By permission from the Greg Copeland Campaign for Ramsey County Commission District 3, we are reposting this post from the gregcopeland911.wordpress.com website which was originally post on October 26, 2026 “Ramsey County Commission District 3, 4, and 6 LWV Forum October 8 2026.” Ramsey County Commission District 3 takes in all of HD 66B, parts of HD 66A, and HD 65A (map link here). The clarifications & comments in the post are from Greg Copeland’s administrator of his site, known by a pen name of Publius Jr. — admin
A Note to Readers: There is only 1 contested race in this forum in District 3 between the DFL endorsed candidate Garrison McMurtrey and Greg Copeland who is running in a nonpartisan race. Greg has run for the legislature as an endorsed Republican but in this race he is a nonpartisan candidate. He had asked the LWV why there are 2 other candidates answering questions and they told him that voters want to know the opinions of those in uncontested races. So 3 DFL endorsed candidates get 3 minutes to answer a question to 1 nonpartisan and a previously endorsed Republican Legislative candidate who gets only 1 minute to respond. Does that seem fair for a “Nonpartisan” group to do that? That’s why their Nonpartisan claim needs to be challenged and their nonprofit status too. They are an arm of the DFL Party in this state and this is the kind of nonsense they pull.
This video has all the questions asked of the candidates, and when the responses are have timestamps on them starting from the start of the video. The SPNN/LWV Team doesn’t set it up on their videos with “Chapters” or breaks marking when questions are asked. They aren’t kind to their viewers. If their forums were merely informational they would make sure the audience who views the video would know when and what is being asked. ~~ Publius Jr.
For the sake of fairness, to start off we will not list the incumbent’s title, just what party endorsed them. We’ll list the Candidates in the Original Electoral Colors prior the #NewsMafia’s switcheroo in 2006. Republicans will be in Dark Royal Blue (Greg Copeland is running as a nonpartisan but to local media they treat him as Republican and so will this post), and the Socialist Democrats will be Communist Red (Socialists, Communists, Fasciists, Nazis all had a common color they embraced which was Red. See the CCCP or Red Chinese Flag which is all Red f0r reference).
Greg Copeland nonpartisan candidate for District 3
Garrison McMurtrey DFL endorsed candidate for District 3
Rena Moran DFL endorsed candidate for District 4
Mai Chong Xiong DFL endorsed candidate for District 6 (She is a DSA endorsed candidate)
DSA = Democratic Socialist of America
- There are 13 Questions and Opening & Closing Statements. You can click on the “continue reading” below question 4 to see the rest of the questions asked and when each candidate answered.
I’ve put in parentheses clarifications of something someone has said, and in Square Brackets my thought that the candidates missed. The links to maps are from my website where I’m the admin and chief writer as well. The website is just a website and not party of the state party and can’t endorse anyone, but have suggested to R Voters who to support in various races.
Time Stamps from the start of the video above
1:00-1:56 Kim McCoy who is a member of the LWV of St Paul does an introduction of what forum it is and then explains what areas are in each Ramsey County Commission District.
- District 3: Falcon Heights, St Anthony Park (Western edge of St Paul), Payne-Phalen (East Side of St Paul up to Ward 6 Precinct 6), North End (North Central St Paul), South Como [just west of North End and South of Como Park], Frogtown (St Paul), Hamline-Midway (St Paul) See our Map of District 3 link
- District 4: Parts of Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, Lexington-Hamline, Merriam Park, Desnoyer Park, Crocus Hill, and Summit are all neighborhoods of St Paul. See our Map of District 4 link.
- District 6: Greater East Side, Payne-Phalen (east of Ward 6 Precinct 6), Dayton’s Bluff, Conway, and Highwood Hills which are neighborhoods of St Paul. See our Map of District 6 link.
1:57- 5:47 She explains the rules. She asks that members of the audience to not video the forum. So none of this video is edited on our end. She says members of the press can edit the video [I don’t have a press badge, but some consider me as a citizen journalist, I don’t get compensated like the #NewsMafia does, I don’t have video-editing as a skill yet].
The Rules she states are that each candidate can have an opening and closing statement that is 2 minutes long each, and can only have 1 minute to respond to a question. All candidates have agreed to it. If quoted by another candidate, the candidate can have a 30 second rebuttal. She says she will allow a candidate who does go over time to finish their thought before cutting them off.
She says the opening statements will be done according to alphabetical order and then she’ll randomly call on candidates during the forum so no candidate will always be first or last in the questioning.
