Star Tribune
Edina residents Heather Edelson and Marisa Simonett running in special election for open seat on Hennepin County Board
Two Edina residents will face off Tuesday in a special election to decide who finishes the term of a now-vacant District 6 seat on the Hennepin County Board.
State Rep. Heather Edelson faces real estate agent Marisa Simonetti in the race to replace Chris LaTondresse, who resigned last summer to lead a St. Paul affordable housing nonprofit. Edelson and Simonetti were the top two candidates after an April 30 special primary narrowed the field of six who filed for the seat.
It’s a nonpartisan contest, but Edelson, a DFLer, and Simonetti, a Republican, differ ideologically.
The Hennepin County Board has seven commissioners who oversee a budget of nearly $2.7 billion. The county is the second-largest government in Minnesota, after the state bureaucracy, with nearly 10,000 employees.
Commissioners approve budgets for the county attorney and county sheriff as well as HCMC and more than a dozen health clinics. The board also oversees human services programs, property tax collections, solid waste disposal and 41 library branches.
Edelson, in her third term at the Legislature, said she had already decided not to run for a fourth term at the Capitol when the District 6 seat became vacant. Edelson joined the District 6 race when the special election was pushed to mid-May and wouldn’t interfere with her final legislative session.
Edelson says she’s running for the County Board because it would give her an opportunity not just to craft public policy but to work on how it is implemented.
“I like to work on issues; I like policy. I’m a worker bee,” Edelson said.
She says the County Board would give her a more hands-on approach to government that can impact people’s lives: “That is something you get to do more of at the county level.”
Edelson said her time on the House Human Services Policy Committee would give her unique insight into a big portion of the county’s operations that focuses on providing social services. She’s worked as a therapist and says mental health services would be one of her priorities as a commissioner.
Simonetti has never held public office. She said she entered the race because she is concerned about rising crime and residents’ increased tax burden.
She said the County Board could benefit from a more frugal voice.
“People are frustrated on the financial aspect,” said Simonetti, who noted that Hennepin County property taxes rose 6.5% this year, the biggest increase in more than a decade. “I think people feel like they are getting less value and paying more.”
Simonetti also said the board should do more to support law enforcement and address rising crime. She has been critical of the money Hennepin County has spent on the Southwest light-rail project.
Whoever wins the May 14 election won’t have much of a break from campaigning, if she wants to hold on to the seat after 2024. The District 6 seat is one of three on the County Board up for election in November.
Both Edelson and Simonetti have signaled they will run again for the seat in November. That could also mean running in a summer primary, given the previous interest in the seat.
District 6 has 66 precincts and includes the communities of Edina, Hopkins, Mound, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Long Lake and Shorewood.
Police said they will be releasing details Monday about the shooting death of a 23-year-old man last week in New Hope.
Carnell Mark Johnson Jr., of Bloomington, was shot in the chest Thursday in the 7300 block of Bass Lake Road and died that same day at North Memorial Health Hospital, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
A police official said more information will be released about the shooting later Monday. No arrests have been announced.
The fledgling Minneapolis “safety-beyond-policing” department, which has been accused of mismanaging contracts with violence interrupters, is again under scrutiny for requesting nearly $1 million for a business owned by the sister of one of its staff members.
Unanswered questions about the Black Business Enterprises Fund and the purpose of the contract have repeatedly delayed a City Council vote on the contract.
Neighborhood Safety Director Luana Nelson-Brown came before the council’s administration oversight committee on Oct. 7 to argue for giving the business a one-year, $992,400 contract for “capacity building and compliance consulting services.” Black Business Enterprises Fund would use the money to employ a team of 17 experts to coach violence interrupters on financial literacy and how to comply with government accounting requirements.
“A good financial system allows organizations to track their spending accurately, ensuring that funds are used properly and enabling them to prepare regular reports that meet government expectations,” Nelson-Brown said. “It also streamlines invoice reimbursements, which allows us to make more timely payments, and it is necessary for audits and evaluation of program success. I also want to note that these are all things that have been identified as weaknesses.”
Nelson-Brown said the need for the contract is underscored by a lawsuit that accused the city of arbitrarily awarding millions of dollars to violence prevention groups without proper accounting, as well as the “Safe and Thriving Communities” report on building a comprehensive model of public safety. The city commissioned the Harvard University report after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
City Council members have also been pushing for greater accountability in the Neighborhood Safety Department, particularly after a whistleblower complaint shared with council members this year questioned the relationships between contract recipients and department staff. One of the whistleblower’s claims had to do with Black Business Enterprises Fund owner Nancy Korsah, and her sister, Neighborhood Safety Department staffer Georgia Korsah.
On Oct. 7, council members asked Nelson-Brown about that relationship, whether the business had experience working with nonprofits — particularly those that provide violence prevention services — and whether it is an organization capable of helping others build theirs.
Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said she wasn’t aware of what the Black Business Enterprises Fund had done besides “having a gala.” Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said a review of the organization’s website raised a “red flag.”
A motorcyclist set off a three-vehicle crash on a central Minnesota highway and was killed, officials said Monday.
The wreck occurred about 10:40 p.m. Sunday north of Royalton on Hwy. 10, the State Patrol said.
The motorcyclist was heading east on Hwy. 10 and struck a fish house being pulled by a pickup truck driver. The motorcyclist, a 27-year-old man from Sauk Rapids, Minn., was thrown from his bike and struck a median pillar.
A car heading in the same direction hit the motorcycle.
Occupying the pickup were a 46-year-old driver from Rice, Minn., and a 43-year-old passenger, also from Rice. The car’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Cobalt, was her vehicle’s only occupant.
Identities of all the people involved in the crash have yet to be released, and there is no word yet on whether anyone was injured other than the motorcyclist.
