Are local political races heating up this season? No, not really. For St. Paul residents, the Aug. 12 primary is mostly looking like a snoozer. The majority of the action on or before the November 4 ballot will occur toward the top of the ticket, given the races for governor and U.S. senator and the open seat for Minnesota Secretary of State.
Setting aside judicial and statewide campaigns like the Rebecca Otto vs. Matt Entenza state auditor debacle, there’s not too much to crow about locally. But here’s what’s for dinner:
Candidate filings for most elected offices (except municipalities without a primary) opened May 20 and closed June 3. Filings on the Ramsey County Elections homepage reveal that longtime Ramsey County Commissioners Janice Rettman and Rafael Ortega have both picked up challengers.
This dubious-looking man is also running for election, but to what office, no one knows…
Assuming no one drops out of the race (which is never a safe assumption), Rettman on Nov. 4 will face Como-Snelling area chemist geophysicist Girard Goder, an environmental specialist supervisor who suffered a youthful scrape with the law a decade ago. He’s since focused on bettering his community and the environment.
Ortega will face downtown St. Paul resident and perennial candidate Charles Barklind, a self-described Lincoln Republican.
No one filed to challenge Ramsey County Attorney John Choi or County Sheriff Matt Bostrom, or County Commissioners Toni Carter or Jim McDonough, according to the county elections website.
The state representatives who represent St. Paul at the capital have picked up Republican challengers willing to fight an uphill battle in the DFL-dominated city. Let’s say odds favor the incumbents.
In the open seat of District 64B, where state Rep. Michael Paymar has chosen not to run again, Ramsey County prosecutor Dave Pinto, the endorsed DFL candidate, will face Daniel Surman, a Republican and recent Macalester College graduate.
In District 65A, two-term state Rep. Rena Moran, DFL-St. Paul, faces two challengers: Republican Anthony Meschke, a U.S. Marine and mechanical engineer whose slogan is ‘Vote the Person, and Not the Party,’ and Green Party candidate Lena Buggs, a Lexington-Hamline political organizer advocating for a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Challengers have also filed for the seats held by U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., and DFL state Reps. Erin Murphy, Carlos Mariani, Alice Hausman, John Lesch, Tim Mahoney and Sheldon Johnson.
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has declined to run again, creating an open seat for statewide office. State Attorney General Lori Swanson has also picked up challengers.
A full list of candidates is online at the Ramsey County elections website or the Secretary of State’s website.
On both Aug. 12 and Nov. 4, polls within the county open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., according to this handy Ramsey County Voter’s Guide. You can register to vote online at www.mnvotes.org, or in person on Election Day. Find your precinct and your polling location online here.
Has the Scoop missed any hot races? Is there a candidate to watch in 2014, or is all the local action in St. Paul happening next year? Feel free to sound-off, as usual…