She talks about questions submitted prior to the forum and questions can be asked from the audience using note cards, then they review them. (Mostly questions asked that hold the incumbent DFLer accountable are never asked, because the LWV of St Paul are “nonpartisan”). Questions have to apply to all candidates and can’t be of a personal nature.
Opening Statements (2 minutes each)
6:13 Greg Copeland
8:19 Garrison McMurtrey (He is another TDS person attacking President Trump. The “nonpartisan” moderator should stop him from doing this but she doesn’t)
10:15 Rena Moran (When she was the MN HD 65A DFL Representative often in her district there were stoppages of Interstate 94 by voters who had kept her in office. In some cases those “voters” threw cinderblocks, rocks from overpasses and pedestrian walkways down at State Troopers and St Paul Police who came to disperse them from a Federal Interstate Highway, often injuring law enforcement seriously and some have permanent injuries. She never discouraged them or berated them in public).
11:43 Mai Chong Xiong (what’s wrong with the moderator? Mai Xiong has made ICE into a golem that terrorizes when she and the other TDS sufferers don’t realize they are encouraging Foreign Invaders to come here and rip off the overburdened taxpayers. The TDS attacks are overstepping the rules of this “calm” and “neutral” forum).
Kim McCoy says she’ll call on the candidates in a random order. That’s odd as stated above there’s only 1 contested race and Greg Copeland nor Garrison McMurtrey should have to respond to a candidate in an uncontested race. It’s simply unfair and the 3 to 1 set up shows their incompetence or as I learned from President Obama that it’s a deliberate action.
14:04 Question 1: If you could tell us what your top 3 priorities are upon joining the County Board [The County Commission]?
14:14 Garrison McMurtrey
15:17 Mai Chong Xiong
16:22 Rena Moran (it’s almost as if these 3 are reading from the same script that was provided to them. They all use the same vocabulary and I’ve never heard the word “continuum” used so often)
17:41 Greg Copeland
19:04 Question 2: Are you anticipating any security issues regarding voting and voting rights in this election? As a County Commissioner, what precautions would you support to protect voting rights?
19:17 Rena Moran
20:13 Garrison McMurtrey
21:19 Greg Copeland
22:28 Mai Chong Xiong
23:27 Question 3: After complications with the closure of the Pig’s Eye Park homeless encampment in August, St Paul and Ramsey County have temporarily paused efforts to close down other camps. Some Ramsey County residents are concerned that future closure efforts will leave unhoused [homeless] camp residents without adequate support. What should Ramsey County be doing to address homelessness and the growing encampments?
23:55 Mai Chong Xiong
24:53 Greg Copeland
25:58 Garrison McMurtrey
27:05 Rena Moran
28:14 Question 4: Many working families identify increasing cost of living such as food and gasoline prices as a major hardship. What would you believe your role in addressing these issues as a county commissioner?
28:28 Greg Copeland
29:33 Mai Chong Xiong
30:57 Rena Moran
32:04 Garrison McMurtrey
33:11 Question 5: What is your position on the construction of AI Data Centers in Ramsey County?
33:16 Garrison McMurtrey
34:08 Greg Copeland
35:13 Mai Chong Xiong
36:05 Rena Moran
[AI is going to be a juggernaut when it comes to identity theft, and intellectual property theft. AI Agents will allow a small group of people to control a larger group of people which is why Red China is heavily invested in data centers and AI. AI Agents will be bleeding skilled labor as well and manufacturing jobs in the future. So there are no positives when it comes to basically a robotic workforce that will replace humans and their salaries that fund governments.]
36:31 Question 6: Recent reports on fraud in Minnesota Government programs have raised concerns about program oversight and responsibility. How would you work to ensure accountability at the county level so that government funds are used as intended?
36:49 Rena Moran
37:55 Mai Chong Xiong
39:05 Greg Copeland
40:13 Garrison McMurtrey
[Ramsey County Human Services and Financial Services that run the SNAP, General Assistance programs have had terrible case worker retention. I’m a Disabled Veteran on SNAP and in 2024 I had about 5 case workers for my SNAP benefits and in the middle of the year my benefits were dropped and it was largely because I had submitted my paperwork but no one in the department had looked at it. I needed my social worker from the VA-CRRC to call up the supervisor to get them to do the work themselves. Though by the end of the year a case worker hadn’t been assigned yet. Either the people who are running the programs are horrible leaders or the stress of the job having to give benefits to foreign invaders first instead of needy Citizens was overwhelming those who had been hired to do that job. I even had $1500 stolen out of my account and Ramsey County didn’t even look into helping to recoup the money lost. I told all this to Fred Melo at the Pioneer Press who did a story on it in mid 2025. All 3 of these DFLers are lying.]
