Charter Commission Approves Increase In Fees To Run For Public Office In Minneapolis, Blame Can Be Laid At The Tiny Feet Of A Certain "Garden Gnome" Candidate (Roger Smithrud, Cough Cough)

Photo of a garden gnome in old Butter Roll Bakery building,
blog post by John Hoff

Saying it would discourage filings by "frivolous candidates" (Roger Smithrud, cough cough) the Minneapolis Charter Commission recently approved an increase in fees to run for public office, click here for Strib article.

Running for Park Board will now cost (Roger Smithrud) $50 instead of $20. A run for mayor will now cost (Smithrud) $500 instead of $20. And running for a council seat will cost $250 instead of $20. (For Roger Smithrud)

Barry Clegg, the chair of the commission, said the idea was to weed out the frivolous candidates (Roger Smithrud) but to keep the filing fee reasonable for a "legitimate" candidate. (Anybody but Smithrud)

JNS blog would like to point out that running for Soil And Water Conservation District Supervisor still appears to be a great bargain and all that political power is still pretty much up for grabs. Also, this particular job is actually much closer to the sort of tasks for which garden gnomes are well-suited.

I'm just saying.

I would add, however:

Don't laugh, Lennie Chism, because Roger Smithrud still beat you in a five man race.