Can you imagine where we would be if there were more “Mims” involved? She has pushed forward even when doing it alone. What a blessing to have her on our side.
In middle school, I was shown the film, The Power of One. (Here’s a 1-minute montage.) Along with Gandhi, it stands out from my childhood. I grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia, which I mention now because it will matter later in this short piece, where you will learn only a bit about Mim, one of the many who has inspired me throughout recent years.
Based on the novel of the same name by Bryce Courtenay, the movie follows PK (Peekay) in Apartheid, South Africa, as he learns of the country’s issues and decides to do something about it.
In the movie version, when PK decides he wants to teach people how to read and write in English, one character asks PK, “You’re talking about teaching a dozen people—how much difference will that really make?”
Last night (Thursday, July 11, 2024) I attended the Stillwater Township Board Meeting at 13636 90th Street North, Stillwater, MN 55082, with Mim, to share an opportunity with them to have their now 2 precincts included in the Washington County post election review hand count later in November.
When I showed up about 15 minutes before the meeting, Mim and her husband Jim were waiting and offered me a Potbelly sandwich: “I guess you haven’t eaten.” Only a snack, I said, accepting it. We sat in the car and Mim explained that she’d been awake all night thinking about what she would say today.
It’s one thing to read about others approaching their city councils and town boards; it’s another to make the decision to do that yourself.
Mim is neighbors with the Chair of the town board, so, in a small area (the population of Stillwater Township is only about 2,000), one really is speaking amongst people one could easily see the next day at the grocery store.
Even though Mim has lived in this area for 30 years, Mim explained she wasn’t really part of the social circles because of her work, odd hours as an anesthetist.
I first remember meeting Mim at a campaign event for Mark Bishofsky—among the 2022 class of candidates backed by the people and who despite being endorsed faced (and defeated) a primary challenger who the elites backed—where I was asked to speak.
Mim shared how she’d been asking the county auditor for cast vote records and was getting shut down. Like many throughout the state. I myself asked for cast vote records from every county, all 87, ahead of the 2022 primary—in part because primary elections, which are arguably as important, if not more important, than the general, are not audited in Minnesota. (Recently, South Dakota’s June 4 primary was audited and there were variances found between the machine count and the hand count, because the tabulators have trouble determining voter intent in some cases.)
Mim was not a tall woman and fairly soft-spoken with an accent she says stops some people from understanding her. But because she was speaking my language—elections and cast vote records—I tuned in and enjoyed the conversation.
This was 2022, still quite early in my own journey, and Mim’s.
In 2023, Derek Lind, one of three members of the Anoka County Election Integrity Team (ACEIT), in Anoka County, recently interviewed by Liz Collin (article) in a story titled: We are election verifiers (←video), first met Mim at the Professor David Clements Greater Magistrate Tour which stopped in Monticello, Minnesota.
After, Mim started attending ACEIT’s meetings.
Recently, two cities in Anoka County, the City of Oak Grove, and the City of Ramsey, decided they wanted their precincts to be included in the Anoka County post election review (PER) hand count in November.
I too had helped and learned from the ACEIT team and reconnected with Mim there. We thought, why not try to share this in her area?
Even though the next meeting was about 72 hours away, we reached out to the town clerk and were added to the agenda.
When it came time to speak, I said to Mim, “Have fun, smile.”
Election integrity is a serious issue, one of the most serious, perhaps next to the fact that the buying and selling of children, and worse, continues in our current society, although I have hopes it will be put to an end in our lifetimes.
And yet, it doesn’t hurt to smile and have hope.
Mim spoke beautifully and powerfully, telling her own story about how when she was door knocking for a school board race in 2023, she sensed that her neighbors didn’t want to vote because they didn’t think their vote mattered. Did this have something to do with the decreasing trust of the overall election system?
After, she introduced me, and together we took questions from the town board for the next half hour.
I don’t know whether the board will move ahead of not, but we did learn a few very interesting things:
The town clerk had contacted the county and SOS office—the clerk was informed by the county that the township didn’t have the authority to ask to included in the post election review (the details of what info was relayed still need to be confirmed)
Imagine: The state legislature mandates machines, bans ballot image release to public, and now Washington County says this township can’t be included in the post election review hand count (which isn’t even a full audit)?
The town board asked good questions and raised informative objections, all which help us to refine how we present this opportunity
A few citizens attending, along with most of the supervisors, accepted the information packet about the mission of protecting the accuracy of votes through the post election review hand count
There are more details to the story that matter to me, but I will leave it there for the moment.
In the meeting, one of the supervisors said that with only about 2,000 voters, their township’s elections, if audited, wouldn’t make a difference. That of course echoes the question PK is asked in The Power of One.
Mim too could have given up long ago if deterred by such a question…
And yet Mim had persevered, often alone, for over a year to reach this point last night.
I think it was a great success, to watch her speak so confidently, to share her story, to answer questions, and to plant the seeds of truth.
After sharing a bit about last night, Derek, one of the Anoka team said,
Mim is proof in the power of 1.
Another, Brenda, also featured in Liz Collin’s story, said,
Can you imagine where we would be if there were more “Mims” involved? She has pushed forward even when doing it alone. What a blessing to have her on our side.
I could not have said it better.
Thank you Mim.
And if you’re still reading… Be like Mim!
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Wonderful! I’ve spoken at length on the phone about elections with Mim. She does deep dives with many questions and I can tell you there is more to her passion and political wisdom than meets the eye.
Thank you, Mim & Thank you, Erik