Higher than expected turnouts at the Super Tuesday caucuses in Clearwater had party organizers excited and upbeat about the evening’s results.
DFL
The Clearwater City and Township Democrat caucus was held at the Clearwater Township Hall. Fifty-nine residents voted in the caucus, and nearly 30 stayed to participate in discussions and amendments.
For Clearwater Township, Bernie Sanders emerged the winner with 20 votes; Hillary Clinton was close behind with 17. Martin O’Malley received one vote, as did Rocky De La Fuente.
For the city, Bernie Sanders won by a large margin over Hillary Clinton, 16 to 4.
Chuck Derry was nominated caucus chair, after which Judi Tollefson and Darleen Greer were elected tellers for the township and Sue Faust and Michelle Timp-Pilon were elected for the city. No one came forward for precinct chair or vice chair.
From Clearwater Township Judi Tollefson, Wally Westerberg, Mary Bergeron and Darleen Greer put their names forward as people who were interested in fall election judge positions. No one from the City of Clearwater came forward.
Next on the agenda was electing delegates for the upcoming BSW (Benton, Sherburne, Wright) Convention. Of the eight delegate spots allowed the city, four were filled, with Jessica Watson, Judy Lamont, Michelle Timp-Pilon and John Want signing up. All seven allowed delegate spots were filled for the township, with Rose Thelen, Chuck Derry, Judi Tollefson, Kim Mooney, Tyler Mooney, Jackie Benn and Darleen Greer coming forward.
After initial business was concluded, five resolutions from attendees were brought forth with all passing. They included calling for quality, affordable health care for all Minnesota citizens, a $15/hr. minimum wage, a ban on the sale of assault rifles to civilians, and two concerning clean energy.
The Democratic BSW Convention will be held on April 6 at Mr. Jim’s in Foley.
GOP
Citizens from the cities and townships of Clearwater and Clear Lake convened at the American Legion in Clearwater for the Republican caucus. With 140 attendees there was standing room only.
“I’ve been doing this for a number of years and I’ve never seen crowds like this before,” said organizer Barry Kukowski. “It was incredible, and really great to see people care.”
With a combined vote, Donald Trump placed in the top spot with 52 votes, followed by Marco Rubio with 34. Ted Cruz received 29 votes, Ben Carson 15, and John Kasich 10.
Brad Schumacher and State Representative Jim Neuberger were the featured speakers for the evening, after which the party broke into precincts and voted on resolutions, of which a number were passed.
The District 15B GOP convention will be held in Foley on March 19.
