Four candidates vie for a win in St. Paul’s special City Council election

Four candidates are running to replace former St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali after she resigned in January from her Ward 4 seat, as St. Paul grapples with high property taxes and rising rents, homelessness and addiction issues evident along University Avenue, and a stubborn emptiness downtown.

Ward 4, on the city’s northwest corner, includes some of St. Paul’s wealthiest enclaves and some of its poorest, encompassing Hamline-Midway, Union Park, St. Anthony Park and parts of Macalester-Groveland.

It’s a ranked choice election, so voters will be asked to decide their first, second, third and fourth choices of the candidates.

The St. Paul DFL did not hold endorsing conventions for the seat.

Early voting began June 27, and the election will be held Aug. 12.

Ramsey County residents can cast an early vote at 90 W. Plato Blvd. in St. Paul, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and on Saturday, Aug. 9.

To vote Aug. 12, find your polling place at myballotmn.sos.mn.gov.

Here are the candidates:

Who: St. Paul Public Schools Board of Education member

Platform: Proposes formally including community engagement with the budget process, as the school board has done. Wants to see parks programming more targeted to young people’s interests, such as e-sports. Supports stronger enforcement of property regulations for landlords.

Endorsed by: Racial justice advocate Nekima Levy Armstrong, Ward 1 Council Member Anika Bowie, four members of the St. Paul Public Schools board, Stonewall DFL

Who: Co-founder of the People’s Parity Project, a small progressive advocacy organization, and daughter of former Mayor Chris Coleman.

Platform: Supports zoning changes to allow developers to build more apartments, and wants to see more funding for homeownership programs. Seeks more funding for parks and libraries, and more off-street bike trails.

Endorsed by: Mayor Melvin Carter, St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, LiUNA, Sustain St. Paul, Ward 3 Council Member Saura Jost, interim Ward 4 Council Member Matt Privratsky, former Council President Amy Brendmoen

Who: Former president of the Hamline-Midway Coalition and a public health educator with the University of Minnesota Extension.

Platform: Supports payment in lieu of taxes for large nonprofits and private colleges. Proposes downtown municipal grocery store, more limits on the use of tax-increment financing. Wants to see faster repairs of streets, streetlights and sidewalks.

Endorsed by: Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America, Ward 6 Council Member Nelsie Yang, Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley.

Who: Public relations consultant, former activist with Save Our Street, a group opposed to a new bike trail and street reconstruction on Summit Avenue. (Will has become inactive in the group since launching her campaign.)

Platform: Values budget transparency, tree preservation and public safety. In an interview, said constituent services were more important than advancing any particular legislation.

Endorsed by: Former Ward 7 Council Member Jane Prince