St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is endorsing Trista MatasCastillo, a legislative aide to a Ramsey County board member, for a seat on the board over incumbent County Commissioner Janice Rettman, who has held the seat representing St. Paul, Roseville and Falcon Heights for more than 20 years.
Political endorsing conventions for local offices — such as county and state legislative seats — aren’t always the most exciting affairs. But a handful of St. Paul-area races stand out this weekend for generating extra buzz.
While seats on the Ramsey County Board and St. Paul City Council are officially non-partisan that doesn’t stop political parties from endorsing candidates. State office holders run under a party banner.
ALISSA HARRINGTON VS. JOHN LESCH, 66B
On Feb. 23, attorney Alissa Marie Harrington announced on Facebook that she was declaring her candidacy for the House District 66B seat held by state Rep. John Lesch, who is in his eighth term.
She later discovered that her brother, Justin James Miller, had taken his own life that same day.
“I am incredibly heartbroken to share that my dear brother has lost his long battle with post-war PTSD on Friday,” said Harrington, on her campaign Facebook page.
After discussing the race with family and friends, Harrington announced this week that she will continue to seek the DFL endorsement. A graduate of Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Harrington is a program leader with the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Lesch, a lawyer who runs his own private practice, is a former assistant St. Paul City Attorney.
The convention will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at Roseville Area High School.
HOUSE 67B, ST. PAUL’S EAST SIDE
After nine terms in office, state Rep. Sheldon Johnson, DFL-St. Paul, has chosen not to run for re-election, setting off a four-way scrum for his House seat, which represents a broad swathe of the city’s East Side.
Johnson has endorsed Jay Xiong — a longtime legislative aide, DFL campaign organizer and nonprofit leader — to succeed him.
Xiong’s supporters include 18 current or former elected officials, such as Ramsey County Board Chair Jim McDonough and state Reps. Tim Mahoney, John Lesch, Rena Moran, Fue Lee, Ilhan Omar, John Applebaum and Leon Lillie. City Council Member Jane Prince is his campaign co-chair.
In addition to Xiong, candidates include community organizer John Slade, political science professor Shoua Yang and the Rev. Grant Stevensen, a minister on leave from the faith-based advocacy group Isaiah who is backed by TakeAction Minnesota. The endorsing convention will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at Harding High School.
RAMSEY COUNTY BOARD
Heading into the weekend, MatasCastillo hopes to leverage political blessings from Carter, St. Paul City Council President Amy Brendmoen and several prominent unions into winning the support of the Ramsey County DFL at this Saturday’s endorsing convention, but this will be no cakewalk.
Rettman’s political ties stretch back decades, and she counts among her many supporters the influential American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME Council 5).
The three-way race for the District 3 seat on the county board has also drawn Jennifer Nguyen Moore, a North End resident and recycling and solid waste coordinator for the city of Bloomington. The DFL convention will take place Saturday at Roseville Area High School.
ST. PAUL WARD 4
The St. Paul DFL will host a special endorsing convention to determine which candidate will win the party’s backing for the Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council.
The seat, which represents a large section around Snelling Avenue and the Green Line neighborhoods from Minnesota 280 to Lexington Parkway, had been held by Russ Stark, who recently resigned to work for Mayor Melvin Carter.
The convention will take place at 9 a.m. April 28th at Murray Junior High School. Candidates seeking the endorsement include parks advocate Shirley Erstad, political organizer Mitra Nelson and attorney Amy Ireland. The Ward 4 delegates to last year’s DFL city convention will be asked to participate in the special endorsing convention.
