Six run for East Side open seat on St. Paul City Council

At least four of St. Paul's seven City Council seats are certain to change hands this November, because the incumbents aren't running again. That includes Jane Prince, who is stepping down after eight years representing the Seventh Ward.

The open seat has drawn six candidates who hope to replace Prince in the East Side ward, which includes the Dayton's Bluff, Mounds Park, Swede Hollow, Battle Creek, Highwood, Conway and Eastview neighborhoods — a part of the city that many residents say can feel forgotten. Voter turnout in the Seventh Ward, which includes some of St. Paul's lower-income neighborhoods, is typically lower than the citywide average.

Phoua Thao, a Dayton's Bluff resident who attended an elected officials' forum in September, said through a translator that she doesn't yet know which candidate will get her vote. But she said her biggest concerns include snow plowing, public safety and the tax burden for low-income East Side residents.

"I'm looking for a candidate who is strong enough to protect the area," she said.

Dayton's Bluff resident Cheniqua Johnson, a program officer at the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, clinched the DFL Party endorsement in a crowded field. She has won the backing of labor and progressive groups like Take Action Minnesota, Faith in Minnesota and Our Revolution Twin Cities, and is endorsed by Mayor Melvin Carter, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and several sitting council members.

Johnson, a former staffer for elected officials at local and congressional levels, according to her website, emphasized affordable housing and public safety as critical issues in an interview and at a League of Women Voters forum in September. She said she supports the ballot question asking St. Paul residents to raise the sales tax 1% to fund transportation and recreation infrastructure, saying that she doesn't see an alternative.

Johnson, 28, said she's proud to be the youngest candidate in the race. On the East Side, she said, young people "make up a huge chunk of the population, almost a third."

Her most recent campaign finance report, filed this month, shows Johnson's campaign leading the money race in the Seventh Ward, with $65,300 raised and $13,800 cash on hand.

Pa Der Vang, a St. Catherine University social work associate professor who lives in Dayton's Bluff, is endorsed by OutFront Minnesota, the St. Paul Area Chamber PAC and the DFL Environmental Council. She previously worked for Ramsey County and chairs the Minnesota Board of Social Work, according to her website.

Prince, who is backing Vang, said City Council members perform "a really tough balancing act" of maintaining city services, getting housing built and taking care of businesses, all while trying to limit the tax burden.

"I just really feel that Pa Der brings the experience and the know-how to really be able to hit the ground running," Prince said.

If elected, Vang said in an interview, she would work to ensure the city is properly evaluating its programs and use of tax dollars. At the League of Women Voters forum, she said she plans to vote yes on the 1% sales tax increase.

"However, I know that the vote is based on people's ability to pay and the poor often suffer the most when it comes to a sales tax," she said.

As of the most recent campaign finance report, Vang had raised $35,600 and had $2,200 on hand.

Alexander Bourne, a Dayton's Bluff community organizer and photographer, is making his second run for the City Council. At a candidate forum, he said that ensuring St. Paulites make an affordable living wage is a priority. He said he supports the 1% sales tax increase ballot question.

Bourne's website lists endorsements including Our Revolution Twin Cities. His initial campaign finance report, which went through March, shows him raising $3,960 and spending $3,960. He did not file recent reports.

Dino Guerin, a longtime St. Paul firefighter who sat for years on both the St. Paul City Council and Ramsey County Board, is hoping to return to his former council seat. The Battle Creek resident, who has also run unsuccessfully for the state Senate and St. Paul mayor, resigned from the County Board in 2000 after pleading guilty to a felony charge for writing bad checks.

Guerin, who works in the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, said in an interview that the East Side's most pressing issue is crime. He doesn't support the sales tax referendum.

"I'm thinking people might want to go with someone a little bit older, who's been around, who has a background in public safety," he said.

Foua-Choua Khang, of Beaver Lake Heights, is a county and community liaison for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota. She ran for the Ramsey County Board last year but lost in the primary, and she's running this time because she's tired of politicians telling her they're going to fix the roads but then wanting to raise sales taxes to do it.

"Potholes is what I'm running on," she said in an interview.

Dayton's Bluff resident Kartumu King, CEO of Accountable Cultural Brokers in St. Paul, describes herself as "a regular person [who] has had trials and tribulations in this city" that she hopes to help fix. She challenged Prince in 2019 and won 6% of first-round votes.

"I have been brought to a space of government and seen the decision-making process was not working for the people of St. Paul," King said at the ward candidate forum.

Guerin, Khang and King have not filed campaign finance reports.

Early voting in St. Paul city elections has started. Find out here what you need to know to vote, from what's on your ballot to figuring out which ward you live in.