Former State Rep. Dario Anselmo running for Hennepin County Board of Commissioners

Former State Rep. Dario Anselmo has announced he’s running for the District 6 seat on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners in the 2020 election.

“Serving as a Hennepin County commissioner will allow me to continue work on the issues I focused on during my time in the state legislature,” Anselmo, who represented District 49A in 2017-18 as a Republican, said in an Oct. 30 news release. “Whether it was infrastructure investment and reducing congestion on Interstate 494, reducing teen smoking and fighting the growth of vaping among our teens, or helping our community deal with mental health challenges and reducing teen suicides, the work I have already done has prepared me to tackle many of the issues facing our county.”

Anselmo, an Edina businessman and entrepreneur, was born in Duluth and was raised in Orono. He has lived in Hennepin County for nearly 50 years, the release said. He and his wife, Jeanne, have lived in Edina for 20 years. Their three children attended or currently go to Edina Public Schools.

He owned the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, co-founded the Warehouse District Business Association and was a member of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, the release said. He also served as president of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance for more than 10 years and was a board member of the Minnesota Mental Health Association.

Anselmo’s website is DarioAnselmoMN.com.

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners District 6 seat is currently held by Jan Callison. She is not seeking reelection.

District 6 includes a portion of Eden Prairie, much of the Lake Minnetonka area, Edina and Hopkins.

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners oversees the county’s management and administration, including long-range planning and managing the county budget and finances.

The filing period for county seats up for election in 2020 is May 19, 2020, until June 2, 2020. The 2020 election is on Tuesday, Nov. 3.