The podcast this week is a conversation with Johnny Howard, a long-time neighborhood organizer who is running for City Council in Saint Paul’s Ward 1. I’ve already interviewed two candidates for the open seat in Ward One on this podcast, but Johnny Howard is the only one who has experience running in this race, having challenged incumbent Melvin Carter four years ago. Howard, who has the Green Party endorsement, is a retired auto worker, and the founder of the Thomas-Dale Block Club which has long been an important social institution in the Frogtown neighborhood along University Avenue. We sat down a few weeks ago at the Daily Diner on the corner of Dale and University to talk about the history of the neighborhood, affordable housing, transit, and why good paying jobs are the key to the future of Saint Paul.

The link to the audio is here. Make all the stops along the LRT route via the audio feed.