Statement about running for governor: "We've got a goal here and it's not a small one: Our goal is nothing short of taking back this state. I was born in a great state and I'm not going to retire in a mediocre one." — Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak in his announcement Dec. 6 that he is running for governor.  

Party: DFL

Current government position: Minneapolis Mayor

Elected: 2001   

Term: 2nd

Occupation: public official, reporter, business consultant, community activist

Birth date: Nov. 12, 1955

Home: Minneapolis

Education: B.A., political science, Boston College

Websites:

R.T. Rybak

Office of the Mayor
          
E-mail: Contact the Mayor at City Hall

Key issues and priorities: Rybak's priorities are aimed at making Minnesota, and Minneapolis most specifically, a safe, pleasant and prosperous place to live. He is focused on job growth, ending homelessness and fighting crime within the city through prevention programs and police accountability. His biography on the mayor's website says, "Mayor Rybak is now leading efforts to revitalize north Minneapolis, attack juvenile crime, make Minneapolis a wireless city, end homelessness in ten years, and significantly reduce the City's energy consumption to combat global climate change."

Political experience: Mayor of Minneapolis, elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. Co-founder of ROAR (Residents Opposed to Airport Racket); Co-chair of the Minnesota for Howard Dean presidential campaign (2004); Chair of the Minnesota for Barack Obama campaign (2008); Vice President of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors, elected 2008.

Background articles:

"If Mayors Coleman and Rybak run for governor, they'll be following a lonely path"

Mayor of Minneapolis website

"Mayor R.T. Rybak reacts to Obama's economic plan"

"Minneapolis speaks: Q&A with city officials"

"Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak Jr. an early opponent of the Iraq war"