Cook County had good representation at the DFL State Convention held Friday and Saturday, April 23-24 at the DECC in Duluth. Above: Cook County Alternates Joan Farnam and Denny FitzPatrick with Amy Klobuchar and delegate Bill Hennessy visit at the convention. Left: Cook County alternates were standing by to step in at the delegate table if needed. (L-R) Sam Parker, John Bottger, Denny FitzPatrick.
Cook County delegates and alternates for the Minnesota Democratic- Farm-Labor (DFL) state convention arrived at the DECC in Duluth around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, April 23 ready to endorse candidates and to adopt a platform for the November election.
Representing Cook County were Bill Hansen, Jerome Hiniker, Paulette Anholm, Bill Hennessy, Virginia Reiner, and Diane Parker as delegates and John Bottger, Dennis FitzPatrick, Joan Farnam, Fritz Sobanja, and Sam Parker as alternates.
Delegates were given ballots so that they could vote on which resolutions would be incorporated in the final DFL platform. A few additional resolutions were introduced and adopted by delegates on the floor of the convention.
Attorney General Lori Swanson, State Auditor Rebecca Otto, and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, all incumbents, were endorsed by acclamation by the convention.
On Saturday morning, April 24, gubernatorial candidates addressed the delegates and answered questions posed by a moderator. Then began the arduous task of endorsing a single nominee for governor from a field of seven. It took six ballots and approximately nine hours of voting.
At 11:10 p.m., Margaret Anderson Kelliher became the DFL’s endorsed gubernatorial candidate.
A side note from the convention attendees—Dennis FitzPatrick owes John Bottger a beer. FitzPatrick made a wager that Margaret Anderson Kelliher would win the endorsement of the DFL in five or fewer ballots—it took six.
“It was a long and exciting process,” said FitzPatrick.
According to the Duluth
News-Tribune,
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak conceded the nomination at 11:09 p.m. He called on Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza and Susan Gaertner to do the same. All three had said they would run in the Aug. 10 primary against the endorsed candidate — which is now Kelliher. Gaertner has since withdrawn.
In an April 26 news release, Gaertner said two important facts weighed heavily in her decision: that the endorsement of Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher would pit two women against each other in the primary and with two self-financed and well-funded male candidates, the resulting struggle would make it extremely difficultto raise sufficient funds for an effective campaign.
The DFL party hasn’t won a governor’s race in 24 years.
“We’re hoping to make history and elect a DFL governor this fall,” said FitzPatrick. “Go Margaret!”
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