Sometimes publicity can hurt in an election campaign:
–In Mankato, a much-publicized DWI conviction likely helped cap Mayor John Brady’s tenure in office. He was trounced in his re-election bid by challenger Eric Anderson, 7,072 to 3,873.
Anderson, a financial planner, is a political newcomer who spent $1,966 on his campaign, says the Mankato Free Press. Brady spent less then $750.
Brady had been picked up in August for drunk driving in the Twin Cities on a day he was supposed to be flying to China to represent the city. He missed the flight when police pulled him over and found an open bottle of vodka and measured his blood-alcohol content at 0.24 percent. The city council voted 3-2 to ask him to resign, but he declined.
–And in St. Charles, not far from Winona, Stephen Thomas Conlin lost in his bid for a city council seat only 10 days after he’d been arrested after police found $85,000 worth of high-grade marijuana, cash and firearms in a raid on his home and his barbershop.
He came in last among four candidates for two seats on the council, but 256 people did vote for him. Maybe customers … of the barbershop?
