Is there anyone famous in St. Paul who might want to run for mayor? nt

[Eric J in MN]

nt

[LosinIt]

1. Garrison Keillor

Isn't he from there?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Yes, and he's a devout Democrat.

But I don't see him as a politician. He's rather shy and eggheady and probably would suck at politicking and schmoozing.

[northernsoul]

8. City mayors need to be competent administrators

It's not a "big idea" kind of job, it's more of a "how do we get curb and gutter to Precinct 27" kind of job.

I don't want a celebrity running my town, I want someone who understands St. Paul, cares about it like I do, and knows how to implement good policies to move the city forward.

[LiberalFighter]

3. How can it be that difficult with a city of over 287,151?

How many Democratic City Council members are there in the city?
How many Democratic State Senators living in the city?
How many Democratic State Representatives living in the city?

[Eric J in MN]

4. If there is a St. Paul City Council member who wants

to run against Mayor Kelly and who DID NOT endorse Bush, I'll lend a hand.

[northernsoul]

7. probably Chris Coleman

no relation to The Teeth From Brooklyn

moderate Dem, a definite improvement over Randy "Grecian Formula" Kelly

[trotsky]

5. It's too bad Bill Finney decided not to run.

Can't blame him, but he would have made a strong candidate.

[SudieJD]

6. Where Are The Wellstone Boys?

Think that they may consider getting into politics?

Sudie in MN

[Eric J in MN]

14. They run Wellstone Action.

http://www.wellstone.org/

Wellstone Acton trains liberals to run for local offices, among other things.

[MsAnthropy]

9. I wish George Latimer would run for something

He won my heart all over again at the Wellstone memorial.

[USA_1]

10. Latimer?

His political career ended the moment he appointed Natalie Hudson as dean for minority affairs at Hamline Law School against the express instructions of the minority students. When he tried to run for governor a while later, his incredibly stupid move was remembered by those minority students, none of whom have wasted any opportunity to let the public know of his secret racism.

[MsAnthropy]

15. Thanks, good to know. That little detail slipped by me. n/t

[scarletwoman]

11. How about a DUer from St. Paul?

I don't see why it would have to be someone "famous" -- how many mayors were "famous" before they ran for their office?

What's needed is someone with political savvy, someone who can get sufficient backing, and who is willing to do the hard work of fundraising and campaigning.

sw

[Viking12]

12. I'd suggest Jay Benanav run again...

A smart, well-spoken, true progressive. Here's a brief profile..

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200110/31_wilcoxenw_benanav/

Kelly beat Benanav by only about 400 votes in 2001.

[scarletwoman]

13. Thanks for the link! He sounds like a really good choice!

I didn't know that Kelly was endorsed by Coleman! That should have been enough right there to cast grave doubts.

Any word on whether Benanav would be willing to run again?

sw

[northernsoul]

16. I heard Jay's pretty burned out

word on the street is that Jay's last campaign took a toll on his personal life and that he's burned out from it.

[dpbrown]

17. I do not seek the office

...but if called upon, I will serve.

;-)

Dan Brown
Saint Paul, Minnesota

[scarletwoman]

18. Okay, you're IT!

Oh MAN! You'd be GREAT! I'd even move back to St. Paul to help out -- I'm SERIOUS!

So when do we get started? :bounce:

sw

[dpbrown]

30. Hat, meet ring

I have a sneaking suspicion that Jay Benanav might run again.

DPB

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. Hey, why not?

Today precinct chairman, tomorrow mayor!

Barring that, you and dflprincess should make a tape and audition to have a talk show on AAR or at least KFAI. The two of you have all the facts and as a team, you're funny as hell.

[dpbrown]

31. I actually think that idea might be fun

A talk show that offends everyone!

[USA_1]

19. Elizabeth Dickinson

She lives in the West Side of St Paul, is progressive as was Bruce Vento and is Betty McCollum, is very concerned about the environment and our quality of life.

I believe that she is also against public financing of baseball/football stadiums as that is a matter of corporate welfare.

And yes, she is a descendant of Emily Dickinson (you can see the resemblance in her eyes).

[scarletwoman]

21. Has she expressed any interest in running for mayor?

I'd love to see a truly progressive candidate rise up in the city of my birth. My parents -- lifelong dedicated liberals -- still live in St. Paul, so I am still very much attuned to what goes on there.

Please keep us posted!

sw

[USA_1]

29. Elizabeth

I'm on her mailing list and will check to see if she is in the running.

[USA_1]

32. No - she will not be running this year

But she remains very active in the community.

We are very fortunate in St Paul to have many committed citizens like her and Rafael Ortega.

[Eric J in MN]

25. Can you contact her and ask her to run for mayor? NT

NT

[USA_1]

28. Rafael Ortega

Rafael has long dedicated himself to the DFL and is the first person to officially announced his candidacy. I have met him just a handful of times and enjoyed our chats. He is a graduate of Fordham University in New York, is a big time baseball fan (former varsity player at that great school), and loves the community.

[mzmolly]

20. Why don't you run Eric?

You in Saint Paul?

:hi:

[Eric J in MN]

24. No, I don't live in St. Paul NT

NT

[eoberhauser]

22. I Just Heard on MPR

Ortega wants to run. We'll see what happens

Erin

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. Not having lived here in previous years, I don't know anything about him,

but I like the fact that he's a big advocate for transit.

[bvar22]

27. Happy TGiving, Y'all

TO DPBrown: If you run, you've got my vote and my sweat!

[Kilroy003]

33. Is Jim Casci still in the running?

He's almost famous.