Older than dirt

"When Phyllis first came to town she was quite a bit deal. Fresh from New York, A Yale graduate, and Phd in Biophysics."

Wow! Yesterday was one for the ages. The epicenter for Twin Cities politics took place in the Heart of the Beast. That would be the Cedar Riverside area, not that far from the University of Minnesota. For political junkies, that would be House District 60B. It is a seat which has been held by the same person for (ready for this), over 40 years!

In 1972 I was still in the Navy, stationed up in Maine. I was driving a Plymouth GTX with a 440 Magnum under the hood. I was thinking about selling it as there was a rumor gasoline for the very high test (Sunoco 260) my car used, might go as high as 50 cents a gallon! The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were still a hot ticket. And that was the year Phyllis Kahn was sworn in to the Minnesota legislature. 

When Phyllis first came to town she was quite a bit deal. Fresh from New York, A Yale graduate, and Phd in Biophysics. She landed a teaching job at the University and shortly thereafter, this very liberal feminist and DFL activist, decided to take her road show to St. Paul. She was elected in 1972 and has been there ever since.

She has never been accused of not having a slew of goofy ideas. She and Bernie Sanders (another expatriate from New York) are very similar in their background and political views. One year, Phyllis thought giving 12 year olds the right to vote was proper. They were disenfranchised if they could not vote. Fortunately, that went nowhere. How about allowing first cousins to marry? Really? And this year she got sideways with some gun owners when she wanted to introduce legislation that would prohibit gun ownership for anyone on the FBI watch list.

Over the 40+ years (longest in state history) that Phyllis has served, Cedar Riverside has grown up and changed. No longer affordable housing for off-campus students, it is now ground zero for the Minneapolis Somali Community. And Phyllis is being challenged by a Somali man who has mucho support from his community. In other words, this could be taps for the long time progressive from New York.

Since the voting for endorsement went 5 ballots with nobody getting 60%, there was no endorsement in House District 60B. One might think, "Hot dang! Now the Republicans have a chance at that seat if a bunch of Democrats decide to run against each other!" That would be true IF there were any Republicans in the area. I am sure there are a few, but that would be a very few. 

What is Phyllis Kahn going to do if she is defeated? Go home to New York? Stay here and agitate (or is it activate)? Stay tuned - we might soon find out.