Kelly served in the Minnesota Senate from 1991 to 2002, representing District 67, and in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991, representing districts 66B and, after redistricting, 67A. While in the legislature, he worked to reform Minnesota's criminal justice system, including creating a statewide criminal gang strike force, developing a four-year law enforcement degree, authoring many of the existing crime-victim and witness laws, and worked towards requiring sexual offender registration and community notification. Kelly served as chair and a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, and was also a member of the Crime Prevention, Finance, and Telecommunications & Energy & Utilities committees. He was also a member of the Public Safety Budget Division subcommittee. Previously, in the Minnesota House, he had served as chair of the House Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1991.
Mayor of Saint Paul
Kelly was the mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota from January, 2002 through January, 2006. He won the office in 2001 by just 403 votes in a tight race with Jay Benanav, a city councilman. As mayor, he was noted for his efforts to increase the minimum wage and create and retain high-paying jobs. During Kelly's term in office, his political views and several appointments generated controversy. In 2004, he rankled fellow Democrats by endorsing and campaigning for President George W. Bush's re-election. According to critics, his conservative views, which may have been intended to garner support from Republicans and independents, undermined his constituent base in the Democratic Party. An unsuccessful grassroots campaign to recall him was launched shortly after his announcement in support of Bush's re-election effort. In 2005, one of Kelly's appointees, Sia Lo, head of the criminal division of the city attorney's office, was reported to be at the center of an investigation into alleged corruption in a city development deal which focused on a new Hmongfuneral home on the city's West Side. Lo was never charged.
2005 mayoral race
Kelly sought reelection in 2005 and narrowly avoided being dropped from the ballot in the September primary. Fellow DFLer Chris Coleman finished in first place with 52% of the vote, Kelly at 27%, and the Green Party candidate, Elizabeth Dickinson, at 20%. The top two finishers went on to the November general election, in which Coleman defeated Kelly 69% to 31%. This was only the third loss by an incumbent Saint Paul mayor, as well as the greatest percentage loss on record for an incumbent mayor in the city's history. In the aftermath of the election, it was suggested that Kelly's endorsement of President Bush the previous fall was a factor in his loss to Coleman.
Post-mayoral activities
In late 2006, Kelly was named Deputy Associate Administrator for Intergovernmental Relations for the Environmental Protection Agency by President Bush. At the EPA, his duties included managing relations with governors, state legislators, mayors, county executives and other state and local officials, as well as working with the national associations representing these officials. In the position, he also served as the liaison to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He remained in this position until early 2009. He continues to reside on Saint Paul'sEast Side with his wife and family. Kelly's youngest son, Reed Kelly, competed on of Survivor on CBS with his boyfriend Josh Canfield.
