Final Statement

August 9, 2022

Thank you, my neighbors and other supporters, who helped me get this far. We knew from the beginning that this race was going to be difficult considering the number of candidates running for such a small city council race.

I congratulate Mia Z Parisian and David Robins on advancing through to the general election. As anyone who has heard me say it knows, I really wish we had ranked-choice voting in this race because I would have told you to rank Mia too. I would have preferred it to be me or I wouldn’t have run in the first place, but Mia will do a good job and I hope you will now support her as you have supported me.

------

Overall, I’m glad I ran. I would have always wondered “what if?” if I hadn’t. I learned several things along the way too.

* First, I couldn’t do it alone. Even a simple thing like getting sick for a week was a major setback when there was no one to help me.

* I needed a good, reliable person to manage the campaign. Even if in the past, people did it without a campaign manager and it was much less work, this race needed more volunteers than I could wrangle and try to do my own work at the same time.

* Volunteers aren’t getting paid and only do what they are able. They may not show up.

* In the grand scheme of things, a city council race with multiple “viable” candidates isn’t a priority for a lot of folks so don’t expect help from organizations that may have said they’d help you run or may have even asked you to run for something in the first place.

* As hard as it is, sometimes the best thing to do to get out of your head is to block toxic, problematic, sexist, etc individuals from your social media even if that person is a family member or another candidate. As an Advocate(INFJ) personality type, I empathize deeply and want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Some people just aren’t worth the energy.

I am proud that I moved the needle and stuck to my principles such as being the only candidate using union printers because those small actions speak louder than words. Enraged by what I was hearing at the doors, I was the one who exposed a candidate who was lying about their beliefs and presented firm proof of things that had only been whispered before. I’m happy to see that my advocacy for better communication is already being taken seriously at city hall. I’m grateful to the number of residents who listened to my information on light rail and left more informed. As a side note, this race was really great thing for the light rail project since nearly every candidate knocking on doors was dispelling misinformation and getting feedback from residents who don’t go to the feedback sessions. I hope the current city council and especially the mayor will consider doing this too before speaking about what the residents of Robbinsdale really want.

Early on, I said that if I lost (although I didn’t think it would be until November back then), I would still stay involved. I’ll try to keep going to the R4RJ events like the ones on the 25th of every month. I’ll also dive back into my work with the DFL. There is a lot I can do to affect the other races across the state this year. I can also take back some weekends and do the last of the Stonewall DFL pride events in Fargo and Duluth. And I’ll have time for a foster dog again!

First, though, I’m taking a vacation! I’m going to spend some time with nature and unwind and hopefully return to Robbinsdale refreshed and ready for whatever comes next.

-----

Thank you again to those who supported me financially, as volunteers, and especially for voting for me!

Best,

Jenn Strater