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Politics and Government News
Nina Moini
St. Paul

St. Paul council races overflow with candidates. Some say that's a good thing

A candidate forum hosted by St. Paul STRONG.
A crowd attends one of two candidate forums at the SPNN Studios hosted by St. Paul STRONG on Tuesday. The St. Paul City Council is up for reelection in November, and 28 names are on the ranked-choice ballot.
Nina Moini | MPR News

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The St. Paul City Council is up for reelection in November, and 28 names are on the ranked-choice ballot. It’s an unusually high number of candidates, elections officials say.

"Most voters hear about the election from candidates themselves. So, with 10 more candidates than we had in 2015, we have 10 more people knocking on doors, sending out flyers and encouraging people to vote, and we then in turn will hopefully see an increase in voters this November because of that," interim Ramsey County elections manager David Triplett said.

Gun violence, housing and garbage hauling were among the issues most residents had on their minds during an Oct. 8 forum hosted by the group St. Paul STRONG. Many of the City Council candidates across seven wards got to share their ideas.

"I wish it was more housing for the elderly, housing for the people that's living in the street,” resident Chanell Wall said.

Another resident interested in what the candidates think, Jeff Neyhart, is concerned about gun violence. He recently came upon sirens and police squads’ flashing lights along Rice Street.

"That Monday, where there were I think two or three killings and how is the city going to deal with that?" Neyhart asked.

St. Paul council members serve four-year terms. Triplett said it’s more common to have one candidate run in some wards, especially if they’re running for reelection. This year, every ward is competitive.

In 2015, there were more than 150,000 registered voters in St. Paul — about half the city's population. Only about 20 percent of registered voters turned out to vote for City Council members. In Ward 7 on the city's east side, about 2,000 people voted for a candidate who ran uncontested for a four-year term.

This year, there are nearly 160,000 registered voters in St. Paul. As for Ward 7, four City Council candidates are in the race including incumbent Jane Prince.

That's also where Wall door-knocked for the first time on behalf of her preferred candidate.

"I was so surprised when I was door knocking how many people in Minnesota in the seventh ward didn't know what ward they were in," she said.

St. Paul residents may cast ballots now at the Ramsey County Elections office. Beginning Oct. 29, there will be seven locations throughout the city for early voting. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.