In Duluth, hard-fought mayoral campaign nears finish
On Nov. 7, Duluth voters will decide the city’s most contested mayoral election in 15 years, in a contest pitting two-term incumbent Emily Larson, the city’s first woman to be elected mayor, against attorney and former state legislator Roger Reinert.
Reinert says voters want change and a renewed focus on core city services. Larson says she wants to accelerate the momentum, interrupted by having to navigate a global pandemic, of moving Duluth forward in a strong and positive direction.
The two candidates share much in common. While the position of mayor is nonpartisan, they’re both Democrats. Larson received the DFL endorsement in the race.
Both moved to Duluth as young adults. Larson came from St. Paul for school at the College of St. Scholastica. Reinert moved from western Minnesota at the age of 20, lured by Lake Superior.
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Both have long careers in public service. Larson, 50, is a social worker who served on the Duluth city council before being elected mayor. Reinert, 53, also was a city council member before being elected to the state legislature. He’s a Navy reservist, and recently served as interim director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Their differences have come into sharper focus across a series of pointed debates held after Reinert shocked a lot of people, including himself he says, when he won the August primary with 63 percent of the vote, to 35 percent for Larson.
“She’s in a position where she’s got to come out a little aggressive in order to show her supporters, ‘I had a bad primary, but I’m still in this, I’m still fighting, I can still win,’” said University of Minnesota Duluth political scientist Cindy Rugeley. “You know, that she’s still got the energy.”
Maintaining momentum
That energy was on full display during a recent interview in the plaza next to the Ordean Building on the western edge of downtown Duluth, a location Larson chose that she believes illustrates several accomplishments of her tenure.
“Welcome to the most exciting and dynamic intersection in our downtown!” she said in greeting.
Last month Larson joined a local developer here to unveil a plan to convert the 50-year old office building into badly needed apartments — a recommendation that emerged from a downtown task force she created.
“And so this is the first envisioning of that, which is really exciting,” Larson said.
The building stands on Superior Street, which was the recent focus of a massive, multi-million dollar reconstruction project that included the upgrade of the downtown district energy system to save water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Right across the street is the library, which is my dream and vision to invest in a strategy to advance our whole community,” she continued.
The city is pursuing state funding to help build a new library that incorporates additional services, including a workforce development center.
This intersection, Larson said, highlights both her past achievements and future vision.
“These next four years are about taking care of infrastructure and advancing climate solutions. It is about having a vision for the library, and economic development. It is about expanding housing, and building and leveraging off of every single investment that we have gotten from the state and federal government.”
Larson says over the past eight years the city fixed more streets, added more new housing and welcomed a record amount of private investment. She argues it’s important to build on that momentum.
“We truly risk going backwards,” Larson said. “We truly risk losing sight of the bigger picture of where we’re going as a community because we get stuck in these easy layers of political discontent. That’s not who we are.”
Calls for change
While Larson wants to finish the job she started nearly eight years ago, Reinert says Duluth residents tell him they’re ready for a change.
“East, west, old, young, liberal, conservative, folks are just ready for something different. It’s not personal. It’s just like, you know, we’ve done this for eight years, not sure we want to do it for four more.”
Reinert chose to meet at an intersection of bumpy, patched up streets in the Duluth Heights neighborhood, a place he said highlights several of his campaign priorities.
“So here definitely shows what I think a lot of Duluthians know, we’ve got work to do on our streets,” Reinert said.
Before arriving, Reinert looked up information about a modest single-family home at the intersection that he said illustrates two more priorities: the need for more housing, and more affordable property taxes.
“In 2016, that home was valued at $230,000. And it's now $320,000. In 2016, the property taxes were about $2,300. And they're now $4,400. So, the fact that we're not adding inventory is driving up those values and then driving up the associated property taxes with it.”
Reinert believes taxpayers have lost trust in local leaders. He said he hears from residents that they are paying a lot in property taxes, but they’re not seeing those dollars reflected in city services. “That the community has plateaued. Or is maybe even stagnating.”
He said the city needs to refocus on core services, including streets, parks and public safety.
“What I need to do is demonstrate to folks that we're getting the basics done, and we’re doing it well. And then we can talk about some more secondary issues that may not be priorities for everyone in the community.”
Contested campaign
Reinert says the victory he scored in the primary election not only validated his message, but also how he’s campaigned.
“You can go back over almost 10 months. I’ve not attacked or critiqued,” Reinert said. “We talked about the issues. We’ve only put out stuff that's about us, and we won't change that going forward.”
He even goes so far as to not use the word “opponent” when referring to Larson.
“I think words like opponent are inherently divisive. Whoever is asked to serve on November 7 is going to have to bring our community back together after a very contested election.” he said.
Reinert laments what he calls D.C.-style politics in the race. The Minnesota DFL has mailed flyers claiming Reinert is too “risky” for Duluth.
Larson points out her campaign had nothing to do with those mailers. More importantly, she said it’s critical to highlight differences between the candidates. She said that’s how democracy works.
“I feel really strongly that I have a record. I expect to be held accountable for it. My opponent also has a record and we should both be held accountable. And our actions should be openly talked about and discussed.”
Larson called the primary an "incredible motivator" that sparked an outpouring of support. She said her team has knocked on 12,000 doors since January.
The mayor said she hears a lot of grievances expressed by Reinert and his backers, but few details in how to address them.
“It is very clear to me that my opponent is comfortable talking in broad strokes without specifics, and trying to be everything to everyone. That’s a choice. And at the end of the day, that will disappoint.”
A recent exchange during a televised debate in Duluth highlighted a key difference in how the two candidates view the current state of the city and the progress it is, or isn’t, making.
Larson defended a speech she delivered two years ago on the steps of City Hall to celebrate modest growth in the city’s population of about 430 residents between the 2010 and 2020 census, saying it was important to celebrate progress.
Reinert called that growth rate “concerning,” and said Duluth lags behind other regional centers with faster rates of growth.
“We have to be realistic in order to be optimistic,” Reinert said later in an interview. Duluth is “good,” he added, “but could be exceptional.”
Larson said she believes it’s important to project a sense of “grounded optimism” about the community she leads.
“And if you're the one repeating these tired, decades-old narratives, who wants to invest in that?”
In 2014, then Duluth mayor Don Ness decided against a run for a third term, paving the way for Larson’s election. Now UMD political scientist Cindy Rugeley said Larson faces an uphill climb to retain the post.
“I think it works against a lot of candidates who are seeking multiple terms. It gets into, you've had long enough, it's time for somebody else.”