Charlie Casserly
Charlie Casserly was a candidate for at-large representative on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in Minnesota. He was defeated in the general election on November 7, 2017.
Biography
Casserly earned a B.A. in journalism and an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of St. Thomas.[1]
Casserly's experience includes work as the owner of Casserly Media, the webmaster and financial news provider for the Minnesota Bankers Association, and the online content coordinator for Minnesota Continuing Legal Education.[1][2] He has also served as the executive director of the Twin Cities Beach Blast, the founder and race director of the Autumn Daze 5K, and the chair of the Minneapolis Downtown Council's volunteer committee.[1]
Elections
2017
Minneapolis, Minnesota, held a general election for mayor, all 13 seats on the city council, both elected members of the board of estimate and taxation, and all nine members of the park and recreation board on November 7, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 15, 2017.
Incumbents ran for re-election to all but two of the city council seats. Ward 3 Councilman Jacob Frey filed to run for mayor instead, and Ward 8 Councilwoman Elizabeth Glidden opted not to run for re-election.[3]
| Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Transfer |
| Meg Forney (i) - Winner | 29.1% | 22,506 | 1,440 |
| Russ Henry - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −11,014 |
| Devin Hogan | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Londel French - Winner | 23.2% | 17,947 | 3,639 |
| Mike Derus | 18.1% | 13,970 | 1,121 |
| Jonathan Honerbrink | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Sullentrop | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| LaTrisha Vetaw - Winner | 29.5% | 22,827 | 2,298 |
| Charlie Casserly | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Vreeland (Write-in) | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Undeclared Write-ins | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Exhausted | 7,097 | 2,516 | |
| Total Votes | 84,347 | 0 | |
| Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes. | |||
| Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Transfer |
| Meg Forney (i) - Most votes | 26.4% | 21,066 | 700 |
| Russ Henry | 13.8% | 11,014 | 1,199 |
| Devin Hogan - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −6,735 |
| Londel French - Most votes | 17.9% | 14,308 | 1,493 |
| Mike Derus | 16.1% | 12,849 | 514 |
| Jonathan Honerbrink | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Sullentrop | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| LaTrisha Vetaw - Most votes | 25.7% | 20,529 | 1,387 |
| Charlie Casserly | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Vreeland (Write-in) | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Undeclared Write-ins | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Exhausted | 4,581 | 1,442 | |
| Total Votes | 84,347 | 0 | |
| Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes. | |||
| Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Transfer |
| Meg Forney (i) - Most votes | 25.1% | 20,366 | 1,356 |
| Russ Henry | 12.1% | 9,815 | 759 |
| Devin Hogan | 8.3% | 6,735 | 489 |
| Londel French - Most votes | 15.8% | 12,815 | 410 |
| Mike Derus | 15.2% | 12,335 | 1,656 |
| Jonathan Honerbrink - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −2,617 |
| Bob Sullentrop - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −1,659 |
| LaTrisha Vetaw - Most votes | 23.6% | 19,142 | 616 |
| Charlie Casserly - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −3,756 |
| Scott Vreeland (Write-in) - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −3 |
| Undeclared Write-ins - Eliminated | 0% | 0 | −390 |
| Exhausted | 3,139 | 3,139 | |
| Total Votes | 84,347 | 0 | |
| Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes. | |||
This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.
| Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Transfer |
| Meg Forney (i) - Most votes | 22.5% | 19,010 | |
| Russ Henry | 10.7% | 9,056 | |
| Devin Hogan | 7.4% | 6,246 | |
| Londel French - Most votes | 14.7% | 12,405 | |
| Mike Derus | 12.7% | 10,679 | |
| Jonathan Honerbrink | 3.1% | 2,617 | |
| Bob Sullentrop | 2% | 1,659 | |
| LaTrisha Vetaw - Most votes | 22% | 18,526 | |
| Charlie Casserly | 4.5% | 3,756 | |
| Scott Vreeland (Write-in) | 0% | 3 | |
| Undeclared Write-ins | 0.5% | 390 | |
| Exhausted | 0 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 84,347 | 0 | |
| Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes. | |||
Campaign themes
2017
Casserly's campaign website emphasized the following issue:
| “ |
The biggest issue in this campaign is the possible closing of Hiawatha Golf Course.
