St. Paul DFL endorses School Board candidates, will not reconvene Ward 1 convention

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

The St. Paul DFL informed Ward 1 candidates for the St. Paul City Council on Sunday that the party will not convene another ward convention this season to make up for the April 29 endorsing convention at Central High School, which ended in a mass walk-out after roughly 10 hours.

That decision means none of the Ward 1 candidates will be endorsed by the party approaching the Nov. 7 council election. Ward 1, likely the most diverse ward in the city, spans Frogtown and Summit-University, as well as corners of the North End and Union Park.

“I want to assure you all that this decision was made on what the majority of our delegates wanted to see and what St. Paul DFL believes is the most fair and equitable way to move forward,” wrote Dieu Do, chair of the city party, in an open letter. She said the preferences of the individual candidates and campaigns did not factor into the decision, “because this process is organized by our neighbors for our neighbors.”

That said, most of the five Ward 1 candidates who sought party endorsement on April 29 had said at the time they would likely run for a city council seat regardless of the outcome of the endorsing convention, and several — particularly James Lo and Omar Syed — had openly discouraged the party from convening a make-up date. The candidates, among other critics, have called lengthy conventions onerous for many seniors and working-class families, especially those for whom English is not their first language.

Four of the St. Paul City Council’s seven members are not running for re-election in November, opening a rare opportunity for fresh faces in a majority of seats.

The St. Paul DFL held its citywide convention on Sunday at Washington Technology Magnet School on Rice Street, where four candidates were endorsed for openings on the St. Paul School Board: Carlo Franco, Chauntyll Allen and Yusef Carrillo on the first ballot, and Erica Valliant on a subsequent ballot. Also seeking the endorsement were Sumeya Said and Zuki Ellis.

St. Paul Republicans have not announced an endorsing process.

Related Articles