Government and politics in Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Saint Paul, Minnesota is the capital of Minnesota. The city is also the largest city and county seat of Ramsey County. Saint Paul has a strong mayor-council government. Seven city council members elected in wards and one mayor elected at large serve the city.

Contents

[edit] City government and politics

Vision of Peace by Carl Milles in the Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse
Vision of Peace by Carl Milles in the Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse

Saint Paul is governed with a variation of the strong mayor-council form of government. [1] The mayor is the chief executive and chief administrative officer for the city and the seven member city council is the legislative body. [2] [3] The mayor is elected from the entire city, while members of the city council are elected from seven different geographic wards, which have approximately equal populations.[4] [5] Both the mayor and the city council serve four-year terms. [6]

The mayor's duties include preparing an annual budget, appointing heads to executive departments of the city and either signing or vetoing legislative ordinance passed by the city council. [7] The city council is responsible for the city budget, which is supposed to be based on the mayor's proposed budget. All appointments made by the mayor must be approved by the city council.[8] [9] The city council may override the mayor's veto. [10] In addition, the city council creates all of the city's ordinance. The city council may create legislative ordinance with four of seven votes. Legislative ordinance must then be presented to the mayor who may then veto or approve the legislation. With an additional vote, for a total of five votes, the council may override the mayor's veto. [10]

In addition to the mayor-council system, Saint Paul is governed by a unique neighborhood system. Since 1975, the city is split up into 17 City Districts, which are then governed by a District Council. The District Councils receive funding from the city but are otherwise independently run. Most councils have significant power on land use issues.[11]

[edit] Mayor

See also: List of mayors of Saint Paul, Minnesota

The city has had three mayors who were natives of Ireland, William Dawson, Christopher D. O'Brien, and Frank Doran. Other Irish-American mayors of Saint Paul include: William Mahoney, William H. Fallon, John J. McDonough, Edward K. Delaney, John C. Daubney, Joseph E. Dillon, Thomas R. Byrne, Randy Kelly, and the current mayor, Chris Coleman. Unlike the rest of Minnesota and Minneapolis, Saint Paul has always been a Democratic stronghold. Aside from Norm Coleman who became a Republican in his second term, Saint Paul has not elected a Republican mayor since 1952.[12] The city's current mayor is Chris Coleman, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

[edit] City Council

See also: Saint Paul City Council
Saint Paul City Hall
Saint Paul City Hall

As of the 2007 general elections the Saint Paul City Council includes:

Ward Name Party
1st Melvin Carter III Democratic Farmer Labor Party
2nd Dave Thune Democratic Farmer Labor Party
3rd Pat Harris Democratic Farmer Labor Party
4th Russ Stark Democratic Farmer Labor Party
5th Lee Helgen Democratic Farmer Labor Party
6th Dan Bostrom Democratic Farmer Labor Party
7th Kathy Lantry Democratic Farmer Labor Party

[edit] State

Minnesota State Capitol building in Saint Paul, designed by Cass Gilbert
Minnesota State Capitol building in Saint Paul, designed by Cass Gilbert

Saint Paul is the capital of the state of Minnesota. The city hosts the capitol building, designed by Saint Paul resident Cass Gilbert. The Minnesota Supreme Court meets in the state capitol as well as the Minnesota Judicial Center. The Minnesota house and senate office buildings are also in the city. The Minnesota Governor's Residence, which is used for some state functions, is on Summit Avenue.

Minnesota's two major political parties are headquartered in Saint Paul. The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, affiliated with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Minnesota.

Saint Paul is also the county seat for Ramsey County. The city is represented by four Minnesota Senate districts; 64, 65, 66 and 67. Minnesota House of Representatives districts 64A, 64B, 65A, 65B, 66A, 66B, 67A and 67B are all located in the city.

Minnesota House and Senate districts
Senate House
Name Took office Party Name Took office Party
64 Dick Cohen 1986 DFL 64A Erin Murphy 2006 DFL
64B Michael Paymar 1996 DFL
65 Sandy Pappas 1990 DFL 65A Cy Thao 2002 DFL
65B Carlos Mariani 1990 DFL
66 Ellen Anderson 1992 DFL 66A John Lesch 2002 DFL
66B Alice Hausman 1989 DFL
67 Mee Moua 2002 DFL 67A Tim Mahoney 1998 DFL
67B Sheldon Johnson 2000 DFL

[edit] Federal

Saint Paul is located in Minnesota's 4th congressional district, a solidly Democratic district with a CPVI of D + 13.[13] The district is represented by Betty McCollum, a progressive Democrat, scoring 92% progressive by a progressive group[14] and 4% conservative by a conservative group[15] on a range of issues. One of Minnesota's current senators, Norm Coleman, was formerly mayor of Saint Paul. Saint Paul's Xcel Energy Center will be the host of the 2008 Republican National Convention.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Description of Saint Paul's Form of Government (pdf). 2008 Mayor’s Proposed Budget. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  2. ^ Sec. 2.01. Chief executive.. Administrative Code. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  3. ^ Sec. 4.01. Legislative power.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  4. ^ Sec. 2.01. Elective officials.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  5. ^ Sec. 4.01.2. Initial districts.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  6. ^ Sec. 2.02. Terms.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  7. ^ Sec. 3.01.3. Powers and duties.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  8. ^ Sec. 10.02. Submission of budget. and Sec. 10.06. Council action on budget.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  9. ^ Sec. 3.01.3. Powers and duties.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  10. ^ a b Sec. 6.03.1. Legislative ordinances. and Sec. 6.10. Reconsideration and overriding veto.. Saint Paul City Charter. City of Saint Paul. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  11. ^ Saint Paul Participation. Citizen Participation Project Case Studies. Citizen Participation Project. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  12. ^ Eric J. Ostermeier. Twin Cities Mayoral Historical Overview. Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  13. ^ Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?. The Campaign Legal Center. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
  14. ^ Grossman, Joshua. ProgressivePunch Leading with the Left. All Issues. ProgressivePunch. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
  15. ^ ACU Ratings of Congress, 2006. American Conservative Union (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.