I’ve gone to public meetings about the course since 2013. Only lately has the drum been beaten about actually closing the course. There have been meetings about what to do with the land if they …close it, but none on how to save it. I haven’t seen this level of laziness by the Park & Recreation Board. You would think if such a vital area of their system were to be in danger of closing, you’d hear more than a 'Ho-Hum.' They won’t try to fix it. They won’t make an effort to save it. They won’t try anything. You would think they would lift a finger and do something. They’re giving up on the course. This is Minneapolis, we don’t give up! Hiawatha Golf Course is inclusive: Lots of people from many walks of life enjoy it. Hiawatha is resilient: It has flooded many times, and recovered many times. That’s the definition of resiliency. It’s a low-lying area, it’s going to flood. It’s supposed to flood. Better the golf course flood than our basements. The pumping is not causing any pollution or ground-water contamination. Hiawatha is a sustainable as other park board land they mow. If you don’t think mowing is sustainable, we may as well give up our softball and soccer fields, and stop the harvesting of milfoil in the Chain of Lakes. Lakes Hiawatha and Nokomis are man-made lakes. They were dredged and the golf course was created from the Hiawatha fill. It may be necessary, every 100 years or so, to dredge Hiawatha again, or the creek. Use the fill to bump up low-lying fairways. The lake is filling up. It’s not as deep as it was before. The delta is getting larger since it too was dredged in the 70s, (I watched it being dredged as a boy.) It was an excellent choice to dredge and create lakes Hiawatha and Nokomis, and it would be acceptable to dredge Hiawatha again to keep our valuable Hiawatha Golf Course. Hiawatha Golf Course is a neighborhood and Minneapolis treasure. It deserves to stay in its current 18-hole championship format.[4] |
” |
| —Charlie Casserly's campaign website, (2017)[5] | ||
His website also highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Our Recreation Infrastructure: This is ridiculous for MInneapolis. Along Minnehaha Parkway from west of Cedar Ave, north or south by a couple blocks, there are more than a dozen tennis courts. Most of them also are in poor condition. Why even have courts if we don’t keep them up. People will vote with their feet and go to other courts, or other cities, to play. The relatively new courts on 27th Ave. and East 43rd are very popular. These are the kinds of courts we need to keep tennis active in Minneapolis. The story’s the same for many basketball courts the Park Board manages. Visit http://washburntennis.com/morgan-courts/ for more information on assisting Washburn Tennis’ quest for better facilities for its no-cut teams. Save Lake Hiawatha Beach: The Park Board did not hold another Citizens Advisory Committee, (CAC), on this issue. (For example, when Hidden Beach on Cedar Lake was being discussed for removal, neighborhood meetings were held, the public was invited with separate postcards, etc. Not so for Hiawatha.) The CAC did a poll of park users. The #1 activity for park users was walking. The #2? Swimming! So they vote to remove a beach? During open two houses, more park users were in favor of keeping the beach than not. It is unfortunate, but the Park Board has allowed Lake Hiawatha Beach to rot. It often looks terrible! The Park Board does not post life guards at Lake Hiawatha Beach anymore. You know what life guards do when there are no swimmers around? They clean! The Park Board gets rid of our life guards, we get a dirty beach. The Park Board never cleans the beach, and never rakes it, leaving that job to volunteers. While Lake Nokomis’ Little Beach get new sand, Hiawatha’s does not. At Lake Calhoun, milfoil is harvested. Hiawatha’s milfoil is not. The beach at Lake Hiawatha is a canary in a coal mine. It tells us we need to improve our lakes and waterways to be safe for swimmers. In the public comment period, park users recommended 22 to 9 that the beach stay open. In the height of arrogance, the Park Board ignored that more than 2-to-1 majority! (See pages 4 and 8 in the Park Board PDF.) Removing the beach is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Charlie Casserly was on the Citizens Advisory Committe for Lake Hiawatha Park in 1999-2000, and protecting the beach was paramount. Not at this last turn. This is Minneapolis, we don’t remove all-important beaches from our city lakes! We work to fix them. Read Charlie’s letter to the Star Tribune about the issue. The north pipe that runs under fairway #2 and dumps neighborhood pollution into Lake Hiawatha needs to be mitigated. Daylighting the pipe may be an answer, it would add another water hazard to the course. It doesn’t need to harm the golf course. Equity Repairing parks in our poorest neighborhoods will be a priority with the new 2020 Neighborhood Parks Plan, which I support. This will help racial equity in Minneapolis Parks. Lake Hiawatha park and beach are also very popular with African Americans. The year before the Park Board voted to remove Lake Hiawatha beach, the push for the open the pool at the Phillips Community Center began:
The Park Board spent $2.7 million to renovate Phillips pool. They could have held swimming lessons at Lake Hiawatha, if it were staffed with life guards.[4] |
” |
| —Charlie Casserly's campaign website, (2017)[6] | ||
Endorsements
2017
Casserly received endorsements from the following in 2017:[7]
- Southside Pride
- Minneapolis Police Officers Federation
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Charlie Casserly Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minnesota | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Charlie Casserly for Minneapolis Park Board At-Large, "About Charlie," accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Charlie Casserly," accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Elizabeth Glidden Won't Seek Re-election to Minneapolis City Council," December 12, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Charlie Casserly for Minneapolis Park Board At-Large, "Campaign Launch," accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ Charlie Casserly for Minneapolis Park Board At-Large, "What Else?" accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ Charlie Casserly for Minneapolis Park Board At-Large, "Endorsements," accessed November 6, 2017
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