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An Obama victory may start ripples at MInneapolis City Hall
If the Democrat wins, would Mayor R.T. Rybak head to D.C.? And would that leave the council president to take his place?
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In the type of political speculation that sets Minneapolis City Hall abuzz, some are wondering if Council President Barb Johnson will be sitting in the mayor's chair next year.
For that to happen, several factors need to line up:
• Barack Obama is elected president in November.
• Mayor R.T. Rybak, one of the first mayors to support Obama, is appointed to a position in the new administration.
• Rybak's resignation doesn't take effect until early March.
• That would make Johnson, as council president, the city's caretaker mayor until the next election. If Rybak resigned earlier, a special election would be held.
There are several things that can go wrong with the Johnson-as-mayor scenario, but that doesn't stop the speculation.
"It would be a rare strike if it happened," said Johnson, who said she's never been lucky at games of chance.
And if the scenario played out, it would hand Johnson a position for which she's said the city DFL convention would never endorse her -- a more conservative North Sider.
"Certainly the prestige of the mayor's office and the high profile of the mayor's office is a desirable position," Johnson said. "The nuance of the council president and the power that resides in the council president is harder to define."
But she's also remembering a dab of advice she acquired during her political career: "Don't quit the job you have until you get a new one."
Serving as mayor for the eight months leading to the 2009 general election could give Johnson a leg up for filling the job. And Johnson could have the biggest political base and best name recognition of any candidate running. She'd likely play well among seniors, who traditionally have high election-day turnouts, as well as North Siders and more conservative voters.
Johnson has been a light-handed but common-sense leader under whom the council generally has avoided the kind of fringe causes that give the city image problems at the state Capitol. Others with their eyes on the mayoralty are City Council members Ralph Remington, Gary Schiff and Paul Ostrow.
Rybak has a legitimate claim on the loyalty of an Obama administration. He was active in the draft-Obama movement. He was one of the first mayors to endorse the Illinois Democrat when most of his peers were endorsing Hillary Clinton. Rybak recalls them as "pretty dismissive early on" of his choice. He also co-chaired the campaign in Minnesota, and spent two weekends campaigning in Iowa before that state's caucuses.
The speculation over a federal job comes at a time when Rybak already is considering whether to seek a third term, run for governor or do something else. He said in an interview that he has "absolutely no idea" whether the Obama administration would find him attractive as an appointee.
One possibility could be the Department of Energy, given Rybak's credentials as a hybrid-driving mayor who has helped the city adopt a sustainability agenda that includes what is billed as the largest urban solar array in the Upper Midwest. Some see him taking a post within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He's also forged an agenda on youth violence issues.
The speculation is reminiscent of the time when Al Gore appeared headed for the presidency and Sharon Sayles Belton was seen as a leading candidate for a high post in his administration. That evaporated when too many chads hung the wrong way.
For now, Rybak is taking the politically safe course. "I love what I do right now," he said. "The political world is littered with people who were thinking about political appointments instead of concentrating on their own job."
Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438
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