St. Paul school board incumbents Jean O'Connell and John Brodrick won DFL Party endorsements Saturday in a city convention that also saw Mayor Chris Coleman anointed for a third term.
This fall, voters will elect three school board members. For the third seat, DFL activists endorsed Chue Vue, co-founder and senior partner of the law firm United Legal Associates and a former chairman of the Hmong American Partnership.
O'Connell, the board's current chairwoman and a retired 3M Co. executive, helped shepherd a successful school-levy campaign last year and was the only candidate endorsed by Coleman. Brodrick, 69, a retired teacher and coach, has relied on labor backing in pursuit of a fourth term in office. Incumbent Elona Street-Stewart announced earlier this year she was stepping down to spend more time with her grandchildren.
Saturday's daylong convention at Washington Technology Magnet School drew about 400 delegates.
"For a Saturday, that's good," Rich Kramer, secretary for Ward 6, said of the turnout.
It began with the unanimous endorsement of Coleman, who went unchallenged for the party nod. Tim Holden, a landlord and businessman new to electoral politics, has said he plans to run against Coleman as an independent.
The departure of Street-Stewart, a Delaware Nanticoke tribal member, was expected to factor into the school endorsements because she had provided a voice for communities of color, the district's demographics are minority-dominant and the two other incumbents seeking re-election both are white.
The board has had Hmong members in the past, but currently none who are Asian-American — the district's largest ethnic group, at 31.4 percent. Black students are next at 29.6 percent, followed by whites, 23.7 percent, Hispanic students, 13.6 percent, and American Indians, 1.8 percent.
