Sue vs. the DFL Careerists

I've been doing a lot of traveling over the last few weeks and it's been difficult to keep focused on the local elections, but we are now only a week away from the primary elections in Minnesota and there are specific races where a vote matters. One of the more important ones the race for the District 2 seat Jan Parker is vacating on the Ramsey County Board.

There are three candidates in the race and only two will move forward to the general election. One of the candidates is strongly preferable to the other two. Sue Jeffers first made a name for herself in politics when she chose to primary Tim Pawlenty. In essence, she was a Tea Party candidate five years before there was a Tea Party. She's a successful businesswoman and has been a strong voice for the taxpayer. She's also one of the most tough-minded people I've ever known -- an indomitable spirit and a ceaseless advocate for keeping the long reach of government out of people's wallets and lives.

There's no question that Jeffers would shake up the self-dealing honey pot that is the Ramsey County Board. She'll look at every dime that the board bids fair to spend and will challenge the logrolling culture that has developed there. It's illustrative that the most "conservative" member of the county board is District 1's Tony Bennett, last seen trying to spend a billion dollars to build Zygi Wilf a stadium in Arden Hills.

Sue's two opponents are both careerist politicians of different sorts. Mary Jo McGuire lost the game of musical chairs for her state senate seat and is looking at the Ramsey County board as a nice, soft landing spot. Although she's well known in St. Paul, she's not especially well known in District 2, since she has generally represented areas to the south of the district. From what I can tell, McGuire's only guiding principle is that she should be in political office, spending other people's money because she knows better.

Also in the race is Mary Burg, who is currently a member of the New Brighton City Council. Burg has been part of the taxing and spending faction there for her entire career and is looking at the job as an opportunity to spend a different revenue stream. Since the New Brighton City Council is officially nonpartisan, Burg isn't really identified as a DFLer, but one look at her record indicates that she fits the model well.

Jeffers would change the culture at the board, while either McGuire or Burg would simply continue the pattern that Jan Parker has established -- spend the money and try to stay out of the headlines. We need reformers and you won't find a better reformer than Sue Jeffers.