Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to a third term in 2014. “This is the right decision for me and my family right now,” said Ritchie, 61. “When I did the math, if I would be honored by being re-elected, I would be closer to 70 than 65” after completing another term. He hasn’t decided what he wants to do after leaving office. “My public service will take a different form. I don’t know what it will be, but it won’t be as Minnesota’s next secretary of state. That will be for a new generation of leadership.” Vacancies in state constitutional offices are rare, and the announcement by Ritchie, a Democrat, is likely to set off a stampede of ambitious candidates for his post.
Rachel Larson Bohman, a veteran elections administrator from Rochester, was the first to candidate to jump into the race. “Minnesota has a strong tradition of honest and open elections, and my goal is to build on that work as the next secretary of state,” Bohman, 36, said in a news release.
Now a full-time Democratic candidate, she was Anoka County’s election recount director in 2008 and Hennepin County’s election manager in 2010. A graduate of the University of Minnesota and the William Mitchell College of Law, she previously worked in the offices of former secretaries of state Joan Growe and Mary Kiffmeyer.
“I’ve dedicated my life to working on these (election and citizen engagement) issues,” Bohman said in an interview. “This is the only office I considered running for.”
Full Article: Mark Ritchie won’t seek re-election in 2014 – TwinCities.com.