St. Paul, Minn. (April 18, 2010) – The Democratic Farmer Labor Party endorsed John Choi for Ramsey County Attorney last weekend at its state delegation. Delegates voted to endorse Choi over two other candidates in the first ballot.“I’m thrilled to have earned the DFL party’s support,” Choi said. “I genuinely appreciate that this many people have shown confidence that I can help assure that Ramsey County is a safer place.”
Choi served as Saint Paul City Attorney from January 2006 until resigning this past week to concentrate on his run for Ramsey County Attorney.
Among his accomplishments as City Attorney, Choi initiated the first civil gang injunction lawsuits in the Midwest against criminal gangs, developed a “Blueprint for Safety” in Saint Paul to hold offenders accountable and protect victims of domestic abuse, and created a successful driver diversion program. While initiating these programs, he skillfully led a public law agency and prosecution office of 70 employees with an $8 million budget.
Choi plans to expand on the work he has done at the City by aggressively prosecuting violent crime, sexual assault and domestic abuse; continuing to use innovative civil and criminal prosecution tools to pursue criminal gang members; and incorporating best practices in felony-level domestic abuse prosecution at the county level.
“I want to ensure the criminal justice system works for ALL people,” Choi said in his convention speech. “We will do everything we can to prevent crime from happening and intervene in the lives of our kids who are getting into trouble.”
In addition to the DFL endorsement, Choi has earned the support of important organizations including AFSCME Council 5, the Saint Paul Police Federation, Firefighters Local 21, Teamsters Local 120, Laborers Local 132, the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association, Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), Teamsters Joint Council 32 DRIVE, Stonewall DFL Caucus, MN DFL Veterans Caucus, and the Minnesota Nurses Association. He has also been endorsed by more than 75 current and former elected officials, hundreds of neighborhood leaders and legal professionals.
