St.
Paul mayoral candidate Jay Benanav gave son Sam Kanson-Benanav
a hug and a kiss as C. Scott Cooper, chairman of the St. Paul DFL Party,
not pictured, announced Tuesday night that the DFL endorsee was leading
the early vote count.
Campaign adviser Erich Mische, foreground, cracked a colorful joke
while tallying St. Paul mayoral candidate Randy Kelly's votes Tuesday
night. While Kelly, center, made a face, his aides laughed. Campaign
treasurer Dennis Flaherty looked on. Benanav, Kelly advance
BY VIRGINIA RYBIN
Pioneer Press
A Democrat will be St. Paul's next mayor, but voters should have no
trouble finding contrasts between the two contenders from different wings
of the party.
City Council Member Jay Benanav and state Sen. Randy Kelly collected
the most votes in Tuesday's primary, easily outdistancing their four major
rivals. Sixteen candidates were on the ballot.
The two will compete on Nov. 6 to replace Republican Mayor Norm
Coleman, who is not seeking re-election after serving eight years. He is
running for U.S. Senate in 2002.
Benanav came in first, with 11,441 votes, 30 percent of those cast;
Kelly got 10,006, or 26 percent. Their nearest rival, former Council
Member Bob Long, had 17 percent of the vote.
Despite Tuesday's tragic events, voter turnout was higher than in the
last two city primaries with mayoral races, 1993 and 1997. About 37,800
St. Paulites, or 25.8 percent of the registered voters, came to the polls.
Celebrations at parties for the victors were subdued, as supporters
watched television reports of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon.
Kelly told supporters that the win "is for all who love this nation,
who love democracy and who love freedom.'' During an interview earlier, he
said, "The last few hours have been all the anxieties of 18 months of work
coupled with the numbness and horror of what's taken place. It's a day
I'll never forget.''
In the speech, Kelly, a conservative Democratic-Farmer-Laborite,
re-emphasized his theme of continuing Coleman's legacy of emphasis on
economic development, fighting crime and keeping property taxes down. He
has the support of Coleman and the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, an
organization of business leaders.
"We must continue to work on a broad bipartisan partnership,'' Kelly
said. "And we must keep this momentum going.''
Benanav, a liberal, has endorsements from the DFL Party, several labor
unions and Progressive Minnesota. He has been a frequent critic of
Coleman's initiatives, including major downtown projects. Benanav
campaigned on a theme of "investing in people'' by spending more on basic
neighborhood needs like libraries and recreation centers but has pledged
to try not to increase taxes.
"It's down to two now, and we can focus on each other, Kelly and I
going head to head about what we've done and what we will do,'' Benanav
said during an interview. "I think my message will resonate with the
voters.''
Benanav and Kelly had the most campaign cash. On Aug. 31, Kelly
reported raising $278,963 for staff, literature, phone banks and other
campaign necessities, while Benanav's campaign listed receipts of
$203,214. Long's campaign had collected $147,188, but $25,000 of that was
his own money. The other three candidates also made loans to their
campaigns, but nevertheless were well behind the front-runners.
Long had considerable support in his party and the endorsement of both
Twin Cities daily newspapers. But he spent at least half of his campaign
money in his unsuccessful effort to get the DFL endorsement and lacked
money to get his message out. (The Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis-based
Star Tribune also endorsed Kelly.)
Long, reached late Tuesday evening, said he was getting ready to call
Benanav and Kelly to congratulate them. "I want to offer my ideas to both.
I hope some of them will end up at City Hall. . . . My golf calendar is
very open.''
Council Member Jerry Blakey, who switched from the DFL to the
Republican Party in June, hoped to put together a coalition of groups that
often disagree -- conservatives and minorities. An African-American, he
was the only minority group member among the major candidates. He came in
fourth, with 12 percent of the vote.
He said he felt good about his campaign, the issues he raised and the
work his supporters did.
"I have no regrets about it,'' Blakey said, "but it hurt that Norm
Coleman was not on board. It doesn't send the best signal when the chief
Republican in the city endorses someone else.''
Former Council Member Bobbi Megard, the only woman among the six, used
television ads she hoped would have special appeal to women and older
voters. About 60 percent of St. Paul primary voters are 45 and older. She
came in last, not far behind Bob Kessler. Megard's campaign manager
declined to comment.
Kessler, an independent candidate and longtime city employee, said he
was not surprised by the results.
"Clearly, the winners were the front-runners,'' he said. "It was a
little expected, but we felt we were able to get out the issues. We feel
good about that.''
Staff writers Murali Balaji and Karl Karlson contributed to this
report. Virginia Rybin can be reached at vrybin@pioneerpress.com or (651)
292-1159.
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