At least three St. Paul City Council seats will be open in 2023

St. Paul City Council President Amy Brendmoen and Council Member Jane Prince will not seek re-election, paving the way for a big shakeup in city leadership starting in 2024.

The announcements, which follow former Council Member Dai Thao's resignation in August, mean there will be open races for at least three of St. Paul's seven council seats, all of which will be up for election in November.

In a statement Monday, Brendmoen said the "resounding outcomes" Democrats scored in the midterm elections solidified her choice to step down when her term wraps up at the end of 2023.

"Our community's firm rejection of divisiveness and fear, and its clear unification around service and progress create the perfect opportunity for me to pass the torch and make room for fresh faces," she said.

Prince quietly announced her decision to supporters in a Nov. 27 email, calling her two-term tenure on the council "the honor of my life."

"No one wants to be a lame duck, but I really felt that I wanted to give enough notice so that candidates have time to emerge and put together a good campaign, get to know the community, figure out what our issues are," Prince said in an interview Monday.

Council Members Mitra Jalali, Rebecca Noecker and Nelsie Yang have said they will seek re-election. Council Member Chris Tolbert did not immediately respond to questions Monday about his plans.

Thao, who represented the First Ward's Frogtown and Summit-University neighborhoods, resigned over the summer to take a job in Florida. The council appointed Russel Balenger to fill that role through next year. To qualify for the temporary position, Balenger had to agree not to run for the seat in 2023.

Brendmoen, 53, has represented St. Paul's Fifth Ward — which includes parts of the Como, North End, Payne-Phalen and Railroad Island neighborhoods — since 2012, after she won a tight victory over incumbent Lee Helgen. She has served as council president since late 2017.

Prince, 68, first took office in 2016 as the council member for the Seventh Ward, which includes the neighborhoods of Dayton's Bluff, Mounds Park, Swede Hollow, Battle Creek, Highwood, Conway and Eastview.

Both Brendmoen and Prince said they have big to-do lists for the last year of their terms, including plans to lobby the federal, state and county governments for more resources and policy changes.

The pair also want to see through a handful of major projects planned for their wards. For Brendmoen, that includes breaking ground on the new North End Community Center, improvements to the Gateway Trail and the kickoff of major renovations to Rice Street. For Prince, it means the construction of a new Fire Station 7, fleshed-out redevelopment plans for the historic Hamm's Brewery complex and continued work on the Wakan Tipi Center.

Brendmoen and Prince both said they are starting to consider what their post-council lives might look like, but for now remain focused on their remaining time in office.

"I still have a whole year ahead of me, and that is really my priority," Brendmoen said in an interview. "I'm a Gen Xer, and we suffered from baby boomers' inability to pass the baton. When I got elected, I swore that I would always prioritize making space for new leaders when the time is right."

A few new candidates have already announced plans to run for council positions, but filing for the November election won't open until August.