DFL's Kelliher in Fifth Congressional District - strib endorsement

The whole state will benefit if the Fifth Congressional District — Minneapolis and its adjacent suburbs — is represented by a top-notch lawmaker in the U.S. House. That’s why the return of Margaret Anderson Kelliher to public life is good news, and why she’s our choice in the DFL nomination contest to succeed U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison.

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That history suggests that the winner of the DFL primary could occupy the district’s seat for a long time. It puts an onus on next week’s Fifth District DFL voters to choose a candidate who’s a good bet to be an able performer from the start and for years to come.

Kelliher, 50, fills that bill well. For 12 years she was an exceptional state legislator, becoming speaker of the House in her fifth term. In that role, she was key to noteworthy accomplishments. She engineered the 2008 veto override that broke a 20-year logjam on transportation funding, and played an important role in sending the Legacy Amendment to the state’s voters in 2008 and adopting aggressive state renewable energy goals in 2007.

In 2010, she was the DFL-endorsed candidate for governor, losing the primary to Gov. Mark Dayton by fewer than 7,000 votes. Since then, she has been CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association, a trade association for some of this state’s most important businesses; taught at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs; served a stint as a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities trustee; and, at Dayton’s behest, chaired the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband.

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Torres Ray, 54, is our clear second choice. She’s a native of Colombia whose experience as an immigrant to Minnesota 30 years ago informs her thinking about federal policy. Now serving her 12th year in the state Senate, she has made K-12 education her specialty. That’s a top state priority, but it’s a secondary matter for Congress. She’s well-versed in immigration policy and eager to combat climate change, but is not as attuned to other issues.

Omar, 35, also offers a compelling life story. But it includes just one term as a member of the Minnesota House minority. It’s been a highly visible term. Omar has received national notice as the first Somali-American state legislator in the country. The chance to send the first Somali-American to Congress undoubtedly appealed to Fifth District DFL convention delegates when Omar won their endorsement on June 17. (Kelliher and Abdulahi did not compete at the convention.)

But Omar’s accomplishments are lean compared with those of Kelliher and Torres Ray, and we’re bothered by their apparent overstatement on her campaign website. For example, it claims that she “negotiated over $200 million” in bonding for her district, when she did not serve on the House bonding committee. Similarly, her six-month delay and resultant fine in filing the financial disclosure required of House members — and her error in initially keeping disallowed speaking honoraria from two Minnesota community colleges — are of concern.

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The Editorial Board screened but cannot recommend any of the three candidates on the Republican Party’s Fifth District primary ballot. None of them is qualified to represent this state’s largest city and its suburbs in the U.S. House.

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http://www.startribune.com/editorial-board-endorsement-dfl-s-kelliher-in-fifth-congressional-district/490303731/