Cedar-Riverside caucus rescheduled for next week

DFL leaders have rescheduled a Minneapolis precinct caucus that ended early because of an altercation. It will be held next Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the University of Minnesota's Coffman Union.

The caucus last week in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood drew a large crowd. School board member Mohamud Noor is challenging State Rep. Phyllis Kahn.

A disagreement between each of the candidates' supporters over who would run the meeting escalated into pushing and shoving, and police cleared the room.

Next time, party Chairman Ken Martin said he'll convene the caucus himself, along with former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and other party leaders from outside the district.

"We wanted to make sure that we brought the full weight of the party into this precinct caucus to convey to people that this behavior is not going to be tolerated," Martin said.

Martin said he expects next week's meeting to go much more smoothly.

"I think it's important to remember that it was just a small group of people, a small handful of bad actors and bad apples who caused the ruckus that evening. Most of the individuals who showed up that evening were there to participate just like everyone else."