Title
Thanking Ramsey County Elections Manager Joe Mansky for his years of service to the City and naming March 15, 2019 as Joe Mansky Day in the City of Saint Paul.
Body
WHEREAS, in 1984 then Secretary of State, Joan Growe, took a chance on a young hydrologist who crammed to learn the MN State Election Laws on the night before his interview and gave Joe Mansky the title of Elections Procedures Advisor, and
WHEREAS, Joe created the state’s first primary canvassing board report using an old IBM first generation personal computer and started a statewide voter registration system from scratch;
WHEREAS, in 1988 Minnesota became the first state to begin election night reporting getting actual results by 5:30 am and earning Joe a reputation statewide with the mantra “You better call Joe”, and
WHEREAS, Joe became the State Election Director at the age of 34, and in the early 90s designed the iconic red “I Voted” sticker, and
WHEREAS, after leaving the Secretary of State’s Office and working on redistricting for then Governor Jesse Ventura, Joe became the Ramsey County Elections Manager in 2002, and
WHEREAS, Joe is a walking encyclopedia of MN State Election Laws, because of his elephant like memory and the fact that he drafted many of the laws for Minnesota legislators, and
WHEREAS, after numerous elections, recounts, petitions, and the implementation of Ranked Choice Voting, Joe is going to hang up the election books and enjoy the activities and travels he loves, and
WHEREAS, we will miss the stories and wisdom Joe shared with us, garnering smiles with the familiar “Well, I’ll tell you what”, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the City of Saint Paul thanks Joe Mansky for his contributions making elections more efficient in the City of Saint Paul, Ramsey County and State of Minnesota, and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that Friday, March 15, 2019 be known as Joe Mansky Day in the City of Saint Paul.