Bergstrom: I'm in it to win it, but I won't run against the DFL endorsement in 2014

Greta Bergstrom has made up her mind, and she's decided to make a run for it: she put up a website and says she's decided to run for the 64B seat.

It's actually her third campaign in the district. She managed Howard Orenstein's re-election in 1992 and sought the seat when he retired in 1996.

Bergstrom says its home turf, and not just because of her political experience. She grew up in the neighborhood and went to Groveland Park elementary and Highland Junior and Senior High.

She's a Macalester grad, and but for a couple years when she was a guardian ad litem and thinking about a law career in Washington, D.C., Bergstrom says she's lived in Senate District 64 almost her entire life.

"My values really have been shaped by the people in the district," she says. "Whether its the schools - the public schools or college - or my neighbors or the people I grew up with... I know this district."

Bergstrom is currently the communications director for TakeAction Minnesota, the St. Paul-based liberal action group. She's also worked in corporate communications for Best Buy, particularly in the Hispanic market. At North Woods advertising, she helped work on the campaigns of the likes of Ned Lamont, the U.S. Senate contender in Connecticut and John Hickenlooper, the Denver mayoral candidate and now Colorado governor.

A political communications veteran, she says she's ready to sit at the other side of the desk, listening to constituents and advocates make their case and be a decision maker.

"My job to to listen to people about the issues that impact their lives, help shape their stories and connect these stories to decision-makers at the Capitol and beyond," Bergstrom says. "That's what I do on a daily basis and it's great experience for becoming a state legislator."

She says she's focused on equity issues, on minimum wage, on income and educational disparities, and health care access. Bergstrom concedes the district is relatively well off, but thinks people care about those issues, nonetheless.

Still, its the DFL endorsement she'll have to win first. 

TakeAction-backed race Rena Moran ran against the DFL's Jeremiah Ellis in 2010 and beat him after Cy Thao decided not to run again. There may well be some suspicion that if TakeAction endorses in 64B, that could conflict with the party process again.

Bergstrom says she doesn't know if TakeAction will even get involved in the 64B race, let alone if she'll be their candidate.

But even if she is, she says she won't mount a primary challenge. "I'm seeking the DFL endorsement," Bergstrom says. "If somebody else wins it, I won't challenge... If there's a district that you can expect to make a strong endorsement and move forward, its this one. And I expect we can all come together."

You can check out her webpage at http://gretafor64b.com.