St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry’s surprise appointment as the city’s public works director opens the door to a mayoral run — but not necessarily her own.

Instead, her new job could allow a field of candidates more political legroom when Mayor Chris Coleman’s third term ends in 2017. Coleman, in turn, will want his successor to be firmly in his camp if he runs for governor the following year.

That’s according to political observers, local DFLers and former City Hall employees. They say the longtime city council president’s new position does not eliminate the possibility of a political contest between her and one of Coleman’s closer DFL allies, but it does provide a financial incentive for Lantry not to run when Coleman leaves office.

So far, potential candidates include Ramsey County Commissioners Jim McDonough and Rafael Ortega, former city council members Pat Harris and Melvin Carter III, and Deputy Mayor Kristin Beckmann. The mayor’s former chief of staff, Erin Dady, who now works for the University of Minnesota, has also been suggested as a possible contender.

None of them has confirmed that he or she will be in the mayor’s race in 2017, but several have said they’re considering jumping in. Surprise candidates are almost a given in light of the ranked-choice election, which eliminates the need for a political primary. The November 2017 ballot will be full.

Harris, a financial manager with BMO Harris Bank, represented the Mac-Groveland and Highland Park neighborhoods on the city council for 12 years before stepping down at the end of 2011. “I am definitely exploring running for mayor,” Harris said this week.

McDonough, who chairs the county board of commissioners, said Tuesday he would likely decide by fall whether to run.

“A lot of people have been calling my phone, not only asking that, but encouraging me,” McDonough said. “I’m listening, and reaching out and talking to people and getting some feedback. Nowhere close to making a decision, though, but I am listening.”

Carter, director of the state’s Office of Early Learning, said several people have been encouraging him to run, but he did not confirm his plans.

“Obviously, my heart has always been in St. Paul,” Carter said.

Ortega, who sought the job in 2005 and came within 21 votes of Coleman for the DFL party endorsement, said the election is still “so far away.”

“I’m not saying I’m not interested,” he said. “I’m saying it’s kind of early. … The last four weeks, it’s been the topic of discussion.”

Meanwhile, Beckmann said that because Coleman has yet to announce his intentions, she hasn’t “thought about running.” “I love being the deputy mayor of St. Paul,” she said.

SURPRISE FOR LANTRY

Lantry said this week that she was surprised by Coleman’s offer to take over public works, a position she had not sought. She said she is still considering the 2017 mayor’s race. She will step down from the council toward the end of February and begin leading the Public Works Department in March.

“I can tell you that I have spoken with her,” Lantry said, jokingly referring to herself, “and she can honestly say that she had not decided whether she was going to run or not. Three years is a long ways away and she doesn’t plan that far ahead.”

Lantry, a fifth-generation East Sider who has devoted herself full time to her Ward 7 council seat for 17 years, was thought to be a likely mayoral candidate when she announced last year she would not seek re-election to the city council next November.

Her DFL ties run deep. Her mother, Marilyn Lantry, was a state senator in the 1980s, and her father, Jerome Lantry, who died six years ago, was a well-known labor activist.

Given her background and name recognition, Lantry might have a strong shot at the DFL endorsement in a mayoral match-up against a candidate such as Carter or Harris, who are better known within their wards than outside of them.

But she now has more incentive to keep her name off the ballot. As public works director, Lantry will more than double her city council salary of $58,500 to $136,000. The city’s “high five” retirement benefit would be another incentive for her to remain in city employment as an appointed official past 2017.

Pension benefits through the Public Employee Retirement Plan allow nonelected officials to draw a percentage of their salary in retirement, based on the average of their five highest wage years.

DFL-leaning political groups such as WomenWinning might now have to look elsewhere for a candidate but probably not too far.

“The leading woman is not in,” said Ted Davis, a longtime public relations consultant. “Kathy would have attracted all of the forces that want a woman running for mayor … and there typically is a strong woman candidate.”

For his part, Coleman has yet to formally announce whether he will run for a fourth term.

“The mayor is focused on his job as mayor and has not made any final determination as to whether or not he will seek re-election,” said Tonya Tennessen, Coleman’s spokeswoman. “Until he makes that decision, we will have no further comment.”

THE MAYOR WHO WOULD BE GOVERNOR?

Nevertheless, Coleman’s decision to intervene well before any possible political conflict between Lantry and a DFL ally such as Beckmann, Harris or Carter sets the stage for his own run for higher office, should he choose to make one.

Since at least early 2014, Coleman has been hiring experienced DFL campaign and fundraising organizers and placing them in key positions in his staff. His latest picks include Beckmann, the deputy mayor, and chief of staff Dana Bailey, who both have close ties to Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration.

Bailey ran Dayton’s successful 2010 campaign, which marked the first time the DFL won the job since Gov. Rudy Perpich, who served from 1983 to 1990. Coleman flirted with a run for governor in 2009 but dropped out before formally announcing a bid.

But it was Lantry’s appointment that has raised the most questions outside City Hall.

The city paid Springsted, a St. Paul-based consulting firm, $10,000 to recruit and screen applicants with backgrounds in engineering, management and road repair. The position profile calls for at least seven years of management experience in public works construction projects or engineering design, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, public administration, business administration or a related field.

Lantry, a former property manager with no engineering experience, holds an undergraduate degree in liberal studies. She beat out 33 applicants, including Suzette Robinson, the public works director from Evanston, Ill., the sole finalist to interview with the mayor himself.

Even critics of Coleman’s decision to ignore the Springsted screening process acknowledge that Lantry brings her own talents and a keen knowledge of the city to the position.

Tom Goldstein, a former school board member and frequent critic of the Coleman administration, said the mayor’s decision to appoint Lantry may indeed work out for the best, though he remains opposed to the process that got her there.

“Kathy Lantry has been one of the hardest-working city council members in recent memory, and I suspect that she will do an excellent job as public works director,” Goldstein said.

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.