Lee Helgen is a DFL City Councilman who represents Saint Paul’s North End.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the whole crowd of DFL sinecures up for election this fall, Helgen’s seat is probably going to be the most interesting race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We’ve encountered Helgen before – his involvement in the controversial teardown of the house at 14 East Jessamine last year (I covered it here<\/a> and here<\/a>) is still fresh in many minds.\u00a0 Rumors around Saint Paul hint of other stories that haven’t broken yet.<\/p>\n And then there’s this<\/a>:<\/p>\n MGM [Liquor Warehouse] owns two residential homes on the southern part of the block [at the southwest corner of Larpenteur and Lexington], leading to speculation that expansion into the quiet neighborhood north of Como Park is imminent — something many neighbors oppose.<\/p>\n But the meeting really got interesting when Billy Dinkel, a District 10 board member and exec at the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that MGM honchos were pouring money into Helgen\u2019s reelection campaign.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now, bear in mind these District Council meetings usually make watching paint dry seem pretty cool.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not this time:<\/p>\n Helgen said he thought Dinkel was out of line bringing politics into the MGM discussion, and decided to tell him so after it was over.<\/p>\n
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