41:21 Question 7: We often hear candidates advocate for building more housing. What policy solutions would you propose to ensure new housing meets the needs of the most underserved populations in Ramsey County?
41:40 Mai Chong Xiong
42:43 Rena Moran
43:42 Garrison McMurtrey
44:50 Greg Copeland
[Whenever the government mentions the word “invest” that means spending money that isn’t theirs. The money is yours. Career Politicians are so addicted to O.P.M. (Other People’s Money) that they really don’t think about where that money comes from. What Other People have to give up, or to put off buying, or delay renovating something on their house because the junkies who spend O.P.M. need it more than you do! Amazing isn’t it? They will use the weight of the rule of law to enforce you paying your “fair share” in order to “invest” in something that the private sector doesn’t think is profitable in doing, otherwise they would be doing it.]
46:00 Question 8: Concerns about surveillance, data privacy, and personal freedom have have risen recently in regard to the use of AI-powered Flock Cameras by law enforcement and other entities. As a county commissioner, how would you address these issues?
46:18 Rena Moran
47:01 Mai Chong Xiong
48:08 Greg Copeland
49:11 Garrison McMurtrey
[I don’t want to sound like John McLaughlin on the McLaughlin Group, but the answer here should have been, according the 4th amendment to the US Constitution that is still the Supreme Law of the Land, the government needs to obtain a warrant before they utilize any sort of search or seizure for law enforcement. Since Flock or Axon (the body camera company formerly known as Taser) Cameras can grab instantaneous information at the scene off a crime perhaps court orders by a judge need to be more readily available. Otherwise it’s a 4th Amendment violation to use them or the automatic license plate readers on Police cars. In the case that Greg Copeland mentioned about the use of a gas station camera, the video obtained needed a search warrant in order for the chain of custody of the video that showed the assailant committing the crime to be used in a court of law. Flock cameras have often been misused by Law Enforcement. This coming Halloween when people are generally wearing masks, many Flock Camera may be vandalized or cut down by Patriots who still know the 4th Amendment to be the law of the land. I don’t actually know anyone who is doing this but the Founding Fathers would be proud of them.]
(out of the 9 questions so far, only 1 had started off with Greg Copeland while the other DFLers have been the first to answer the questions. Isn’t this a violation of the LWV’s own forum rules?)
50:23 Question 9: What will you do as a county commissioner to support small businesses?
50:29 Garrison McMurtrey (in District 3 while he is for small businesses as he claims, Ramsey County in the last 2 years have ripped up Arcade Street and Rice Street to put in more bike friendly and War on Cars kind of streets. The project on Rice Street this year has taken about 6 months to do this year. Small businesses have lost parking in front of their stores. Not a lot compensation for the loss of profits on these 2 streets has been forth coming. Many small businesses have left St Paul and or the state or have gone bankrupt. The many empty store fronts are a glaring example of how the DFL run Ramsey County Commission has failed them.)
51:33 Mai Chong Xiong
52:46 Greg Copeland
54:00 Rena Moran
[what would be more helpful is for the county government to get out of the way of the people. They seem to want to pick winners and losers and control the direction of growth, when really they are becoming an obstacle to how private enterprise works]
55:02 Question 10: As county commissioner, how would you engage the public in deciding on the future of the former Boys Totem Town site? How would you ensure that work on the site is responsive to community needs?
55:17 Mai Chong Xiong (she has led on 3 of the 10 questions so far and she is running in an uncontested race. The DFLers have led on 9 of the 10 questions and getting 3 times more air time than the nonpartisan formerly endorsed Republican Greg Copeland. Again how is this fair?)
56:22 Garrison McMurtrey (a bit of a word salad he tosses but really says nothing)
57:15 Rena Moran
58:21 Greg Copeland (he knows of a person who used to be a Probation Officer who worked at Totem Town and he doesn’t understand why the County shut it down as we still seem to have the same problems that this program addressed. I happen to know this person too, he’s a Vietnam Vet who served the youth who went to the this facility. Many of those youth who grew up have sought him out and thanked him for what he taught them.)
