Anderson will buck party in House 17B race

Cliff Buchan, News Editor, Forest Lake Times

After seeing Democrats hold the state House seat serving Chisago County for 26 of the past 30 years, Sheldon Anderson said he could sit idle no longer and watch the Republican Party repeat history this fall.

On Tuesday, Anderson, a three-term mayor of Wyoming, filed papers in Center City to run for the House seat in District 17B as a Republican. That will mean a primary election on Aug. 10 as the party last month endorsed Bob Barrett of Shafer to seek the House seat that Rep. Jeremy Kalin, DFL-North Branch, is vacating after two terms.

It was the endorsement process and blow back and the party’s lack of success over the past three decades that motivated Anderson to not abide by the decision of the endorsing convention, he said.

“When I agreed to abide by the endorsement, I was assuming it would be an ethical process,” Anderson said. “It turned out not to be.”

Anderson lost on the fourth ballot to Barrett during the April 17 convention in North Branch. The tide went against Anderson, he said, when Chisago City Mayor Don Taylor and Wyoming Councilman Russ Goudge, the other two announced candidates for the endorsement, backed Barrett.

Taylor lost to Kalin in the 2008 election. Anderson also lost a four-ballot endorsement contest to Taylor in 2008 before throwing his support behind Taylor in the fall election, he said.

But Anderson said the process and attacks against family and friends motivated him to take the next step.

During the convention, Anderson said he heard remarks that his wife, Olga, who is from Belarus, Minsk, was a communist.

Anderson said Chip Cravaack of Lindstrom, the Republican endorsed candidate to run against Rep. Jim Oberstar in the Eighth Congressional District, ignored subtle pleas from party members to not step forward and second Anderson’s nomination for the endorsement.

The mayor said he was also critized for serving as campaign manager for former St. Paul Police Chief William Finney’ during his run for Ramsey County Sheriff four years ago because Finney had strong DFL backing in the race.

Stacked Deck

After being rejected in 2008 and again this year, Anderson said it was clear he would never win favor of the party leaders in House District 17B.

And the fashion in which the endorsement process was completed says it clearly, Anderson said.

“I’m not in the upper echelon of the party,” Anderson said. “I don’t dance to the party’s line.”

Anderson said he could have lived with the endorsement had it been based on records. “Not once was my six-year record as mayor of Wyoming challenged,” he said.

During that tenure, Anderson said he help lead a process that brought the former Wyoming Township and the city together as one city. Under his lead, Wyoming became the second city in the state to adopt a rigid sexual predatory ordinance, he said. He said he was the first city official in the county to step forward and back the LS Power proposal and was an activist in working to assist Xccent, Inc. to relocate 100 jobs from Osceola, WI, to a new plant in Wyoming.

“I am willing to let my record stand,” he said. “My message will resonate with the people in Chisago County who did not go to the caucus.”

Anderson said he believes he can win in August because he has better name identification, a stronger resume and leadership skills.

Anderson said he made the decision to file after evaluating the situation and hearing encouragement from other party members who shared his concerns. “They didn’t feel the endorsed candidate is the guy who can win in November,” he said.

The mayor said he will count on a strong grassroots movement in his attempt to win the primary.

“He’s [Barrett] going to have the financial backing of the Republican Party,” Anderson said. “There is no doubt that I am going to be outspent.”

Barrett Reacts

“I look forward to running in the primary with the full backing of my party,” Barrett said on Tuesday after learning of Anderson’s decision.

Bob Barrett, left, of Shafer, is the Republican-endorsed candidate in the House District 17B race.

During the endorsement process, Barrett said all four candidates were given ample opportunity to meet with delegates, both privately and during public forums. It was the result of that process that led to his endorsement on April 17, he said.

“To my knowledge, all four candidates agreed to abide by the endorsement process,” Barrett said.

In it to Win

Anderson said he believes he is the race for the right reason.

“I didn’t get into politics to make friends,” he said.”I got into politics to help make our community a better place for our kids, families and businesses.”

Anderson, 48, is a Maplewood native who has lived in Wyoming just under 10 years. He is co-owner of Capital Investigations and Security Services, Inc., St. Paul, a 20-year-old business.

Barrett, who works at Hazelden Foundation in Center City, moved to Shafer after living in the Elk River area.

In 2000 while a resident of Orrock Township, Barrett was as member of the DFL Party. That year he challenged incumbent Rep. Leslie Schumacher in the DFL primary and was defeated by a margin of 1804 to 1037.

The winner of the Republican primary is expected to face a challenge from Cindy Erickson, the DFL district chairwoman who has been endorsed by her party to run for Kalin’s seat.

On the Independence Party ticket, Curtis Lendt of Wyoming, a former Chisago County commissioner, said this week he will file to run for the House 17B seat as a third-party candidate.

The Republican Party primary is the first such vote in more than 30 years for the district.