Incumbents can usually count on a generous following given that they’re already office holders, folks know them and have worked with them, they’re knowledgeable about the issues (one hopes), and it makes sense to hitch your cart to a winning team.
But “usually” doesn’t mean always, and challengers in the St. Paul City Council races are amassing quite a list of endorsements themselves.
HELGEN VS. BRENDMOEN
City Council Member Lee Helgen has garnered his share of endorsements from heavy-hitters, from a Teamsters local to Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom. But challenger Amy Brendmoen has also caught the eye of some liberal take-it-to-the-streets folks, such as TakeAction Minnesota, and some more middle-of-the-road and even conservative types.
The business advocates and public safety folks jumping on Brendmoen’s bandwagon include the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the Saint Paul Police Federation, and Saint Paul Firefighters Local 21.
REALTORS ITCHING TO UNSEAT INCUMBENTS
The Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors has mostly supported challengers over incumbents, tossing their support to Brendmoen and two Green Party candidates. They’re supporting the Green Party’s Johnny Howard over both City Council Member Melvin Carter and fellow Carter challenger Anthony Fernandez, himself a realtor. (Fernandez will get a donation but not the official endorsement.)
The realtors also supported the Green Party’s Bee Kevin Xiong over City Council Member Dan Bostrom, and aircraft broker Cynthia Schanno over Council Member Dave Thune.
Another Thune challenger, Bill Hosko, will get a donation from the realtors. (In Ward 3, they’re supporting Chris Tolbert over real estate rehab guru John Mannillo, who will get a donation. They say they liked both candidates there).
Why would a business association prefer the Greens? And why buck the incumbents almost every time?
Eric Myers, government affairs director for the Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors, said realtors are feeling fed up.
Their candidate screening committee brought all the candidates in and met over two separate days and two separate weeks. “It was an open and frank discussion between the candidates and our selection committee. … Quite honestly, there are some issues that are very important to the real estate community right now.”
The realtors say they are having problems with the way the city classifies remedial homes — 1, 2, or 3, with category 3 being the worst. A 1 is pretty much ready for sale, and a 2 is middle of the road.
“We’re having some real problems with a house that is classified as a 1, and a week goes by, and suddenly it’s classified as a 2. And a 2 is a lot more difficult to sell,” Myers said. “The formula for public safety is to get new homeowners in the home, rather than having them sit vacant for year after year.”
He says realtors frequently come across two houses that are in nearly identical condition and should both be in the same category, but “it’s been pretty inconsistent. … There’s been no consistency from inspector to inspector, either.”
“Realtors have every interest in the highest quality housing stock there is,” Myers said.
City officials have said their stock of vacant housing has gone down, or improved, considerably, from about 2,000 units to 1,500 in the past year. But even city officials acknowledge they’re not aware of every vacant home — mostly just the ones that get called in to City Hall.
“How much better could they be doing if these barriers that I’ve just described weren’t in place?” Myers said.
City officials say the “1, 2, 3″ classification system has helped keep things simple for propertyowners and prospective buyers and tenants alike, and put the pressure on landlords to fix up problem properties before being allowed to sell them.
Unimpressed, a slew of landlords met with Safety and Inspections Director Ricardo Cervantes last February and again this summer to complain, and those discussions look to be continuing.
Said Cervantes during the February meeting: “If we make a mistake, my style is, we’re going to own up to it,” he said. “… But we have to look at each and every item individually. There are state codes … and then there are our city ordinances. I am not the policymaker. We enforce what the laws are.”
TAKEACTION MINNESOTA
In other endorsement news, liberal activists TakeAction Minnesota are supporting the Green Party’s Jim Ivey over Thune, a proud lefty who has represented downtown off-and-on for about 20 years. They’re also supporting Bee Kevin Xiong over Bostrom, who did not seek their support, and Brendmoen over Helgen, as previously mentioned.
They were split on Howard vs. Carter and Tolbert vs. Mannillo, so no endorsement came of either race.
CHAMBER BUCKS LEFTIES AND CHALLENGERS ALIKE
Looks like the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t love lefties or the folks running against lefties, either. Council Members Carter, Stark and Thune did not receive the support of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee, but neither did any of their challengers, according to the chamber’s Sept. 8 release:
“The Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee (SPACC PAC) announced today the list of candidates it has endorsed for the upcoming November 8 Saint Paul city elections. The SPACC PAC has endorsed City Council President Kathy Lantry, Councilmember Dan Bostrom, Ward 3 candidate Chris Tolbert, and Ward 5 candidate Amy Brendmoen. The PAC declined to endorse candidates in the remaining three ward elections. “