Final picks are in for St. Paul City Council contests

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

•••

Incumbent City Council member Nelsie Yang is running for re-election in the Sixth Ward and, with some reservations, the Star Tribune Editorial Board sees her as the best candidate in the field (nelsieyang.com).

In 2019, Yang became the youngest council member (at 24) and first Hmong woman on the council. At that time, she was a community organizer and former union steward who won the ranked-choice contest to represent the northeast St. Paul ward after four rounds of counting.

The Editorial Board endorsed one of her opponents then because she had more extensive experience that was directly applicable to serving on the council. But we also acknowledged that Yang was a strong campaigner and candidate. As the daughter of refugees, she said her parents once had to work for poverty wages, and that inspired her to become politically active as an advocate for social and economic justice.

Yang has been an engaged and productive representative for her ward. She worked for the city's $15 minimum wage requirement and earned sick and safe time for workers. She is a self-described racial equity organizer who wants to build a society free of systems of oppression, bigotry, white supremacy, racism and discrimination. Yang has been endorsed by the DFL and Democratic Socialists of America, as well as numerous other progressive groups and labor organizations.

She has helped protect LGBTQ communities and supported small businesses owned by people of color, women and millennials because she believes prioritizing them increases job opportunities and helps revitalize and build neighborhoods. Yang supports the 1% sales tax increase to fund roads and parks, as does the Editorial Board.

But the board is concerned about her adamant support for a strict interpretation of the city's rent control ordinance. She says she wants to remove amendments that were added after the city recognized the negative impact the ordinance has had on development in St. Paul.

Yang's sole challenger is Gary B. Unger, a retired longtime 3M employee who describes himself as a lifelong East Sider who has been active in city groups for 50 years. He's running because he believes leadership for his community has gotten "off track" and strayed from the values of the neighborhood. Unger told editorial writers that his major concern is funding for police and other first responders. He opposes the 1% sales tax increase proposal and wants to see greater city focus on "bread and butter" issues such as fixing roads and maintaining buildings.

Unger does not appear to have run an active campaign.

Jane Prince is not running for re-election after two terms on the council. Six candidates are vying to replace her, and five would be new to elected office if successful.

Cheniqua Johnson, a foundation program officer endorsed by both the DFL and labor organizations, is best-suited to serve the southern portion of the city's East Side (cheniquajohnson.com). Poised and well-versed on the issues, Johnson has worked at almost every level of government as a staffer for elected officials locally and in Congress. She would bring to the council that knowledge of city, county and state operations and the relationships she's developed while advocating for St. Paul at the Legislature and with other units of government.

She said her priorities include housing, public safety, economic development, improved city services and investing in businesses and the workforce. Johnson served on the committee to select St. Paul's police chief and believes that officers must be held accountable for their actions as public servants.

With a ward that is about equally split between renters and homeowners, she said she'll advocate for both. Johnson says over 60% of the Seventh Ward is Black, Indigenous or people of color and that it includes many immigrant families and residents younger than 35. She said she can be counted on to represent those voices on the council.

Johnson grew up in southwestern Minnesota and moved to the East Side after attending college at the University of Minnesota. Though she supports the 1% sales tax proposal for roads and parks, she also wants to examine how the city could receive payments in lieu of taxes from property owners such as nonprofits and colleges that currently receive exemptions.

The Editorial Board has concerns about Johnson's advocacy for a citywide cap on rents. She said rent control is a "nuanced" issue and that the current ordinance must be revisited because it isn't working for renters, developers or landlords. We'd urge her to keep that balance in mind if she's elected and consider how rent control policies have most often proven to be counterproductive.

Another strong candidate in the race, Pa Der Vang, is a St. Catherine University social work associate professor (paderstpaulcitycouncil7.com). A former Ramsey County mental health planner and crisis worker, she holds a University of Minnesota Ph.D., is a founder of the civic group Hmong Women Achieving Together and chairs the Minnesota Board of Social Work.

Vang said as a council member she would work to ensure "efficient use of our tax dollars" through regular reviews of programs and spending to better prioritize city services. She supports the proposed 1% sales tax increase for streets and parks.

Vang is endorsed by Prince as well as OutFront Minnesota, the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce PAC and the St. Paul Historic Preservation Political Committee, which issued a co-endorsement to Johnson.

Foua-Choua Khang, a county and community liaison for a health care company, told editorial writers that her campaign is about "potholes and puppies." She says the city needs to attend to basic services such as repairing, plowing and maintaining its streets. And because Khang says she and others in her neighborhood have been attacked by dogs, residents must keep their pets under control.

Candidates Alexander Bourne (alexjbourne.com), a photographer, and Kartumu King (kingfor7.com), founder of a group called Accountable Cultural Brokers, did not participate in our interview process. Neither did candidate Dino Guerin, a retired firefighter who works for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office and formerly served on both the St. Paul City Council and Ramsey County Board.

•••

For more on the Nov. 7 elections, see the Star Tribune newsroom's voter guides for Minneapolis and St. Paul. Our recommendation for approval of St. Paul's ballot question on a 1% sales tax increase appeared this weekend. Our full list of Minneapolis endorsements can be found here, and the full St. Paul list can be found here. The Editorial Board operates separately from the newsroom, and no news editors or reporters were involved in the endorsement process.