Twin Cities voters decided Tuesday which candidates will head to the November general election in a slate of local, nonpartisan races. There were new faces competing to fill seats and incumbents who have held office for decades.
Below is a summary of key local races in select metro-area primaries, from mayoral races to county board contests.
Minneapolis
School board Vice Chair Kim Ellison is seeking re-election to an at-large seat and is running with the DFL party endorsement. With all precincts reporting, Ellison will face Shayla Owodunni, a preschool tutor at Pillsbury Elementary in northeast Minneapolis, in November.
Ellison said she’s excited to work with Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams and brings history and experience to a “young board that needs to make big decisions in a short amount of time.”
Owodunni said she opposes the idea of closing schools, saying it opens the “Pandora’s box” of families potentially leaving the district. District spending deserves closer scrutiny, she said, with resources more closely aligned to the district’s strategic goals and priorities.
The district is grappling with persistent enrollment declines and budget deficits. A “district transformation process” that may include closing or merging schools awaits.
South St. Paul
Three candidates competed for mayor in South St. Paul. Incumbent Jimmy Francis, first elected in 2016, and Mark Westpfahl will move on to the general election, with all precincts reporting.
Francis said his campaign emphasized “continued functional government,” adding that two important issues include economic development and protecting the city’s water supply. Bringing new commercial businesses to town “will be the engine for us moving forward,” he said.