For a complete list of John Choi's supporters and endorsements, go to http://votejohnchoi.com/supporters

I don't believe this should be an elective office. Howwever, since it is, I can only look to the candidates' work experience to determine who to support. On that basis, Choi leads the pack, with the most direct job-related experience of the three.

Frankly, it's the one county race that's a no brainer, although the sheriff's race may reach that point as well, given Fletcher's handling of the RNC, his recent waste of $280,000 on a Man From Uncle speedboat and his campaign's placement of election signs on vacant St. Paul properties. (Are they trying to imply the vacancies are the result of crime in a city in which the sheriff has no jurisdiction?)

Frankly, I don't consider courtroom experience a prerequisite for what is essentially an administrative position. Choi's website, however, does claim experience in civil litigation at a well known firm that's been around for many years.

Those who care to dig can look up cases in which the candidates were counsel of record in Minnesota district courts here:

http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/default.aspx

Pust claims "At least 50 court and jury trials and appeals in both federal and state courts involving several hundreds of court appearances in both civil and criminal matters, including four years of prosecution trial work for the City of Golden Valley." Having been in practice myself for 25 years,I don't find that terribly convincing. Cities prosecute misdemeanors, not gross misdemeanors or felonies. (A problem with Choi's stint as city attorney, too, if you feel prosecutorial experience is the primary qualification.) Being fairly familiar with the workings of state government, I don't find her claims of management experience as a (politically appointed) assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Dept. of Ed. terribly convincing either. C'mon, anyone who's ever held any management position in the department can claim "shared the responsibility for managing a public budget totaling $28 million annually." Moreover, assistant commissioners typically have a handful of career employees reporting to them, the people who really manage operations and cannot legitimately claim to have "directed a staff of 80."

http://www.tammypust.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={ABA48142-014A-42A9-81AB-DBE850110984}

Mr. Schultz's resume lists no managerial experience at all. His litigation experience, for a man with 25 years in practice, is no more impressive than Ms. Pust's, IMO. (31 trials, 32 appeals.) http://schultzforcountyattorney.com/resume/

Ms. Pust and Mr. Schultz may be excellent attorneys. I have no personal experience with any of the candidates. Mr. Choi, however, is the only one with any experience managing a law office in which the public is the client. He appears to have done a respectable job with the City of St. Paul, enough so that he'll get my vote August 10.

(FWIW, the only thing I really have against Mr. Choi is his endorsement by the DFL.)

The clear best choice for this job is the one candidate who actually has all of the right stuff -- David Schultz. David has personally handled nearly every kind of case for which the County Attorney's office is responsible. Neither of the other two candidates can say that. David has prosecuted FELONIES, including white collar crime (an increasing problem and one which the feds only handle if the amount is over $1 million, I believe). Neither of the other two candidates can say that. David has more courtroom experience that the other two combined. That IS very important. Would you want someone who has never fought a fire being fire chief? A police officer who's never been on the streets working cases to be police chief? David is the only candidate with the right experience to lead and mentor actual courtroom attorneys like those in the County Attorney's office. He's also the only one with the judgment, based on experience, to prioritize the efforts of the office and decide which cases should be tried. In these difficult ecomonic times, David will actually handle a limited case load (as other County Attorneys around the state do -- but neither Choi nor Pust plans to do so). It's not just an administrative job! And yet, David also has the relevant managerial experience too. He's been on the management committees of two law firms about the size of the County Attorney's office, dealing with personnel, budget, resource allocation, strategic planning, and so on. Choi is merely a political appointee with political ties. He has never, to my knowledge, even tried an actual case (civil or criminal). He's a lobbyist and politician. Tammy also is a politician (albeit one with more lawyering experience than Choi). This is the third different public office she's run for. David Schultz has the leadership, experience, and commitment to justice that neither of the other two candidates can touch.