by Dennis Dalman
A former St. Joseph mayor, Richard Carlbom, might well soon be the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer Labor Party.
On March 29, a conference of DFL members will meet in Edina to vote for a DFL state chair, as well as other state positions. Carlbom and Jack Lindsay, a DFL campaign organizer from Mankato, are competing in that election.
Ken Martin, the current chair of the state DFL Party, was chosen just two months ago to become chair of the Democratic National Committee. That move left a vacancy.
Carlbom is currently chief of staff for Gov. Walz, who has endorsed him for the State DFL Party chairmanship. Carlbom served as St. Joseph’s mayor from 2005-2010. The previous mayor, Larry Hosch, convinced Carlbom to file for mayor toward the end of 2004. Both in their early 20s at the time, they were friends as students at St. John’s University and both were deeply involved with organizing for the DFL. Hosch went on to become a Minnesota State House representative, who was elected to four terms.
Carlbom earned a degree in political science from St. John’s University shortly before his election as mayor. As he had in college, he worked tirelessly as a DFL coordinator/organizer, serving as financial advisor to Gov. Walz and leading Walz’s re-election campaign.
In 2010, Carlbom spearheaded the fight against passage of the Minnesota Legislature’s “United For All Families” amendment that would have banned marriage between same-sex couples. The amendment was defeated. Later, Carlbom gained national attention when he led the effort – and succeeded – in State Legislation allowing legal civil same-sex marriages some years before that was approved on the national level.
Carlbom has many campaign videos on his campaign website. In one of them, he is walking down St. Joseph’s downtown Minnesota Street while talking as a videographer films him.
“My grassroots started in central Minnesota, and we’re going to invest in Greater Minnesota,” he said. “Don’t shout at voters and tell them what to think but instead be curious about what a voter is feeling. And try to understand the experience they’re having in their own communities.”
Richard Carlbom
