Dorfman Quitting Hennepin County Board Early; Special Election Coming

Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman's District 3 seat will be opening up sooner than expected, likely triggering a special election for St. Louis Park and Southwest Minneapolis voters.

Dorfman will step down in February after 14 years as county commissioner to take the executive director job at St. Stephen’s Human Services, a nonprofit providing assistance to the poor and homeless, according to the Star Tribune.

Dorfman, a DFLer who served as St. Louis Park's mayor before becoming a county commissioner, had already announced that she wouldn't be running for reelection in November. A number of candidates have expressed interest in her seat.

As a county commissioner, Dorfman worked on homelessness issues, spearheading the Heading Home Minnesota program, a "10-year plan to end homelessness by 2016."