Gaylord announces candidacy for DFL endorsement to challenge Kline
Gaylord: ‘It’s time for new representation’
Dakota County Board Chair Kathleen Gaylord shook hands with U.S. Rep. John Kline at a Yellow Ribbon Proclamation Ceremonly last week. Today, she is announcing her intention to seek the DFL endorsement to run against Kline in the November election. Photo by Laura Adelmann
Dakota County Board Chair Kathleen Gaylord announced today she will seek the DFL endorsement to run against John Kline in the new second congressional district.
“A number of people have asked me to consider running,” she told Sun Thisweek. “Virtually everyone I have talked to have been very supportive, Democrats and Republicans.”
Gaylord, an attorney and former mayor and city council member in South St. Paul , has served on the Dakota County Board of Commissioners since 2003, and is up for reelection in 2014.
Under the redrawn second district, Democrats index at more than 50 percent.
Gaylord said she analyzed how redistricting affected the district closely before making her decision to run.
“The district has changed substantially,”she said. “I think this is a district looking for new representation.“
Gaylord will challenge other DFL candidates also seeking endorsement at the district’s DFL convention, April 28 DFL at Rosemount High School.
Michael Obermueller of Eagan, a Minneapolis attorney and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, announced Tuesday he will seek the DFL endorsement, as will Patrick Ganey, a Northfield City Council member, who announced his candidacy March 24.
In a April 5 news release, Gaylord said, “Voters of all political persuasions are fed up with elected officials who put partisanshp ahead of progress. They want common sense government instead of governance by the lowest common denominator.”
Kline is seeking his sixth term in office; his spokesman, Troy Young, declined comment.
