St. Paul City Council candidate's behavior forces cancellation of forum

A St. Paul City Council race is drawing more attention than usual after one of the candidates was jailed on suspicion of posting a semi-nude photo of his wife on his campaign website. That, along with several other alleged instances of erratic behavior by David Martinez, has led to the cancellation of a candidates' forum that had been scheduled for Wednesday.

Three candidates, Shirley Erstad, Mitra Jalali Nelson and Martinez, hope to replace former Council Member Russ Stark, who resigned to take a job in Mayor Melvin Carter's administration. Stark represented Ward 4, on the border with Minneapolis including neighborhoods like Merriam Park, Macalester-Groveland and Hamline-Midway.

Even though Martinez has raised and spent just a fraction of the campaign money his opponents have, the 38-year-old has garnered far more attention than the others in both mainstream and social media.

In a YouTube video he posted last week, Martinez is seen arguing with security staff during a July 6 baseball game at Target Field before they forcibly remove him in handcuffs.

The day before that, police in St. Paul cited Martinez for disorderly conduct after two public library employees said he got within inches of their faces and was screaming obscenities.

Then early Monday, police arrested Martinez at his office in downtown St. Paul after his wife reported that he posted a semi-nude photo of her on his campaign website. Nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images can be considered a felony in Minnesota.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has not filed charges. St. Paul Police Department spokesperson Steve Linders said prosecutors returned the case to police.

"The investigation moving forward will just take some more legwork. There's some more fact finding that needs to be done. We have to come up with a solid case," Linders said.

Martinez remains jailed and could not be reached for comment. The photo appeared on Martinez's website the day after his wife filed for divorce and requested an order for protection, alleging abuse and fearing for the safety of their young children.

In a blog post beneath the photo, Martinez claims the allegations are fabricated and says he'll continue with his City Council campaign. His website has since been taken down.

Mayor Carter said in a statement that Martinez's alleged behavior is disturbing and he should drop out of the race immediately.

Doug Hennes, director of government affairs at the University of St. Thomas, said Martinez's decision to remain led the school and the Macalester-Groveland Community Council to pull the plug on Wednesday's candidates' forum.

"We kept track of the situation late last week and over the weekend and after it was made clear by Mr. Martinez that he was not going to withdraw from the race that we decided to cancel the forum," Hennes said.

Erstad, one of Martinez's opponents, said the situation is tragic for the Martinez family and agrees with Carter that Martinez should drop out.

"Hopefully he will get the help he needs and they can heal and go on to lead healthy lives, because I'm sure right now it's got to be extremely difficult for all of them," Erstad said.

Instead of talking about Martinez's behavior, Erstad said she wants to discuss hot-button civic issues in St. Paul, including organized trash collection, economic development and affordable housing.

She may have a chance to do that at the end of the month. The St. Paul League of Women Voters has tentatively scheduled another Ward 4 candidates' forum for July 30.