Election: In with the new, in with the old

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Four new school board winners will make up majority; council incumbents stay

By JAN WILLMS

The results are in, and St. Paul voters made it known that they want to see a completely new slate on the school board.  The four candidates who were selected to run with the backing of Caucus for Change, a movement supported by the St. Paul Federation of Teachers and comprised mostly of parents and teachers, easily won Tuesday’s election. The four winners also had the blessings of the city DFL endorsement.

Mary VanderwertMary Vanderwert (left), 64, was the leader with 17,777 votes that translated to 20.27 percent of the votes in a 10-candidate race.   She had stated that her 25-year career in early childhood education, both in the classroom and in administration, would be unique to the school board.

Zuki EllisComing in at second with 15,290 votes or 17.44 percent was Zuki Ellis (right), 41, a parent trainer for St. Paul Federation of Teachers’ Parent Teacher Home Visit Project.  Ellis had said that she hoped to leverage her community ties in working with educators, students and families to keep the district communicating better with the community. That lack of communication was one of the major faults the Caucus for Change cited against the present school board.

Jon SchumacherWith 14,652 votes, at 16.71 percent, Jon Schumacher (left), 63, came in third. He has been the executive director of the Saint Anthony Park Community Foundation since 1999. He called on his experience serving on school site councils and committees, his experience with board management, mediation and community building to strengthen his position as a school board member.

Steve MarcheseSteve Marchese (right), 48, a Pro Bono Director at the Minnesota State Bar Association, was the fourth candidate elected with 14,524 (16.56 percent) of the votes. Marchese emphasized the need for a more inclusive, transparent and effective district, one with clear goals, objectives and strategies for improving achievement.

The incumbent in the race, Keith Hardy, 52, had decided to run even though he was not endorsed by the DFL. Hardy, who has been the only African-American on the board for the past eight years, said he helped create the racial equity policy and anti-bullying policy in the school district and cited his practice of observing learning and authentically listening to principals, students, teachers and staff.

But that was not enough for voters who seemed to be in an anti-incumbent mood, and Hardy earned 8,548 votes, or 9.75 percent, to come in fifth in the election.

Following him were Linda Freeman, at 5,914 votes (6.74 per cent); Greg Copeland, 4,468 votes (5.10 percent); Scott Raskiewicz, 2,810 votes (3.20 percent); and Aaron Benner, who had dropped out of the race but received 2,660 votes, or 3.03 percent.  Rashad Turner had staged a write-in campaign, but it was not determined how many of the 1,047 (1.19 percent) write-in votes were for him.

City Council results

In the City Council races in the Monitor’s readership areas, the incumbents prevailed. Ward 1 saw Dai Thao, 40, running for re-election, earning 2,503 votes or 84.19 percent. His opponent, Trahern Crews, received 416 votes for 13.99 percent.  The number of votes for write-in candidate Mohamed Said was not available, but there was a total of 54 votes for write-ins, which was 1.82 percent.

Dai ThaoThao, who had earlier been elected as the first Hmong-American council member when he replaced Melvin Carter III, said during his two-year experience he had focused on social justice, affordable housing, road and pedestrian safety, parks and green spaces.

Crews, a spokesman for Black Lives Matter in St. Paul, had also been promoting social justice issues.

Russ StarkIn Ward 4, incumbent Russ Stark, 42, won re-election with 3,293 votes (61.36 percent).  His opponent, Tom Goldstein, 58, a lawyer by training, got 2,039 votes (37.99 percent). Write-in votes were 35 (.65 percent).

Stark noted among his accomplishments support of the Green Line high-quality streetscape and maintaining high-quality services despite flat or shrinking budgets.  Goldstein had taken an opposite view, criticizing Stark for doing little to prevent the light rail from harming existing businesses along University Ave.

Amy BrendmoenAmy Brendmoen, 45, succeeded in her re-election bid in Ward 5, with 2,202 votes at 56.23 percent. David Glass received 1.485 votes for 37.92 percent, and David Sullivan-Nightengale, 41, had 215 votes for 5.49 percent. Write-ins accounted for 14 votes (.36 percent).

Brendmoen stressed her accessibility to the community, ability to get a district council boundary change, increase of services and programming at the Como Lakeside Pavilion and increase in jobs were among the strengths she brought to the table.

Glass, who had been in a dispute with Brendmoen over his former restaurant in Como Park, stressed the fact that residents felt they had been left out of the city’s decision-making process.  He expressed concern about the lack of equipment in recreation centers and advocated holding neighborhood meetings.

Sullivan-Nightengale, a safety engineer, had raised concerns about safety issues in the neighborhood and the city.

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