Choi has lots of Hmong supporters, so I thought it's appropriate news for the Hmong news forum.--Rr
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Choi wins county attorney post
Former St. Paul attorney beats Schultz
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.comUpdated: 11/03/2010 03:46:21 AM CDT
Maybe John Choi couldn't wait to start fighting crime in Ramsey County.
The night before winning the seat of Ramsey County attorney, the county's top prosecutor, Choi was distributing literature on Portland Avenue near Snelling Avenue when "I saw this guy zoom past me" on foot, he said.
Turns out the man is believed to have robbed a SuperAmerica gas station moments earlier. Choi was able to point police in the direction the man had run.
Voters chose Choi, 40, by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent against litigation attorney David Schultz, 51. Both men live in St. Paul.
Choi worked as city attorney for St. Paul for four years until resigning earlier this year to run for county attorney.
"I'm just so humbled that the voters are giving me the opportunity to continue my public service, and I'm looking forward to it," Choi said Tuesday night from a "packed house" at O'Gara's Garage in St. Paul.
He congratulated Schultz, a well-respected attorney with 25 years of courtroom experience, for running a good, hard-fought campaign.
Choi will assume the job in January, taking over from Susan Gaertner, who was first elected in 1994. She ran for governor until dropping out of that race in April.
Choi received broad support from throughout the community, winning the endorsements of the local DFL Party, police and fire labor unions, former vice president and former Minnesota attorney general Walter Mondale, and politicians on both sides of the political
He also said it spoke volumes that many of those who had worked for him in the city attorney's office backed him.
"You can't escape your record or your actions. People talk," he said during the campaign. "I am a really good manager of people."
Choi said during his campaign that he would focus on domestic violence and on keeping juveniles out of the justice system.
In the four years he served as city attorney, from 2006 to earlier this year, Choi managed 70 employees and an $8 million budget. He said he thought "outside the box" to address persistent problems. For instance, he worked with the Legislature and police to use civil gang injunctions to curb violence at city festivals.
Before becoming city attorney, Choi worked for 10 years in private practice, including seven years with Kennedy & Graven, a firm specializing in local government law. He became a partner there at age 30. He lives in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul with his wife, Youn, and their 2-year-old son, Will.
Schultz, an attorney with the Minneapolis firm of Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, also has 10 years of experience with the state attorney general's office. He said during the campaign that he felt like an outsider in the face of Choi's many political ties.
Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.
Topic: John Choi wins Ramsey County Attorney seat. (Read 328 times)