By Scott Carlson
Voters in St. Anthony Park, Falcon Heights and several other St. Paul neighborhoods will go to the polls on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to fill the commissioner vacancy in Ramsey County Board District 3.
Vying for the seat formerly held by Trista Martinson are Joshua Bau and Garrison McMurtrey. The seat became open when Martinson resigned last summer to become executive director of Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy.
The winner of the special board election will serve out the remainder of Martinson’s term, which expires in 2026.
The two-man race pits Bau, a food shelf manager at Merrick Community Services, versus McMurtrey, a DFL activist and current district office director for U.S. Congresswoman Angie Craig.
The following are sketches of the two candidates:
Joshua David Bau
A resident of St. Paul’s Eastside, Bau said, “I am running for this office because I care about my community. I want it to continue to be strong and continue to get better for all residents.
“I want to make St. Paul safer, cleaner and greener. We can do all these things if we work together, listen to each other and find common sense solutions to our common issues.
Bau noted, “There are currently no voices from the Eastside on the council. I believe that it’s important for someone who has lived in and worked with the community to bring ideas and a fresh perspective to the council.”
A native of Blooming Prairie, Bau earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology from Bethel University, then added a master of arts in theological studies from Bethel Seminary. His career has included time as bartender, barista and a chef in Oregon.
Since returning to Minnesota in 2012, Bau has worked in the food and culinary industry including a stint at Ward 6 Eastside food and drink before it closed.
Asked what are his credentials to serve on the county board, Bau cited his experience working with small business, nonprofits, government agencies and large corporations “to ensure that Eastside residents are able to have their basic needs met and to thrive in a better standard of living.”
Asked what he considers the biggest issues facing the County Board, Bau listed property taxes, street cleaning, snow removal and road maintenance. He added, “I believe our power grid and utility infrastructure need to be redesigned to better fit the changing times we live in.”
Garrison McMurtrey
A native of Mississippi, McMurtrey moved to Minnesota 10 years ago and has been active in state and local politics ever since.
McMurtrey said he’s running for county board “because I believe we must center economic justice around the work we are doing at the county to ensure that we are building for future generations.
“Whether it’s housing, climate justice, support for small businesses or social services, all of it funnels into the vitality of our community,” said McMurtrey, whose career has included working in public affairs at Target Corp. and as an outreach director to Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, where he led community engagement in business, workforce development, communities of color and consumer protection.
McMurtrey added, “As a board, I believe we must be bold, strategic and laser focused on addressing the disparities that exist and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to thrive in our community. We must expand our mindset to not just think about building for the next 10 to 15 years, but what can we be doing now to build for the next 100 years.”
McMurtrey would, in one regard, make history if he gets elected. “Minnesota has never elected a Black man to a county board in the history of the state,” McMurtrey said.
“This was really surprising when it was shared with me,” he said. “Although it’s not the reason behind me running, it’s not lost on me that this has been a perspective and lived experience missing from county government for too long. I want to change that.”
If elected, McMurtrey said he wants to, among other things, promote economic justice in work at the county level and help build the economy, housing and county services for future generations. He cited, as examples, investing in cultural corridors to help spur economic growth and work with community partners to “establish shelters for our homeless neighbors” and ensure they can secure permanent housing.
McMurtrey also wants the county to promote recruiting manufacturing, healthcare and other growth industries to revitalize the region and “invest in county programs like the Emerging and Diverse Developers program to create a pipeline of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) developers interested in building affordable housing.”
A resident of Como Park with his wife Clare, McMurtrey has served on the St. Paul city planning and charter commissions and as chairperson of the St. Paul DFL. His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication from Ripon College in Wisconsin and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Scott Carlson is managing editor of the Bugle.