Roughly 1 in 3 of the registered voters in Bloomington and Edina, and fewer than 1 in 10 in Eden Prairie turned out to vote in this off-year election. In Edina and Eden Prairie, the election focused on school board races without the draw of contested city offices or a school tax referendum. While Bloomington added mayor and city council elections to contested school board seats, its election managed to attract just a 30.9% turn-out.

The results largely pointed to a preference to keep things as they are rather than support a change in direction. The Bloomington and Eden Prairie school board races did not focus on any issues of significant note or any major differentiators. Those contests appeared to come down to preferences for individual candidates.

In Bloomington, two incumbent city councilors retained their seats and a current city councilman succeeded the retiring mayor. They defeated challengers who sought greater transparency in city council operations and a greater willingness of the city government to listen and understand citizen concerns, particularly involving planning and ordinances.

In Edina, voters were asked if they agreed that the school system was meeting their expectations, or if school policies need to re-emphasize education excellence. The candidates that prevailed were the ones who felt that the Edina schools were doing just fine. Those candidates also benefitted from the support of the Edina teachers’ union and the local DFL party.

Early voting is already underway for local elections in Bloomington and Edina. The final opportunity to vote for these candidates is Tuesday, November 5. At stake are:
• the Mayor of Bloomington
• three Bloomington city council seats
• three Bloomington school board seats
• three Edina school board seats,

We urge all of our readers to get out and vote in these important races.

None of the local candidates have sought the endorsement of Senate District 49 Republicans. We held a forum for Edina school board candidates and have interviewed some of the candidates in the Bloomington races. While we did not interview any of the Bloomington school board candidates, we have listened to many local activists as to their leanings.

Our recommendations follow. Please note that not all were solicited by the candidates themselves and do not necessarily reflect their political leanings. Readers are encouraged to go out to the candidate websites for further information on these candidates.

Bloomington
• Mayor: Ryan Kulka (http://kulkaformayor.com/)
• City Council At Large: Brian Clemens (http://clemforbloomington.com/)
• City Council District 1: Al Noard (http://alforbloomington.com/)
• City Council District 2: Susan Woodruff ([email protected])

Bloomington School Board
• Maureen Bartolotta (https://www.facebook.com/MaureenforSchools2019/)
• Nelly Korman (http://www.kormanforourschools.com/)
• Heather Starks (https://starksforschools.com/)

Edina School Board
• Linda Friede (https://www.friede4edinaschools.com/)
• Lou Nanne (https://lounanne.com/)
• Sarah Patzloff (https://www.sarahpatzloff.co/)

Please click on the following links to go to sample ballots for Bloomington and Edina.

updated 9/16/2019

Local election races are in full swing, and the League of Women Voters’ forums spotlight candidates. Come out and support your candidates!

Recorded videos of the forums also allow voters to gather additional information beyond what's at the candidate websites.

Bloomington: The city of Bloomington website  states that the League of Women Voters Bloomington (LWVB) will host 2 general election forums in September, video recorded by Bloomington TV.
- Sept 17 - 6 PM – Bloomington Mayoral and city council forum, City Council Chambers at Bloomington Civic Plaza
- Sept 19 – 7 PM – Bloomington school board forum, City Council Chambers at Bloomington Civic Plaza.

Minnetonka: Per the Minnetonka/ Eden Prairie/Hopkins League of Women Voters website  forums for some areas of SD49 will be held in late September and October as follows:
- Sept 24, 7:00-8:30pm, Minnetonka School Board : 4 seats, Minnetonka City Hall Council Chambers, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345
- Oct 1, 7:00-8:30pm Minnetonka City Council : 4 Ward seats and 1 At-Large seat (special election).Minnetonka City Hall Council Chambers, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345

Eden Prairie:  
- Oct 3, 7:00-8:30pm Eden Prairie School Board: 4 seats, Eden Prairie City Hall Council Chambers, 8080 Mitchell Rd, Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Edina: The Edina school board candidates were interviewed in a forum held by the Edina LWV on Sept 12 - 7 PM. An overflow crowd was seated in and around the Edina City Hall Council Chambers.  Our brief article CLICK HERE summarized some key points.  CLICK HERE to view the full video. There are no Edina city council elections this year.  Note that a majority of the candidates will also be at the SD49 Dinner meeting, Sept. 24, to respond to questions.

Our communities will be holding city council (Bloomington, Minnetonka), mayor (Bloomington) and school board (all 4 communities) elections this fall.

Key Dates in the upcoming election cycle:

General Election

September 20 Absentee voting ("early voting") begins
October 15 Voter pre-registration closes at 5 p.m.
October 29 Direct balloting begins at City Hall
November 2 Saturday hours (10 a.m. – 3 p.m.) for absentee voting
November 4 Direct balloting closes at 5 p.m.
November 5 General Election