaks with.  The DFL power base focuses on stadiums and big money projects that don't directly relate to jobs and the needs of lower income people (unless you believe in Ronald Reagan's old theories).  Many times, the policies are "pretend progressive."  Should we be  building new "affordable housing" at $700-$900 per month near the train or should we focus on "sustainable housing" by repairing and utilizing the 1226 vacant houses in District 65A?

This isn't about being the left-most candidate.  There are issues where Lena would caucus with the Republicans.  How do we work on the problems of the people, most of whom are outside of the current power base?







This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.

Andy Dawkins, Green Party, Minnesota Attorney General candidate

Audio File: here (44:14) 

Co-hosts: David Rasmussen, Alex Gedstad

Guest: Andy Dawkins, Candidate for Attorney General

Taped near Como Lake, Thursday October 9.

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade


One thing about the Green Party is that they are consistent.  They weren't for going into Iraq in 2001 and haven't been in favor of the wars there since.  This makes the Green Party unique in American politics.  Another thing that makes the Green Party consistent and unique is that they don't accept corporate money.

Saint Paul has a Green Party candidate for Minnesota Attorney General.  People from Mac-Groveland and Frogtown remember him from his fifteen years as their state representative.  In 1993, Andy Dawkins was considered a strong candidate for mayor of Saint Paul, but ended up losing the primary to Norm Coleman.  A great story teller, you can subscribe to daily recollections of his past personal experiences here.

The Dawkins campaign positions include the following: anti-copper mining, pro-gun control, pro-getting money out of politics, pro-enforcement of laws that help"the little guy", like smaller counties that need the state AG office to take on their cases.  Though he has previously run as a Democrat, Dawkins turned to the Green Party two years ago. He is not impressed by the current DFL AG, Lori Swanson, on these issues and others.









This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.

Pat Dean, St. Paul Port Authority Whistleblower and IP Candiate for State Auditor

Audio File: here  (42:23) and on SPIF

Co-hosts: David Rasmussen, Alex Gedstad

Guest: Pat Dean, IP Candidate for State Auditor

Taped on the shore of Lake Elmo, Friday September 19.

Intro and Closing Music by: The Great Datescapade
In 1985 or 1986, under Arne Carlson, the St. Paul Port Authority was audited. State auditors once enforced high standards upon municipalities.
Since then, $35 million plus of funds was diverted as per a settlement of a case before the Minnesota Supreme Court, 2011. This is one of the largest bond losses for bond holders in the history of Minnesota. When a whistle blower sends the documents, does that mean that a Republican state auditor (Judi Dutcher) or a Democratic state auditor (Rebecca Otto) will take on the work? Not per the personal experience of former Port Authority employee and whistle blower, Pat Dean.

Pat Dean, with his 8000 pages of documents and ten audio tapes, seems the prototypical CPA. He found that documents weren't so relevant as personal relationships between party officials. Just how buddy-buddy are our elected officials? There is a story here where perhaps our friends at Reuters or NY Times might want to follow up. In the meantime, there is an election going on. The whistle blower is Independence Party candidate for Minnesota state auditor.



This Scene by David Rasmussen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at thisscene.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at bertrecords AT gmail.com.