6 run for board that may face extinction

The candidates are vying for two seats on the city's Board of Estimate and Taxation.

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Last update: October 30, 2009 - 9:11 PM

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Carol Becker seems to be the Minneapolis City Hall figure that some other elected officials like to dislike.

But she's also the odds-on favorite among six candidates to win reelection to the city's Board of Estimate and Taxation.

That's assuming, of course, that her seat on the financial oversight board isn't abolished by voters in a referendum Tuesday that could turn over the board's duties to the City Council.

Becker has made cheekiness an art form in her reelection campaign this year, while also snaring the key DFL and labor endorsements. Some City Council members were offended when she tossed in a reference to convicted financier Bernard Madoff in arguing against turning over the board's tax, borrowing and audit powers to City Council members. She also has said she didn't seek endorsements from City Hall politicos to maintain her independence from them.

The former city budget analyst -- whose brochures proclaim that "geek is good" in a reference to her predilection for curling up in a comfortable chair at home to read city financial documents -- says City Hall really needs more financial checks and balances.

Becker has been pushing for months to hire more internal auditors for the city, an effort that gained steam with an outside report this week that concluded the city's ability to guard against fraud and misspending is compromised.

With others running for the board conceding that Becker is a shoo-in, the question is which of the five other candidates will win the other board seat to be filled by voters.

Becker supports DeWayne Townsend, a longtime Longfellow Community Council activist who has sat on the city's Capital Budgeting Committee. Candidate Phil Willkie, a county soil and water supervisor, also has worked with them in their campaign to persuade voters to keep the board's current makeup of two directly elected members, two City Council members, a park commissioner and the mayor.

Becker has urged voters to list Townsend and Willkie as their second and third choices, respectively, on their ranked-choice voting ballots.

Also running hard for the post is David Wheeler, a former Duluth City Council member who works as development director for a nonprofit agency. Some who want to keep the board's current makeup are suspicious of Wheeler's position on the issue because he's supported by Rybak and others who support the charter amendment. Wheeler took no position on the amendment earlier in the campaign but now says he opposes it, as do the other candidates. Although all candidates say they support more internal auditors, Wheeler said he doesn't think the city can afford them now.

Republican R. Michael Martens also has harped on a need for stronger internal auditing, and he's said he'll work to keep city tax hikes to the rate of inflation. With a background in accounting, he works now as a commercial mortgage broker.

A sixth candidate, James Swartwood, hasn't run a visible campaign.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

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