St. Louis County attorney candidate Mark Rubin already has endorsements from the unions associated with Duluth police, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office and Chisholm police. On Thursday, he got the nod from attorneys and investigators in his own office.
However, the 34 members of AFSCME Local 3761, who make up about half the staff in the St. Louis County Attorney's Office, were not given the chance to choose incumbent County Attorney Melanie Ford. That's because while Rubin asked for the endorsement, according to local President Gary W. Bjorklund, Ford declined to participate, citing county policy banning elected officials from using employees to support their re-election
campaigns.
"It is for precisely this reason that I declined to seek the endorsement of Local 3761 when given the opportunity," Ford said Thursday night. "By seeking the endorsement of one of the bargaining units in the County Attorney's Office, Mark Rubin shows that he lacks the leadership skills it takes to manage an office and hold a public position in which impartiality is imperative."
But Bjorklund indicated that even if Ford had been on the ballot, Rubin would have won.
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"Everyone in the office feels by far that Mark is best candidate for office," he said.
The union's news release touted Rubin's leadership skills and commitment to strong and fair prosecution of offenders as some of the reasons behind the vote.
Ford has the endorsement of womenwinning, the largest statewide women's political action committee. The Women's Campaign Forum, a non-partisan national network that says it's dedicated to advancing women leaders at all levels of political participation, also has endorsed Ford.
Rubin did not return a call from the News Tribune seeking comment.
