Anoka County Board candidate Kevin Ryan rarely interacted with voters and did not raise a cent for his campaign. He has been convicted and jailed in three counties and is named in 86 separate police reports in Anoka County.

Yet, 6,752 people voted for Ryan in his failed attempt to unseat incumbent Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah. Although Sivarajah won reelection handily, with 12,898 votes, county officials wondered Wednesday how an anti-candidate such as Ryan could garner so much support.

"Frightening," said Judy Hanna, clerk from Linwood Township, Ryan's listed place of residence. Nearly 1,000 Linwood Township residents voted for Ryan, moving Hanna to comment, "I hope he doesn't have this momentum four years from now, when he runs again."

"Mind-boggling," said Tom Docken, Ryan's Linwood Township neighbor. "You've got to be kidding? Nearly 7,000 people voted for Kevin? This guy's run for office more often than Harold Stassen and nobody paid attention to him before."

Four years ago, in his bid for a commissioner's seat, Ryan never made it out of the primary, collecting only 186 votes, or 14 percent, of the September vote. In 2002, when he first ran against Sivarajah, his campaign ended in the primary, where he captured only 89 votes, or 3 percent.

"Why now?" Docken asked.

Ryan told Rachel Smith, the county elections manager, that he "doesn't take contributions." He apparently doesn't believe much in campaign signs, either; the few he had this campaign were left over from a previous run, when he was a write-in candidate.

"He's got a very nice name," Sivarajah said after Tuesday's election, trying to explain how a man who has been jailed in Anoka, Chisago and Itasca counties -- for alleged offenses such as disorderly conduct, DWI-related cases, obstructing the legal process and contempt of court -- could appeal to thousands of voters. Ryan has been convicted of disorderly conduct in Anoka and Chisago counties and for traffic violations in Itasca and Anoka counties.

For many voters, Ryan's name may have been easier to read and to pronounce than Sivarajah's. It's also similar to Tom Ryan, the Blaine mayor who ran unopposed, but whose name was listed near Kevin Ryan's on ballots in two Blaine precincts.

In those precincts, Kevin Ryan received a total of 910 votes to Sivarajah's total of 1,349 -- a closer race than anyone might have expected.

Harder to explain was Ryan's showing in Linwood Township, his listed residence, where 11 abandoned vehicles sit and rust, some sprouting vegetation. The water on his property was turned off two years ago, Docken said.

"I honestly believe some people want change so badly that they automatically vote against the incumbent," Hanna said, echoing a theory offered by Sivarajah.

Ryan could not be reached for comment and did not return calls from the Star Tribune earlier this fall.

"It shows that you can't assume anything," Sivarajah said of the vote.

"It's downright scary," Docken said of Ryan's totals.

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419