Randy Cameron Kelly (born August 2, 1950) is an American politician and the former mayor of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). Born in the small town of

Rolette, North Dakota Rolette is a city in Rolette County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 484 at the 2020 census. History Rolette was founded in 1905, and was incorporated in 1930. The city took its name from Rolette County. A post office has been ...

, Kelly and his family later moved to Saint Paul, where he graduated from Harding High School, and the

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Service in the Minnesota Legislature

Kelly served in the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...

from 1991 to 2002, representing District 67 (covering most of Saint Paul's East Side), and in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the Min ...

from 1983 to 1991, representing districts 66B and, after redistricting, 67A. While in the

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

, he worked to reform Minnesota's

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

system, including creating a statewide criminal gang strike force, developing a four-year law enforcement degree, authoring many of the existing crime-victim and witness laws, and worked towards requiring sexual offender registration and community notification. Kelly served as chair (2001) and a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, and was also a member of the Crime Prevention, Finance, and Telecommunications & Energy & Utilities committees. He was also a member of the Public Safety Budget Division subcommittee. Previously, in the Minnesota House, he had served as chair of the House Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1991.

Mayor of Saint Paul

Kelly was the mayor of

from January, 2002 through January, 2006. He won the office in 2001 by just 403 votes in a tight race with Jay Benanav, a city councilman. As mayor, he was noted for his efforts to increase the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

and create and retain high-paying jobs. During Kelly's term in office, his political views and several appointments generated controversy. In 2004, he rankled fellow Democrats by endorsing and campaigning for President George W. Bush's re-election. According to critics, his conservative views, which may have been intended to garner support from Republicans and independents, undermined his constituent base in the Democratic Party. An unsuccessful

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campaign to recall him was launched shortly after his announcement in support of Bush's re-election effort. In 2005, one of Kelly's appointees, Sia Lo, head of the criminal division of the city attorney's office, was reported to be at the center of an investigation into alleged corruption in a city development deal which focused on a new Hmong funeral home on the city's West Side. Lo was never charged.

2005 mayoral race

Kelly sought reelection in 2005 and narrowly avoided being dropped from the ballot in the September

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

. Fellow DFLer Chris Coleman finished in first place with 52% of the vote, Kelly at 27%, and the

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candidate, Elizabeth Dickinson, at 20%. The top two finishers went on to the November general election, in which Coleman defeated Kelly 69% to 31%. This was only the third loss by an incumbent Saint Paul mayor, as well as the greatest percentage loss on record for an incumbent mayor in the city's history. In the aftermath of the election, it was suggested that Kelly's endorsement of President Bush the previous fall was a factor in his loss to Coleman.

Post-mayoral activities

In late 2006, Kelly was named Deputy Associate Administrator for Intergovernmental Relations for the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

by President Bush. At the EPA, his duties included managing relations with governors, state legislators, mayors, county executives and other state and local officials, as well as working with the national associations representing these officials. In the position, he also served as the liaison to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He remained in this position until early 2009. He continues to reside on Saint Paul's East Side with his wife and family. Kelly's youngest son, Reed Kelly, competed on season 29 of ''

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'' on CBS with his boyfriend Josh Canfield.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Randy 1950 births Living people Mayors of Saint Paul, Minnesota Democratic Party Minnesota state senators People from Rolette County, North Dakota 21st-century American politicians