Rep. Rena Moran announces run for Ramsey County Board

Minnesota State Rep. Rena Moran announced her campaign for Ramsey County commissioner Monday, following the retirement announcement of longtime Commissioner Toni Carter.

Moran, a Democrat, has represented St. Paul at the state Capitol for 12 years. She chairs the Ways and Means Committee — the first woman of color to do so. The Summit-University resident has also served as deputy DFL caucus leader, chaired the Health and Human Services Policy Committee, co-chaired the Select Committee on Racial Justice, founded the People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and chaired the Black Legislative Caucus.

The county board bid means Moran will not seek re-election to the House seat. The path from Capitol to county board is well-trodden, offering both a lower profile and a higher paycheck.

Representing her constituents in District 65A has been a joy, Moran said in an interview Monday.

"I'm not going away, I'm just transitioning," she said. "In that transition, as I always have done as a legislator, I'm bringing the community with me, and they are the number one priority."

Moran is an early contender for the Ramsey County commissioner spot, but will likely not be the only one — the November election will be the first in nearly 20 years that the seat has been open. Carter, the first African American to serve on a county board in Minnesota, announced her retirement last week.

Moran said she looks forward to working at the local level with a board of seven, compared with 201 in the Legislature. If elected, she said in a news release, she would seek to improve public health, family economic assistance, transit, public safety and criminal justice.

"Being able to work locally in Ramsey County with a board that has made it a priority to look at juvenile justice, to look at housing from homelessness to homeownership ... I think that pathway would be a better process, a more meaningful process," Moran said.