St. Paul school board seat draws six hopefuls

Six people have filed to run for the St. Paul school board seat held by the late Chairwoman Marny Xiong, who died June 7 of COVID-19.

The field includes Jim Vue, an East Side parent appointed to fill the seat on an interim basis until results of the Nov. 3 election are certified. Voters will decide who will serve the final 13 months of Xiong's four-year term.

The candidates are:

Vue, 40, a program facilitator at In Progress, a digital arts nonprofit. In an e-mail, he said he wants to strengthen engagement between students, parents, teachers and administrative leaders, and "confront the presence and practice of white supremacy in the district."

Charlotte "Charlie" Castro, 40, a systems analyst and an educator in the Minnesota State system who ran unsuccessfully for a board seat in 2019. She wrote that her hope is to "give students and teachers the resources they need to be as successful as possible."

James Farnsworth, 22, a senior at the University of Minnesota and executive director of the Highland Business Association. He said he wants to combine his experience in board governance and perspective as a district graduate to help in "re-envisioning and reimagining education as we know it."

Keith Hardy, 57, a former St. Paul school board member who was among the incumbents ousted by the "Caucus for Change" movement in 2015. Like Vue, he applied for the interim appointment, and spoke then of his technology background and work on the district's equity and gender-inclusion policies.

Jamila Mame, a "women of color organizer" for TakeAction Minnesota, who declined to comment Tuesday.

Omar Syed, 45, a small-business owner who ran unsuccessfully for a board seat in 2019. He wrote that he hopes to close the achievement gap by devoting more resources to student well-being, increasing teacher diversity and working to offer a high-quality curriculum.

Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4109