59:33 Question 11: During Operation Metro Surge, thousands of Federal Agents were deployed to Minnesota. Many people who were detained were US Citizens or legal residents of this country. ICE entered schools, daycares, courts, and other community spaces to detain people. If Minnesota were to face another major ICE operation, how do you believe that Ramsey County should respond? [this question has been asked in each of the LWV forums and it doesn’t sound as if it is coming from outside their organization. It is also a leading question that doesn’t provide context as to why Federal Agents would deploy in such a manner. The question seems to paint these agents as bullies or somehow wrong. The DFLers in all these forums respond the same way. They don’t address why the Mayors of the 2 largest Cities in the Metro broke out in severe TDS and refused to cooperate when they were perfectly fine with Biden’s ICE agents and harboring the criminals who invaded our nation, often providing them county resources over the needy citizens that deserve it first. Perhaps the “nonpartisan” status of the LWV is wearing a bit razor thin here.]
59:58 Rena Moran
1:01:15 Greg Copeland (he mentions how some of those anti-ICE agitators invaded a church [Cities Church] during their church service. [One of them Chauntyll Allen continues to serve on the St Paul Public School Board even though she violated the Code of Ethics of the Board she hasn’t been asked to leave by Uriah Ward who is running for re-election])
1:02:28 Mai Chong Xiong (of course she has to say the DHS & ICE are trying to catch more legal residents and citizens. Well if you aid and abet them you can bet you will go to jail or be processed and John Choi will have you out on the street to play whack-a-mole with Federal Agents. She does hate America as she is endorsed by the DSA. She then says being here illegally is not a criminal offense. Actually it is a Federal Crime and normally they just deport them but if you do any more crimes while here you could go to Federal prison. Why do people elect imbeciles like this?)
1:03:34 Garrison McMurtrey (he is showing his ignorance of Federal law).
[If the county and cities of St Paul & Minneapolis were to cooperate with the Federal agents like they did during Biden’s term, then none of this would be necessary. Elected officials in the Metro openly defied and vowed resistance to Federal Agents who were doing their jobs. Stoking violence by telling citizens to resist got 2 people killed while they were committing felonies against those agents, one by trying to hit one agent with her car, and the other by resisting arrest and fighting with agents. Those elected officials should be charged with the minimum of obstructing justice or interfering with Federal Agents in the course of their jobs. Also harboring and creating a sanctuary for Foreign Invaders anyone doing this should be arrested and charged, and the very least be fired from their jobs. The Sheriff takes an oath of office to defend the US Constitution from Enemies Foreign and Domestic and there seems to be plenty of both kinds of enemies in Ramsey county]
1:04:44 Question 12: As a county commissioner, how would you work to build productive relationships with other layers of government at the local and state level?
1:04:53 Greg Copeland
1:06:00 Rena Moran (she says she works closely with her State Rep and the mayor who was her colleague in the State Legislature (Mayor Her was the HD 64A Rep, and Rena was the HD 65A Rep). HD 65A Rep Hussein is an imbecile who hasn’t had to campaign for office since he was elected after Rena was elected to the Ramsey County Commission) He always ducked the Maryland Supermarket Chronic Crime questions and wanted to end the State pre-exemption law so St Paul could have a ban on firearms–this law would actually make residents less safe from armed criminals who don’t by definition follow laws)
1:07:21 Garrison McMurtrey
1:08:27 Mai Chong Xiong
1:09:38 Question 13: As you think about the potential for a term as county commissioner, what gives you hope? [Really? This is a question? Wasn’t there a question from a Republican who wants to hold the incumbent tax & spend DFLers accountable?]
1:09:47 Garrison McMurtrey
1:10:50 Rena Moran
1:12:01 Mai Chong Xiong
1:13:05 Greg Copeland
Closing Statements (2 Minutes each)
1:14:27 Rena Moran
1:16:35 Mai Chong Xiong
1:18:29 Greg Copeland
1:20:39 Garrison McMurtrey
1:22:47 Kim McCoy Closes out the Forum
This was an event post. It was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee, nor any PAC, or Republican Party unit. Greg Copeland is a nonpartisan candidate, but he has been endorsed by the Republican Party when he ran for legislative offices. He has also been endorsed by the MN Gun Owners Caucus in the past as well.
We were not compensated in any way to post this.
The Ramsey County Commission races are nonpartisan, but the DFL always seems to make endorsements in nonpartisan races. — admin