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St. Paul school board candidates come up short seeking DFL endorsement

By Anthony Lonetree

July 23, 2021 at 5:39PM

Jim Vue, left, and James Farnsworth (St. Paul Public Schools and Aaron Lavinsky - Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

St. Paul's all-virtual DFL city convention wrapped up Friday with no endorsement being given to two candidates seeking a four-year school board seat.

Jim Vue, the board's vice chairman, and James Farnsworth, a member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, fell short of the 60% delegate support needed for the party nod.

Earlier, DFLers endorsed three school board candidates, leaving Vue and Farnsworth to compete for support in a second round of balloting that ended Thursday. The final tally had Vue at 58.7%, Farnsworth at 35.6% and "no endorsement" at 5.7%.

The filing period for the city's mayoral and school board elections opens Tuesday.

The final slate of DFL-endorsed candidates includes: Mayor Melvin Carter, who is seeking a second term in office; Halla Henderson and Uriah Ward, who aim to fill two of three four-year school board seats up for election; and Clayton Howatt, who wants to complete the remaining two years of the seat vacated by former member Steve Marchese.

about the writer

Anthony Lonetree

Reporter

Anthony Lonetree has been covering St. Paul Public Schools and general K-12 issues for the Star Tribune since 2012-13. He began work in the paper's St. Paul bureau in 1987 and was the City Hall reporter for five years before moving to various education, public safety and suburban beats.