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On a recent night I was sitting and having dinner with my partner and son at our dining room table, which is clearly visible from our front sidewalk and front stoop — especially in the evening when our lights are on. As we were eating, a door knocker for a St. Paul City Council candidate walked up our sidewalk and up onto our stoop and looked right at us, eating our dinner as a family. He rang the doorbell anyway. And looked in at us again. I answered the door and said that it was obvious that we were eating dinner, and he walked off with a sarcastic comment.

Politics invade every aspect of our lives. We can't watch TV or listen to the radio or walk the streets without being bombarded by it. Maybe, just maybe, our candidates — especially our local candidates, who preach community and the value of family — could at the very least ask their door knockers to respect the sanctity of the family dinner hour.

Matt Becker, St. Paul

This year is an important election for the Minneapolis City Council. Every seat is up for election. Our city has been damaged physically and emotionally over the past years. We have begun to heal and need to continue this trajectory. Re-electing proven performers is essential.

Linea Palmisano is attentive to constituent needs, a respected leader on the council and has effective working relationships with city staff. All of this means constituents are getting the maximum benefits available from the city (it requires you to be engaged, though). Now is not the time to change.

People can break their world down into small pieces, such as my block, my street, etc. It's not a bad idea to look at the city's overall trajectory. A few important facts during her leadership role as vice president of the council: 1) This was the first metro area to get inflation below 2.0% nationwide. 2) $320 million of assistance has been invested since 2018 to make housing more affordable. 3) There's a large emphasis on increasing the affordable housing supply. 4) Bryant Avenue infrastructure updates prevent stormwater from running into our lakes and streams, improving the water quality.

We strongly support 13th Ward votes for Linea Palmisano to keep consistency and reliability on our City Council, which today, more than ever, we need.

Mary and Paul Donovan, Minneapolis

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As a 12th Ward resident, I thank Council Member Andrew Johnson for his 10 years of service and wish him well in his future work. I do take issue with his letter in support of candidate Aurin Chowdhury and his rationale ("Chowdhury is the best choice," Readers Write, Oct. 31). I don't believe working as a City Council aide for former Council Member Steve Fletcher and current Council Member Jason Chavez prepares Chowdhury to represent the people of the 12th Ward. All pledged to work on their agenda — defund police and delay the Third Police Precinct — not to represent 12th Ward residents. As a council aide who has worked for a Democratic Socialist, how will she bridge the factions on our council? If she's been working in City Hall, hasn't Chowdhury been part of the dysfunction? I support a 12th Ward council candidate who has lived and worked in our community and who brings our needs to the City Hall. The people of the 12th Ward want a Third Police Precinct built in our community; we want reform of our police; we want police hired; we want a safe and just city. I am grateful that 12th Ward residents have candidates that will serve all of us. I urge my neighbors to join me in voting for Luther Ranheim and Nancy Ford.

Kathleen O'Brien, Minneapolis

The writer is a former Second Ward council member (1982-1989) and former Minneapolis city coordinator (1994-2002).

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I was proud to vote early for Katie Cashman for Minneapolis' Seventh Ward this week. Cashman will work to build broad coalitions on the City Council and help our city actually get things done and take action on our most pressing issues: getting a safety system that protects us all, building more affordable housing and investing in climate solutions. Her experience as a climate policy expert at the United Nations will bring a needed voice to the council as we consider how to position Minneapolis as a climate leader in our state and country. As this past summer of wildfire smoke and drought illustrated, the climate crisis is already having an impact on our lives. For the last four years, our City Council has been rife with factional infighting. Cashman's policy experience and desire to reach across differences are the antidote to that. She is the representative our ward and city need on the council.

Sue Engh, Minneapolis

I will be voting for Saura Jost to represent St. Paul's Third Ward. After hearing from all the candidates, Jost is the most authentic. She is homegrown, having been raised in the neighborhood, and has been active in ward politics since she was a teenager. I'm also impressed by her genuine approach to gathering support. She made an effort to knock on every door in the ward and to listen to our concerns. Jost, ever the detail-oriented engineer, has solid ideas to address each of the issues and is eager to work collegially to find solutions.

I've been told that at least one other Third Ward candidate has extensive policy at the state level and nonprofit experience. I'm sure that would be helpful. But that candidate was the same person who encouraged endorsement of Jost at the DFL city caucus and then turned around a few days later and reignited his campaign. Jost's words mirror her actions and reinforce my belief that she will serve the Third Ward with integrity and passion.

Tom Collins, St. Paul

While I appreciate the Star Tribune educating voters about ranked-choice voting in the Oct. 30 article "How ranked-choice voting works in Minnesota and why some are skeptical" (and in print as "Jury's still out on ranked-choice voting"), the headlines suggesting skepticism about RCV are deeply inappropriate when voters in five Minnesota cities are currently in the process of ranking their vote for this fall's local elections.

The headlines lend legitimacy to a campaign organized to sow distrust in both RCV and, more broadly, in our electoral system. By all means, publish an article about the RCV ballot measure in Minnetonka or about expanding RCV to more elections statewide, and share the views of supporters and opponents. But you should separate those topics from how RCV works for those currently using the system. Your framing suggests that the ranked-choice system is something voters should not trust, which is unhelpful at a time when some people are intentionally stirring distrust in our election system.

A reminder that RCV replaced the high-cost, low-turnout local primary election system with one instant runoff election in November when turnout is higher and more representative. RCV ensures that we elect winners with majority support without asking voters to show up twice to the polls. That's good for voters in RCV cities like mine and good for local democracy. I encourage everyone with local elections this year to go vote, and if you live in Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Bloomington or Minnetonka, rank your vote.

Rob Machalek, St. Louis Park