Candidates for municipal races set

The field of candidates for municipal races in Minneapolis and St. Paul has been set, and it looks like the most hotly-contested race will be for a north Minneapolis City Council seat.

Former Minneapolis City Council member Natalie Johnson Lee is running against Don Samuels in the 5th Ward. Samuels defeated Johnson Lee in 2005 after a sometimes rancorous campaign fight.

Both are black, and during the campaign, some Johnson Lee supporters accused Samuels, a Jamaican immigrant, of not being sympathetic to the plight of African Americans. As a city council member, Johnson Lee was a member of the Green Party. This time she filed as a DFLer.

There are three open Minneapolis City Council seats - all of which have multiple contestants. Mayor R.T. Rybak will face 10 other opponents, and in St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman will face three opponents.

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