There are two people running:
John Choi
Luke Kyper Bellville
This is a straightforward one. I like John Choi for a number of reasons, but the #1 reason for my respect for him is that he opted to prosecute the police officer who shot Philando Castile. Unsuccessfully: Yanez was acquitted. But you can’t guarantee outcomes as a prosecutor. You file charges, go to trial, and do your best, and he did.
Luke Kyper Bellville ran for judge in Hennepin County in 2016. Here’s what I wrote about him two years ago. He was clearly a flake candidate two years ago. Then he ran for Saint Paul school board last year; he was clearly a flake last year. He remains a flake. Basically the only content on his website are his answers to the questions from an ACLU questionnaire, which he seems to have scanned in; they’re fine. But he tells you nothing about his experience and qualifications, even to the point of reassuring voters that he has a law degree. (He does. I dug that up when he ran for judge two years ago.)
The pictures on his current website seemed so oddly chosen I ran a google image search and found a nearly-identical-in-design unfinished site on the same host. (Content warning: allegedly it’s a “before and after” site for a penis pump. When I visited on 9/30/2018, however, the pictures were the same as the ones on Bellville’s campaign site.)
Anyway: definitely vote for John Choi.
Your website is spot on! I don’t have much time to do my own research, but I feel it is my civic responsibility to take the time to research the candidates before I vote. You have told me what I need to know to make an informed decision. Much thanks!
I had an opportunity to speak with someone who serves as a public defender in Saint Paul about the fact that Choi opted to prosecute Yanez after Castile was shot. Her take was that he made conscious decisions throughout the process to ensure that the prosecution was unsuccessful.
I’m bummed he doesn’t have a serious challenger this year.