As St. Paul prepares for a new City Council, three veteran council members look back

As St. Paul prepares to inaugurate its youngest, most diverse and first all-female City Council, the city at the same time is losing three of its most experienced council members: Amy Brendmoen, Chris Tolbert and Jane Prince.

The trio, all of whom chose not to run for re-election this year, were together last week for one last council meeting. It was a day of reflection on their triumphs and on the challenges that remain.

Brendmoen, who represented Ward 5 in north-central St. Paul for 12 years and ended her tenure as council president, offered advice for the four newcomers: "This is a marathon, not a sprint."

Prince, who represented Ward 7 on the East Side for eight years, urged the new council members to "remain humble."

And if their years on the council taught them anything, all three said in interviews last week, it's that listening before acting is important — and that the best policies sometimes take years to shape.

"If you think the council meeting is the most important part of this job, you're misinformed," said Tolbert, who represented Ward 3, including Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland, and shepherded redevelopment of the Ford site for much of his 12 years on the council.

What matters, Tolbert said, is "all the work leading up to those votes. Big issues, they're not decided at the meeting. It's months or years of work ahead of time, with community engagement."

Tolbert and Brendmoen both took office in 2012 and quickly became allies. Housing, economic development and raising the minimum wage were their priorities, they said.

Prince, who worked in the city's Planning and Economic Development Department under former Mayor George Latimer and was a longtime aide to former Council Member Jay Benanav, touted several affordable housing projects and the upcoming redevelopment of the former Hamm's brewery as victories for her ward after taking office in 2016.

She also gained a reputation for often being the council's lone dissenting vote. "I've gotten kind of used to seeing their eyes roll back in their heads," Prince said of her sometimes exasperated colleagues.

Chris Coleman, a former council member who was mayor when all three first joined the council, praised them for being champions of their wards — and for the city as a whole.

"They had an impact on their community that will last long beyond their tenure," he said.

Coleman singled out Tolbert for his role in helping transform the 120-acre former Ford site into the mixed-use Highland Bridge development now rising in the city's southwest corner. He praised Brendmoen's passion for Como Park and her "tenacious advocacy" for St. Paul's North End.

And Prince, he said, "brought a voice to the table that was missing in a lot of ways. You can't just have seven people voting in unison. You need that voice, asking questions."

Rebecca Noecker, who represents Ward 2 and now becomes the council's senior member, said the three set a great example for her when she took office eight years ago.

"Amy and Chris were real models. Jane, too, after her years with Benanav," Noecker said. "They were not only the keepers of institutional memory. They were examples that you can keep collegiality, even when you feel strongly."

Asked for one-word descriptions of her colleagues, Noecker gave "principled" for Tolbert, "relationships" for Brendmoen and "independent" for Prince.

Brendmoen said there are ongoing projects she wishes she could have seen to the end, such as the North End Community Center now rising on Rice Street. The Como Park resident, who takes daily walks around the lake, said she hopes the new council will continue work to renovate the Como Lakeside Pavilion.

In the last few years, Tolbert has taken council leadership on replacing the city's lead water pipes. The latest advance came with the removal of the lead pipes from the city's day care providers.

While proud that St. Paul residents have elected a council that reflects the city's growing diversity, Prince said she hopes the new "progressive bloc" at City Hall doesn't ignore the pleas of longtime residents.

Brendmoen, who was first elected to the council by 36 votes over incumbent Lee Helgen, said she's confident the new members will learn what it takes to be effective, just as she, Prince and Tolbert did. "They will grow into the job," she said.

Tolbert said they'll learn a lot about St. Paul very quickly — namely, that you can't make everyone happy with every decision. In a city that often seems averse to change, he said, it's good to have a fresh perspective.

And he shared a joke from a friend. "How many St. Paulites does it take to change a light bulb?" he asked. The answer: "You can't change that light bulb. My grandpa put it there."

Said Tolbert: "They'll figure it out."