Sanow says he won’t oppose Seifert in 21A

By Rae Kruger
Marshall City councilman Charlie Sanow said he’s been asked, but he won’t run against Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, for the District 21A House seat.

Sanow said he considered running but decided against it.

“I’m not in a place where I want to do that,” Sanow said of running against Seifert. “I’m not sure if I will run for council. I haven’t decided yet.”

Sanow attended the Senate District 21 DFL fund-raising event in Morton on Saturday, in part to help make his decision on whether or not to run, he said on Monday.

Sanow, who said he is not tied to the Republican, DFL or Independent parties, said if he decided to run he would have run as a DFL candidate.

“There’s been a lot of people asking me if I’d run against Marty,” Sanow said.

The majority have been people who aren’t connected to any particular party, Sanow said.

Those who have asked him to run say Seifert, the House Minority Leader with his close ties to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, isn’t in a position to fully represent the district, Sanow said.

“I think they want a person who represents the area, who represents the people and who is willing to go up there and get the job done,” Sanow said.

“I’m tired of (legislators) picking sides and starting fights,” Sanow said. “Let’s just get something done...”

Seifert was first elected to the House in 1996.

He has won each election since 1996 by an overwhelming majority of votes.

Pat Mellenthin ran as the DFL candidate against Seifert in 2004 and 2006.