A City Central DFL Committee meeting last night yielded no endorsements for either DFL mayoral candidate, although the committee endorsed Paul Zerby for the Ward 2 council seat.

Last May at the city convention, no DFL mayoral candidates could collect the 60 percent majority needed to receive the endorsement. R.T. Rybak finished with a slight lead over incumbent mayor Sharon Sayles Belton.

“It would have been inappropriate for the City Central Committee to, in effect, overturn the city convention’s decision,” said Peter Wagenius, R.T. Rybak’s co-campaign manager.

The decision to vote on an endorsement for Zerby received some debate. Several representatives were concerned that only a few individuals would be making the endorsement for the entire party. Only the five representatives of Ward 2 could decide whether to endorse Zerby.

Former State Chairman Dick Senese pushed for an endorsement.

“It is incumbent upon us to endorse a DFL candidate when they are facing a candidate of another party,” he said.

The committee adopted the motion, and Ward 2 representatives unanimously endorsed Zerby.

Zerby thanked the committee and later said he was relieved to receive the endorsement, especially since his opponent, Cam Gordon, is Green Party-endorsed.

Motions to vote on endorsements for races in Wards 8 and 10, where two DFL candidates are running, were not debated. All other DFL Ward endorsements were decided in March.

– Tim Sturrock