Fadumo Yusuf Tried to Withdraw as MN Senate Candidate but Was Too Late

Being a quarter-hour late Thursday appears to have guaranteed a Fridley woman at least the proverbial 15 minutes of fame as a candidate for public office. 

on Tuesday, the filing deadline for candidates in races that might require a primary election.

She told the St. Cloud Times she wouldn't run for state Senate, but she .

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As it happens, Yusuf's erroneous entry in the (new redistricted) state Senate District 13 race as a Republican did indeed create the need for an Aug. 14, 2012 primary contest against incumbent state Sen. Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville).

According to the St. Cloud Times, Yusuf just missed her chance to withdraw Thursday:

Yusuf could have withdrawn her state Senate candidacy, but it appears she was a few minutes too late in her attempt to do so. Yusuf arrived at the Secretary of State’s Office about 5:15 p.m Thursday, according to Bert Black, legal adviser for the office. Black noted state law prevents candidate-withdrawal affidavits from being accepted after the withdrawal deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday.

Actually, the Times noted, another deadline passed as well: the opportunity for an administrative rather than court-ordered ruling on Yusuf's residency (her Fridley home is 60 miles from District 13).

But now it appears only a court challenge would prevent Yusuf’s name from appearing on the primary ballot. State law allows any individual to petition the state Supreme Court to review a possible ballot error, according to Bert Black, legal adviser for the Secretary of State’s Office.

An administrative review could have been requested, but Wednesday was the statutory deadline to request one.

“If somebody wants to do something at this point, they will need to file a petition,” Black said.

Fischbach said Thursday she hasn’t considered whether to file such a petition.

Yusuf didn't return a call from Fridley Patch on Thursday (or from the St. Cloud Times, the newspaper said).

Here's a little more about Yusuf from an October 2011 article in the Sun Focus newspaper titled "Fridley mom organizes service to mentor, tutor local students for free" (not available online). The article is about Yusuf's nonprofit, East African Services, which serves children from East African immigrant families—and others (in spite of the name):

Fadumo Yusuf of Fridley is a mother to four children and understands parents’ struggle to help their children with daily homework assignments.

“By the time I come home from work, they’re ready to go to bed, and I’m so tired. I see other family who immigrated here who don’t have the ability to help with their kids’ homework, because of time and lack of knowledge. ... Our community needs to help them,” she told Sun Newspapers. ...

Eventually, Yusuf hopes the nonprofit will offer services in the Columbia Heights School District. For now, East African Services will kick off its program at Hayes Elementary in the Fridley School District. ...

“We want to see how far the kids can do homework (on their own) and then, with what they can’t understand, we’ll help them.

“And by the time they get home, there’s no pressure to do their homework,” because they’ve received help at school, Yusuf said ...

As the program begins and expands, she will need more community members to volunteer homework help in all subjects.