Two candidates are running in Tuesday’s special election for the Ramsey County Board District 3 seat vacated by former commissioner Trista Martinson.

Joshua Bau and Garrison McMurtrey are vying to represent District 3, which includes Falcon Heights and several of St. Paul’s northern neighborhoods, including Payne-Phalen, the North End, South Como, Como Park, Frogtown, Hamline-Midway and St. Anthony Park.

To find out where to vote, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State’s polling place finder at pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us.

The two candidates recently were asked about their background, qualifications and priorities if elected. Their answers have been edited for space and clarity.

Joshua Bau

Age: 40

On his background

Bau has lived on the East Side of St. Paul since 2012 after moving back from Oregon and said he’s been involved in the community ever since. He worked as a chef at the restaurant Ward 6 before moving into the nonprofit sector.

“I’ve been working with different non-profits — running food shelves, doing some social work services, like getting people rental assistance and down-payment assistance for a couple organizations. And I currently have almost been at Merrick Community Services for six years running their food shelf and their Meals on Wheels program. And I mean, it’s a small sector. So you do a lot, you do a lot of cross training,” Bau said.

On his top priorities if elected

Communities have been disconnected since the COVID-19 pandemic, Bau said, so community relations is among his priorities. That would include community nights out, more contact with police officers and getting city officials and people out into the community, he said.

“Lowering property taxes, snow removal, community relations,” Bau added.

On his education and what qualifies him for the position

A resident of St. Paul, Bau has an undergraduate degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in theology from Bethel University. Bau previously worked on the St. Anthony Park Community Council.

“So I’ve done community work in the past, I’ve worked in the nonprofit sector, working with lots of organizations, lots of small businesses. And just seeing what people actually want. I’m talking to small businesses, rather than deciding what’s right for them. I spend a lot of my time and my money in the east side, because it’s important to me. It’s a great place to live, and I really enjoy it here,” Bau said.

What do you think is the primary role of government?

“Well, hopefully, to see the rule of law actually established, and to make life better for the citizens that we’re supposed to be representing,” Bau said.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you?

“Getting into those spaces is essential to be able to understand why people feel the way they do, and whether that be the face of facts or not, just to see why people believe the things they do, and what reasons they have for those,” Bau said.

Anything else you would like to add?

A fourth-generation St. Paulite, Bau grew up in Blooming Prairie, Minn., and spent his summers in St. Paul where his sisters and mother grew up.

Bau said he has a passion for the East Side of St. Paul and is interested in bringing the voices of small businesses to the board.

“It’s nostalgia, but it’s also, I think, having so many connections to this community that’s been a historically immigrant community and it still is. It’s fantastic. I really appreciate the food scene in this community. And I think, hopefully, it can only get better as long as we actually protect small businesses,” Bau said.

Website: joshuadavidbau.com/

Garrison McMurtrey

Age: 36

On his background

Originally from Mississippi, McMurtrey moved to Minnesota around 10 years ago and attended the Humphrey School of Public Affairs where he received a master’s in public policy. He now lives in St. Paul. He has worked on political campaigns and former president Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. McMurtrey also interned with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, D.C.

“It’s always been really important to me, the work of really uplifting the voices of folks who are oftentimes not at the table. Especially growing up in Mississippi, I got a chance to see really firsthand the impact, or in many cases lack thereof, of our government. My family grew up in a housing project. We relied on services like SNAP and WIC. And so when there was a lack of investment or even awareness of the different services and programs that our local government offered, my family would feel that directly, and so that kind of catapulted me to this,” McMurtrey said.

Once in Minnesota, McMurtrey worked as an outreach director for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

“I had a portfolio of workforce development, consumer protection, business, and so I got a chance to really fuse together two worlds I love, which is community engagement and policy. And so I did that for about two and a half years, then decided to venture out into … the private sector. And so I worked at Target for about five years doing stakeholder engagement, public affairs work, but my passion remained the public sector and public service,” McMurtrey said.

For the last two years, McMurtrey has worked as district director for Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. He’s served on the St. Paul planning commission and charter commission and chaired the St. Paul DFL.

What would your top priorities be if elected?

Top priorities would be housing, economic justice and social services, McMurtrey said.

“For Ramsey County, we’re in a deficit of 15,000 deeply affordable housing units, and I think that’s something that we need to prioritize … And we need a good mix of not only producing more mixed-rate housing, but we need to do more to invest in our deeply affordable housing throughout Ramsey County. The other piece that I think is really important is going into the whole theme of economic justice. So I’m running because I want to really center economic justice at the work that we’re doing at the county. And I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us when it comes to especially some of our under-invested corridors within our community. I’m thinking specifically of Rice Street, which is in the north end in my district. There’s a tremendous opportunity for us to invest, not only in improving the infrastructure on Rice Street, but making sure that we’re supporting the small businesses along there, that we’re looking at ways that we can build more affordable housing. Also, how can we incorporate the arts and culture in ensuring that we’re boosting up economic development?” he said.

Social services also is a priority, he said.

“Our county services make up nearly half of our budget, and so I want to make sure that those services are welcoming, that they are accessible, and, most importantly, responsive to the needs of folks in our community. So I would plan to really work hand-in-hand with our county manager and other county department heads to figure out how we can ensure our services are meeting the needs, to determine ways that we can improve and better streamline and also ensure that our workers at the county are getting the wages and the benefits and the support that they need and deserve,” McMurtrey said.

What qualifies you to hold this position?

McMurtrey’s experience in the private and public sectors has prepared him for this role, he said.

“I also think that it’s important that we’re bringing in new perspectives to these roles that have not been really amplified before. And for my position, for this position in particular, it has the potential of being historic. There’s never been a Black man elected to a county board in the history of the state of Minnesota. So if elected, I’d be the first. And although that’s not the sole reason of why I’m running, it’s not lost on me, that that’s a perspective and a lived experience that’s been missing from this level of government for way too long. And so I think that brings an important aspect of our community that hasn’t been at the table that I want to make sure that we bring that to the table now,” McMurtrey said.

What do you think is the primary role of government?

“For me, I think that it is important for government to step up and ensure that all of the people in our community have an opportunity and an environment where they can thrive. I think that there are, for Ramsey County, there are a number of disparities that continue to exist, whether that’s in housing or climate action or business development. And I think it’s important for government to step up and to be that extra resource for folks to ensure that we’re helping people who are the most marginalized, who are the most vulnerable, to ensure that they get a leg up. And so I bring a lot of that perspective from just living in Mississippi and seeing how, at times, ineffective government can be and believing that there’s an important role for us to play,” McMurtrey said.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you?

“Honestly, having worked in government for as long as I have, I have the experience of dealing with folks who don’t always agree with me on topics. And here’s where I’m at: I firmly believe that, whether we agree with each other or not, I want to make sure that any person who comes in contact with me, brings their perspective to the table, that they know that they were heard, that they know that their perspective and lived experience was taken into consideration. And I want to make sure that I’m upfront with them,” McMurtrey said.

Anything else you would like to add?

“Our team has been out since September of last year, door knocking, letting folks know about this race. I so firmly believe in the importance of letting folks know about their local government, and we are in some very scary and uncertain times, to be quite honest. With the current administration in the White House, there are folks in our community who are scared … I’m ready to be in this fight and doing this work with our community, and I hope that I can earn everyone’s support,” McMurtrey said.

Website: electgarrison.com/