Four Vying for House District 49A GOP Endorsement

The Senate District 49 GOP Convention came and went in late March without any clear picture of who would actually be on ballots for local legislative offices this fall.

While for each of the local races—Melisa Lopez Franzen for State Senate, Ron Erhardt for House District 49A and Paul Rosenthal for House District 49B—the GOP side has been in flux with news and (R-Bloomington) would not be seeking reelection.

Once he would be entering the race to fill Michel's Senate seat, the local political scope was completely altered.

Those races will finally come into focus when the local Republican party hosts an endorsing convention on Thursday, May 10, at Jefferson High School in Bloomington.

Four candidates have formally announced their campaigns for House District 49A: Polly Peterson Bowles, Bill Glahn, Alice Hubert and Steve Wise. As for House District 49B, only Tom Hulting has declared interest in the GOP endorsement.

Peterson Bowles, a former attorney who served nonconsecutive terms on the Metropolitan Council, said the timing finally felt right for her to "throw my hat in the ring."

"I have had a life-long interest in government, and have been urged many times over the years to run for political office," she said in a release.

Glahn was recently elected to the SD49 Executive Comittee and served as Director of the Minnesota Office of Energy Security and Deputy Commissioner in the state's Department of Commerce under former Gov. Tim Pawlenty from 2008 to 2011. Since leaving state government, Glahn has been active in his own management consulting practice.

He is a member of Edina's Energy Working Group and coaches girls soccer through the Edina Soccer Association.

Hulbert is no stranger to Edina's political scene, having served on both City Council and the Park Board in the past. She has also volunteered with the Edina Girls Athletic Association, Adaptive Recreation & Learning Exchange, Arc Minnesota and the Hennepin County Medical Society.

Wise works as CFO at Cass Screw Machine Products and has served as chair of the TwinWest Board of Directors since 2006. He's also a board member with Opportunity Partners and member of the Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association.

As for Hulting—the lone candidate for House District 49B—he has been a member of the Bloomington City Council since 2009. Hulting works in the sale of large-scale computer systems and has been active in the local Republican party.