MORE DFL INFIGHTING
The DFL does a great job of eating their own.
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Mayoral race splits council
On eve of precinct caucuses, candidates tout support of their peers
St. Paul's City Council started taking sides in earnest Monday for this year's mayoral race, endorsing the two rivals to incumbent Randy Kelly.
Former mayoral candidate Jay Benanav, who has said in the past he was mulling a rematch with Kelly, endorsed Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega, apparently signaling the end of his own mayoral ambitions.
"I think Rafael brings the kind of discussion and values that are important to me," Benanav, the 4th Ward council member, said. "He's a progressive and cares about the community and neighborhoods, and I think he'll bring a new perspective to St. Paul."
He also said he thought Ortega represented the "new face" of St. Paul, which has a fast-growing Latino community.
But two other council members threw their support to their former colleague, Chris Coleman.
"I weighed all the options and decided that when I looked at what is best for the future of St. Paul, it is Chris Coleman," said 7th Ward Council Member Kathy Lantry, in an interview Monday morning with Coleman present.
She was joined by 5th Ward Council Member Lee Helgen, who said he thought Coleman would pursue a better relationship with the council, which has been at odds with the mayor, sometimes bitterly, for about a year now. Helgen also said he hopes Coleman will speak out about cuts in government aid to cities.
"We need somebody who's going to stand up and fight for St. Paul," Helgen said. "Someone who will fight the cuts from Governor Pawlenty and President Bush."
The endorsements came a day before the city's precinct caucuses, the official opening of this year's political process.
They also mark a setting aside of some longstanding political differences. Two years ago, Coleman endorsed Helgen's rival, Kris Reiter, after her father, Jim, the incumbent 5th Ward council member, died during that fall's re-election campaign.
Helgen won the race.
Coleman, while a City Council member, also declined to endorse his then-colleague and DFL-endorsed candidate Jay Benanav during the last mayoral campaign, backing Kelly in October 2001. Lantry, also on the council then, was one of Benanav's staunchest supporters.
"We all make mistakes," Lantry said Monday. "Chris and I have had disagreements in the past, but this is not about who I can control, or who would control me. This is about who I think is the best among the options before me, and I think that's Chris Coleman."
Lantry and Helgen join 3rd Ward Council Member Pat Harris to give Coleman the backing of three of his former colleagues. The remaining members probably will be a much tougher, if not impossible, sell. The mayor's support was a key factor in 1st Ward Council Member Debbie Montgomery's election in 2003, and 6th Ward Council Member Dan Bostrom is one of Kelly's closest allies.
Dave Thune, the 2nd Ward council member, said Monday that he plans to back the endorsed candidate after the April 30 city convention, although Coleman endorsed Thune's rival, Christine Nelson, in one of the hardest-fought council matchups two years ago.
Monday's announcements are probably the most significant political development in the mayor's race in weeks, since Kelly earned the backing of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce last month. That has proven in the past to be a key endorsement, although not a guarantee: Both Nelson and Reiter received it but lost their bids for the Council in 2003.
Ortega is circulating a list of more than 100 supporters that includes school board members John Brodrick, Kazoua Kong-Thao and Elona Street-Stewart.
Coleman recently picked up the Stonewall DFL endorsement, a caucus of gay and lesbian DFLers, and he said Monday he hopes yet to earn the backing of Progressive Minnesota, a key liberal political organization in St. Paul. He's also been endorsed by Jeff Blodgett, former campaign manager for Sen. Paul Wellstone. Source: Pioneer Press, March 1, 2005
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Mayoral race splits council
On eve of precinct caucuses, candidates tout support of their peers
St. Paul's City Council started taking sides in earnest Monday for this year's mayoral race, endorsing the two rivals to incumbent Randy Kelly.
Former mayoral candidate Jay Benanav, who has said in the past he was mulling a rematch with Kelly, endorsed Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega, apparently signaling the end of his own mayoral ambitions.
"I think Rafael brings the kind of discussion and values that are important to me," Benanav, the 4th Ward council member, said. "He's a progressive and cares about the community and neighborhoods, and I think he'll bring a new perspective to St. Paul."
He also said he thought Ortega represented the "new face" of St. Paul, which has a fast-growing Latino community.
But two other council members threw their support to their former colleague, Chris Coleman.
"I weighed all the options and decided that when I looked at what is best for the future of St. Paul, it is Chris Coleman," said 7th Ward Council Member Kathy Lantry, in an interview Monday morning with Coleman present.
She was joined by 5th Ward Council Member Lee Helgen, who said he thought Coleman would pursue a better relationship with the council, which has been at odds with the mayor, sometimes bitterly, for about a year now. Helgen also said he hopes Coleman will speak out about cuts in government aid to cities.
"We need somebody who's going to stand up and fight for St. Paul," Helgen said. "Someone who will fight the cuts from Governor Pawlenty and President Bush."
The endorsements came a day before the city's precinct caucuses, the official opening of this year's political process.
They also mark a setting aside of some longstanding political differences. Two years ago, Coleman endorsed Helgen's rival, Kris Reiter, after her father, Jim, the incumbent 5th Ward council member, died during that fall's re-election campaign.
Helgen won the race.
Coleman, while a City Council member, also declined to endorse his then-colleague and DFL-endorsed candidate Jay Benanav during the last mayoral campaign, backing Kelly in October 2001. Lantry, also on the council then, was one of Benanav's staunchest supporters.
"We all make mistakes," Lantry said Monday. "Chris and I have had disagreements in the past, but this is not about who I can control, or who would control me. This is about who I think is the best among the options before me, and I think that's Chris Coleman."
Lantry and Helgen join 3rd Ward Council Member Pat Harris to give Coleman the backing of three of his former colleagues. The remaining members probably will be a much tougher, if not impossible, sell. The mayor's support was a key factor in 1st Ward Council Member Debbie Montgomery's election in 2003, and 6th Ward Council Member Dan Bostrom is one of Kelly's closest allies.
Dave Thune, the 2nd Ward council member, said Monday that he plans to back the endorsed candidate after the April 30 city convention, although Coleman endorsed Thune's rival, Christine Nelson, in one of the hardest-fought council matchups two years ago.
Monday's announcements are probably the most significant political development in the mayor's race in weeks, since Kelly earned the backing of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce last month. That has proven in the past to be a key endorsement, although not a guarantee: Both Nelson and Reiter received it but lost their bids for the Council in 2003.
Ortega is circulating a list of more than 100 supporters that includes school board members John Brodrick, Kazoua Kong-Thao and Elona Street-Stewart.
Coleman recently picked up the Stonewall DFL endorsement, a caucus of gay and lesbian DFLers, and he said Monday he hopes yet to earn the backing of Progressive Minnesota, a key liberal political organization in St. Paul. He's also been endorsed by Jeff Blodgett, former campaign manager for Sen. Paul Wellstone. Source: Pioneer Press, March 1, 2005
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