St. Paul mayor wins; Runoff voting approved

"We're on the verge of something great here in old Saint Paul," Coleman told the hotel crowd, "We're going to take our place as a true twin to that place across the river. We're going to be a part of an ever growing and strengthening region, but Saint Paul is going to get its fair share, it's going to get its due and we are going to be stronger and better than ever."

It was Coleman's first try at running on his own record, after a 2005 victory based on his hopes and the city's Democrat-leaning voters' disapproval of Mayor Randy Kelly's endorsement of President George W. Bush.

Coleman conceded his game plan for Saint Paul took major hits, in the form of the Recession and huge cuts in state aid payments. He said he regretted raising property taxes and cutting back some city agencies, but he said he tried to keep citizens in the loop.

Despite those troubles, he pointed out, the city managed to add police officers and increase fire department response times since 2005.  The mayor said he was also proud of the progress that had been made on the Central Corridor light rail transit line, and pledged to make the train a reality.

"We have faced every one of those challenges and we have faced it with open and honest conversation with the people of the city of St Paul about what kind of community they are trying to create," Coleman said, "We have said come to the table with us, come work with us, help us move forward, help us create a path forward."

The Democrat Coleman garnered 68.6 percent of the 34,000 votes cast, compared to 30.8 percent for challenger Eva Ng.

Although the election is officially nonpartisan, with no party affiliations appearing on the ballot, Ng was endorsed by Republicans. It was a mainly GOP crowd that gathered with Ng Tuesday night at a tavern on Selby Avenue known a Fabulous Fern's.

Ng, who was born in Hong Kong and raised in Texas, said she didn't regret running even if it was an uphill battle.

"In the long run Saint Paul needs that change, and I feel bad that the next four years is going to bring more taxes and more fees," Ng told KARE, "I don't know whether we can survive it all. And I hope none of us has to move away because of it."

The political novice said she was uncertain about making any future tries at office.

"I enjoyed the journey, but at the same time, am I a politician? I have a lot of options in the private sector right now, a lot of offers from people who want me to go into business with them." 

Thumbs up to Runoff

St. Paul voters were also asked whether they wanted to approve instant-runoff voting in future municipal races, allowing voters to rank their top choices in each race rather than voting for just one. 

Voters approved it Tuesday night, by a margin of 52 to 47 percent. 

Supporters say ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, provides more choice, improves representation, increases voter turnout, and promotes more positive and informative campaigns.

If no candidate wins a clear majority of votes, the last place finisher is dropped and those who voted for that person have their 2nd and 3rd choices applied to the remaining candidates' totals.

The process continues until a clear majority winner emerges. Opponents say that it is complicated, confusing, expensive and will leave voters out.  The city of Minneapolis used ranked-choice voting for the first time in a general election Tuesday.

Election workers there explained to each voter that they could only pick one candidate under the "1st choice" column, "2nd choice" column and "3rd choice" column.  Voters were also warned not to accidentally choose the same candidate twice.

Posters inside the balloting stands also reminded voters of the do's and don'ts of the new system.