After seven ballots and nearly four hours of voting Sunday, DFL delegates meeting at Carpenter's Hall near downtown failed to endorse a candidate for an open seat in the St. Paul City Council's Second Ward.
Rebecca Noecker, 30, a member of the St. Paul Planning Commission, led throughout the balloting but fell short of the votes needed to endorse, said Libby Kantner, St. Paul DFL party chair.
The ward includes downtown, the West Side and much of the West 7th Street area.
All the DFLers who hoped to replace Dave Thune, who did not seek re-election this year, are first-time candidates. They include Noecker; Marit Brock, 46, a health care manager and community activist; Louis Garcia, 30, a Target IT manager and web designer; and Darren Tobolt, 42, a longtime Ramsey County Board aide and DFL activist.
Also running is Cara Martner, 26, who plans to compete with Independence Party backing.
While all the Second Ward DFLers have said that they would abide by the party's endorsement, some may stay in the hunt since the city has replaced primaries with ranked-choice voting.
KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
