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Dan Kraker
Duluth

Duluth mayoral race down to two after primary

Emily Larson and Chuck Horton
Current City Council President Emily Larson, left, and former boxing promoter Chuck Horton hope to replace popular outgoing Mayor Don Ness.
Courtesy of Emily Larson and Chuck Horton

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Duluth voters have narrowed the field of candidates to two in the race to replace popular outgoing Mayor Don Ness.

Current City Council President Emily Larson captured more than 67 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary election, winning 33 of the city's 34 precincts. She outpaced second place finisher, former boxing promoter and gym owner Chuck Horton, who collected nearly 19 percent of votes cast.

Larson was the first of the eight candidates to declare her candidacy. She won the DFL endorsement, a critical advantage in heavily Democratic Duluth.

There's a strong interest among Duluth residents in continuing the city's momentum, Larson said. Last year the city was named "Best Town" in America by Outside Magazine. In recent years, Duluth has invested in outdoor recreation, arts and culture to try to attract entrepreneurs and young families.

The challenge now is to bring that vision to all parts of the city, Larson said.

"That's one of my passions," she said, is how to bridge inequity in the city, and how to really ensure that the next chapter of Duluth is for the whole city, not certain parts of it, not just certain neighborhoods, not one side or the other."

Horton criticizes some of the city's recent investments, including its purchase of the historic downtown NorShor Theater.

"My campaign is strictly about the roads, the streets, the infrastructure, crime and drugs," he said.

Horton is an independent who calls the Republican and Democratic parties broken. He bristles about being labeled an underdog in the race.

"I'm the one that was born and raised [in Duluth]. I'm the one that's worked and run a business here."

Both candidates promise to bring more transparency to Duluth's government, to let the public more closely inspect the city's budget and how financial decisions are made.

If Larson prevails in the Nov. 3 election, she will be the first woman to be elected Mayor in Duluth's 145-year history.

That's not why she's running, she said. "But I do see very clearly how that is something that can be very, very meaningful for people, and I value that."