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Nov 3, 2009 11:46 am US/Central
Minneapolis, St. Paul Vote On Mayors
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
Voting methods were as much at stake as the Twin Cities' mayoral posts Tuesday as incumbent Democrats R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis and Chris Coleman of St. Paul sought new four-year terms.
In Minneapolis, it was the first test of instant runoff voting, where people were able to pick more than one candidate through a ranking system. St. Paul's voters were determining whether their city would adopt the same setup for future municipal elections.
Republican-endorsed businesswoman Eva Ng stood between Coleman and a second term. Coleman touted successes in business development and his approach to budget balancing as reasons he deserves to stay. Ng said rising property taxes under Coleman were a reason to go a new direction.
Because there are no primaries under instant runoff voting, Rybak was up against 10 challengers in his campaign for a third term.
Rybak seldom engaged his opponents during the campaign, and they accused him of using his office as a stepping stone for a probable run for governor next year.
"It's not going to be easy if I run for governor, at all," Rybak said during a debate Monday on Minnesota Public Radio. But he said he has proven he can juggle high-profile assignments, citing his work in Minnesota on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
His commitment to the city weighed on voters like Betty Crossman, a 66-year-old retiree who voted at a northeast Minneapolis park.
"That bothers me a bit that he's going to run for mayor but something else might come along and he's going to leave us," she said. "But I still voted for him because at this point I think he's the best man."
Rybak has touted dropping crime rates under his watch, streamlined city permitting and his role in confronting major challenges, such as the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.
Tuesday was the maiden voyage for ranked-choice voting, and turnout was light.
Candidates who surpass 50 percent of the first-preference votes win their race outright.
But if no candidate surpasses 50 percent, the system triggers an "instant runoff." The bottom candidate is eliminated and second and then third choices are awarded to the top finishers until one exceeds 50 percent.
At a polling station in the library of a northeast Minneapolis middle school, an election judge was on hand to explain the new system. A diagram was printed at the top of the ballot showing how to fill in ovals for different candidates in three separate columns -- and telling voters their vote would be disqualified if they picked more than one candidate in a single column.
Some people ignored the ranking options, which was allowed.
"To be honest, I voted for the candidates I wanted and I didn't go to the second or third candidate," said Larry Wajda, a 60-year-old who owns a towing company.
Others, including clergyman Jim Wagner, 65, said he was open to the new way of voting.
"There's some wisdom in it, in that if the second-place person that you are willing to give second place to wins, it's sort of like you are OK with that," he said. "You don't have to vote for three. You can vote for just one or two."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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