15 August 2023
Victoria Reinhardt, the second-longest serving member of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, announced Tuesday morning that she would not seek re-election in 2024, creating a rare open seat for the position. By the end of her term, she would have served 28 consecutive years in the office.
Reinhardt, who was first elected to the county board in 1996, represents District 7, which spans Maplewood, North St. Paul and White Bear Lake.
Undated courtesy photo, circa September 2020, of Victoria Reinhardt, candidate for re-election to the position of Ramsey County Commissioner, District 7 in the November 2020 election. (Courtesy of the candidate)
Reinhardt, of White Bear Lake, holds a doctorate in public administration from Hamline University and wrote her dissertation on how to calculate cost savings of juvenile crime prevention programs, a formula she presented across the country. She was a founding board member and chairperson of the Recycling Association of Minnesota from 1989 to 1991, as well as chairperson of the White Bear Lake Recycling Advisory Committee.
She remains active on the Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy Board, among other environmental partnerships.
Fellow County Commissioner Rafael Ortega was elected in 1994. Otherwise, Reinhardt’s departure will continue a recent trend of departures for the board’s most longstanding members.
Former County Commissioner Jim McDonough, who was first elected in 2000, and Toni Carter, who was first elected in a special election in 2005, both stepped down at the end of December, having chosen not to seek re-election last fall.
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