SEIU Local 284 members Mike Selle and Cathy Garrett canvass union households in Shakopee to support Democrats on Oct. 26, 2024. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.
SHAKOPEE — Cathy Garrett has become an experienced and effective union messenger by now. The 16-year veteran paraprofessional at Hopkins High School has long been an active member of her union SEIU Local 284, door-knocking and phone-banking for Democrats during election season.
On a recent Saturday, as part of a crew of more than 70 union members who fanned out across Shakopee to talk to union households, she faced perhaps one of her most difficult tasks: convincing her own door-knocking partner to cast his ballot for union-endorsed candidates.
Mike Selle, a relatively new paraprofessional, is ambivalent about the presidential race and the entire political system. In the last presidential election, he wrote on his ballot that he doesn’t think there should be a presidential position. He’s pretty sure that’s what he’s going to do this year, too.