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Incumbents do well in St. Paul City Council races
Many cities in the metro held primaries Tuesday to decide who will advance to November's general election.
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Follow local news on TwitterEarly vote tallies showed strong signs of victory for St. Paul City Council incumbents in Tuesday's primary elections. Council Member Kathy Lantry advanced in the Seventh Ward while incumbents Lee Helgen in the Fifth Ward and Dave Thune in the Second Ward appeared to be pulling away from their competitors after early vote counts. Russ Stark, the DFL-endorsed candidate in the Fourth Ward 4, easily advanced to the November election.
Helgen and challenger David Haas have battled for months over crime in St. Paul's North End. With the help of the St. Paul Police Federation, Haas has portrayed the North End as a place that has dealt with a steady uptick in crime. Helgen countered with recent police statistics that show that crime is down throughout the city compared to 2006. Haas kept it close Tuesday and appeared to be the likely candidate to fill the second slot in the general election.
Lantry was ahead of candidate Janine Kelley, and Thune was ahead of candidates Bill Hosko and Fran Zamb just after the polls closed at 8 p.m. And Terrance Bushard appeared to be on his way toward earning the second spot for the election in the Fourth Ward.
Primaries were not held in the First, Third and Sixth wards, which may have contributed to a low overall turnout compared with 2003, said Joe Mansky, Ramsey County elections official.
"That may have depressed the turnout in some of the wards," he said.
Overall, St. Paul continues to suffer locally from a national dent in the housing market, which has been a catalyst for hundreds of mortgage foreclosures and vacant properties throughout the city. Concern about disinvestment has a been a major focus for candidates in the Second Ward, which entails downtown and a chunk of the surrounding riverfront. Thune, who opposed developer Jerry Trooien's $1 billion riverfront vision, had four opponents going into the primary. Lantry, who has represented the Seventh Ward since the '90s, faced off against community activist Jim Casci and Kelley, a program manager with United HealthCare. And Fourth Ward Council Member Jay Benanav's resignation at the end of the year paved the way for candidates Stark, Gregory Groettum and Bushard to square off.
Both Benanav and Lantry recently raised concerns about the concentration of sober houses in their wards.
Maplewood council
Seven candidates were vying for two open council seats in Maplewood.
Early indications showed incumbents Rebecca Cave and Will Rossbach moving on, as well as John Nephew and Delray (Rocky) Rokke, with more than half of the precincts reporting before this edition of the Star Tribune went to press.
White Bear Lake
Incumbent Darryl LeMire and challenger Renee Tessier advanced in White Bear Lake's First Ward contest. Incumbent Tony Feffer and Dan Jones will face off in November in the city's Third Ward. Bryan Belisle and Lance Witschen were unopposed in the Fifth Ward.
Minnetonka council
Three candidates were challenging incumbent Council Member Al Thomas, saying the city of Minnetonka must become more responsive to residents.
All three challengers -- Steve Arnold, James Hiller and Tom Sawyer -- have been critical of the city's handling of the Glen Lake redevelopment project, which is underway now.
Duluth mayoral race
In Duluth, first-term Mayor Herb Bergson was battling with an unusually large field of 10 challengers, with the two top vote-getters to advance to the general election.
Bergson, who previously served as mayor of neighboring Superior, Wis., has had a challenging, sometimes tumultuous term, with a looming retiree health care crisis, an arrest for drunken driving, and rancorous feuds with unions over health care and with St. Mary's Duluth Clinic Health System, over the price to be paid for dedicated spaces in a new city ramp.
Staff writers Laurie Blake, Chris Havens, and Larry Oakes contributed to this report.
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