Larson Secures DFL, Labor Endorsements; Reinert Lands Police, Fire Unions

DULUTH, Minn. — The Aug. 8 primary election is less than three weeks away. Duluth Mayor Emily Larson and former state Sen. Roger Reinert are the likely two candidates headed to the general election Nov. 7.

“I doorknock five days a week. I’ve been out since January door-knocking. The campaign itself is really resonating with people. It is clear people are telling me their stories. And it’s clear that we’re a community that’s moving forward. People want to keep that momentum going,” Larson said.

“You know, we got signs on a couple of weeks ago, we literally can’t keep up with people asking for the yard signs. We’re just getting a ton of engagement through website, social media, you know as we’re out there in neighborhoods as we get closer to the primary, you know what we’re hearing from one end of the town to the other is we’re just ready for something different,” Reinert said.

With the primary right around the corner, political endorsements are adding up — particularly for incumbent Emily Larson.  She’s got the most endorsements — from the DFL Party to labor.

Reinert has two endorsements — police and fire unions.

Neither candidate is concerned of either’s endorsement list.

For two-time mayor Larson, she’s confident she’s the most connected to the people of Duluth to get the job done for a third term.

“We’ve already increased streets 850 percent since I took office, and we can do more of that. People have let me know that our investments in housing, the growth that they are seeing in how we have invested into 1,700 new units of housing, we’ve decreased crime citywide 22 percent, we’ve decreased greenhouse gas emissions 32 percent. We’re in our third straight record year of private investment in this community. All of these things are really resonating for people,” Larson told FOX 21’s Dan Hanger.

Larson’s endorsement list is extensive with the DFL Party behind her, as well as more than a half-dozen labor unions like the building and construction trades.

“I think my record of being a mayor of lasting impact of long-term solutions, whether it’s on housing or streets, creating an economy that works for everyone, really having a strong vision for economic development. All of that coalesces in that list of endorsements, in conversations at the doors and neighbors are telling me they are committed to this vision. And I’m just really eager to continue to accelerate the growth of this community,” Larson explained.

Meanwhile, for Reinert, he says he’s not actively seeking any political endorsement or endorsements outside of City Hall. He says he’s most concerned about city employees and the core services they provide to the community. That message is resonating Duluth police officers and firefighters. Their unions have not endorsed a mayoral candidate in more than a decade.

“I’ve been really focused on those unions that represent City Hall employees, like the community is asking someone to lead City Hall and our City Hall employees. So the fact that two of the three have already said we’re interested in the new partner on fourth floor, I think is really is a real statement to the community. And again, it goes back to those things, Duluthians want good fire service, they want good police service, they want good city services. So the unions representing our City Hall employees, I think, is a significant endorsement. And that’s where we’ve been having our conversations. And then just with Duluthians,” Reinert said.

Leaders from the Duluth fire and police unions told FOX 21 they don’t feel supported by Mayor Larson or her administration when it comes to competitive wages, benefits and engagement, which they say ultimately hurts morale.

“It came to a point in the last negotiations where we were being told, well, we got your training money and that was kind of in lieu of any wage increases. And for a job that can kill you, we shouldn’t have to give up benefits in order to have the training that we should have in such a job as ours,” said Katie Sandstrom, treasurer of the Duluth Firefighters Local 101. Roger, he’s not coming in promising us the world, but we feel that his values of core services including public safety, which his fire and police, are high on his list of priorities.”

“Duluth has said public safety is a priority, so prioritize it. And the way that you can do that is by having competitive wages. We are 17 percent below the average in the state of Minnesota. And we’re the fifth-biggest police department. You have to be competitive,” said Meghann Jones, president of the Duluth Police Union. “Roger has clearly stated that he’s willing to support us and have our back, and that’s what we want as a union.”

Mayor Larson told FOX 21 she is not surprised that the police and fire unions are not endorsing her because she said she hasn’t gotten their support the last two campaigns. But she said that won’t stop her commitment to public safety.

“We are the first department in the country that added a nurse to 911 response so that we can help people who may not need a public-safety-specific response but a more holistic response. We launched social workers to also protect police time so that they can address mental health and chemical health. We’ve invested $600,000 in the coordinated crisis response. So public safety is always top of mind for me, and that value and commitment and dedication will continue because those endorsements don’t change that,” Larson said.

They are two political candidates with plenty of political experience and name recognition, but two candidates who have very different opinions on how the city is operating now and how it should for the next four years.

“I’m supportive of labor. We’re standing here across from the Labor Temple, a place that I’ve been many times. But this is a local race. This is about the city of Duluth, this is who is going to lead City Hall. So those labor unions that represents our City Hall employees are especially important and I’ve had a chance to talk with all of them, not all of them endorse. That’s okay. You know, and my goal is just to be a better partner.  You know, our slogan from the very beginning has been ‘Expect more, do better’ and be a better partner, and that includes our own city employees,” Reinert said.

“This is a tremendous time in this community. As you know, later this week, we’re going to celebrate a billion-dollar hospital. Just this morning, we talked about $194 million investment in NLX (Northern Lights Express). We are breaking ground on new projects all the time, we continue to surpass previous years and permitting. It’s an amazing time to be in Duluth, and to make sure that we’re grounding our future and the values of families and neighborhoods so that they get to be a part of that prosperity,” Larson said.

Click here for more on the Aug. 8 primary and the November general election.