Our Revolution: The unhappy fate of the resolution against sulfide mining

BY CHRISTINE CARRAGEE

At this time of year when many Americans have just been writing lists of gifts, goals or resolutions, I remember back on March 1 of 2016 when Minnesotans were collectively making lists of resolutions for our precinct caucuses.
At our precinct caucus in SD 62, Ward 8, one of my neighbors didn’t structure her resolution “correctly” so a few folks helped her reword it, so we would be resolved to teach black history in our schools. Our communities raised at a hyper-local level important issues, including raising minimum wage, reducing pollution, improving transportation and protecting the boundary waters and northern MN from the hazards of sulfide mining.
Through the DFL caucus process over 100 resolutions were submitted and passed by citizens at the precinct level.  These resolutions moved up the ranks to larger bodies such as senate districts and finally up to the state convention on June 4, 2016.  By this point the list of resolutions had been whittled down significantly, and Resolution 54, to “Oppose sulfide ore mining, which is significantly different from taconite mining, poses unacceptable environmental risks, threatens multiple watersheds (Lake Superior, BWCA/VNP, Mississippi) and should not be allowed in the sulfur-bearing rock of Minnesota,” was tabled by the state convention and referred to the State Central Committee.
The party regulars believed that tabling this issue until after November would help Congressman Rick Nolan win reelection in CD 8 and potentially put the DFL in a better position for the upcoming 2018 governor’s race.  Members of Our Revolution MN in Duluth and northern MN, the places that initially passed the resolutions, wanted to pass the resolution despite the warnings of limited job creation.  With this issue, as with so many others in the election cycle, a false narrative had been spun, pitting jobs against the environment as though the two objectives were mutually exclusive outcomes.
A statement from the DFL Environmental Caucus gives perspective on the aftermath of the tabling of Resolution 54 in June.  “Elected leaders, and party officials thought it was more important to fight back the voices of environmentalists than to move forward together with open and respectful dialogue between the stakeholders in our party. Our offer to table Resolution 54 indefinitely was soundly rejected by party leaders, Congressman Rick Nolan, union leaders and by members of the State Central Committee. It is extremely telling that the only stakeholders who vocalized acceptance of our offer were individuals who were part of the Ad Hoc Task Force, skillfully led by our state auditor, Rebecca Otto. After just two meetings, the level of trust had grown between us so that they knew our desire for party unity was sincere. Unfortunately, their colleagues, who were not part of the task force, did not agree and we were left with no choice but to fight on alone.” –Veda Kanitz, chair of the DFL Environmental Caucus.
We must stand together and fight back against the decimation of our environment. We will no longer allow our rivers and lakes, hills and plains to be plundered and polluted, in the name of short-term profits.
As for the need of party leadership to play it safe to win elections, I frankly don’t believe that’s a winning strategy.  As I was out door knocking for Rick Nolan during the election cycle it seemed more Democrats were disappointed with his environmental record and therefore unenthusiastic about voting for him, than those who felt his stance on creating mining jobs was enough of a single reason to win their loyalty.  We saw Bernie Sanders rise from near anonymity to winning 23 states in the primary by holding fast to core values and addressing the concerns of the American people. In the wake of Nov. 8, the DFL party leadership must learn to apply some of the lessons of Bernie’s campaign to engage and gain the trust of the voters here in Minnesota. Not only would it reinvigorate party stalwarts, but it would open the door to new voters disaffected by 30 years of Democratic abandonment of the People’s issues, interests and involvement.
Watching Resolution 54 get defeated in the state central committee meeting on Dec. 10 made me even more resolved to continue engaging in the messy, frustrating political process.  We must tell Veda Kanitz and the Environmental Caucus, “You are not alone.”  We must tell unemployed union workers, “You are not alone.”  We must tell families who cannot afford access to health care, “You are not alone.”
Therefore, Be It Resolved: that in 2017, we will stand together against hate and division from our national government, and we will build political power for better local policies and a better future for us all.