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St. Paul News
Matt Mikus
St. Paul

St. Paul seeking applicants to temporarily fill Ward 4 council seat before election

A relief sculpture above the entrance to a county courthouse
The entrance to the Ramsey County Courthouse and St. Paul City Hall building in downtown St. Paul, as seen in February 2025.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News file

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The St. Paul City Council is seeking applicants to fill the vacancy left by council member Mitra Jalali to represent Ward 4 until a special election can be held later in the year. So far eight people have applied and the deadline is Thursday, March 13.

The city plans to hold a special election for the Ward 4 vacancy in August of 2025.

“We basically treat it like any normal job application with the job posting, application deadline and interview timeline,” said Rebecca Noecker, interim City Council president. “The only difference is that you’re being interviewed by all seven council members in a meeting that’s on the public record.“

Applicants need to submit a cover letter and resume outlining relevant experience before 4:30 p.m. to the city via mail or email. They must also be a qualified voter within Ward 4, and agree to not run for the Ward 4 seat in the 2025 special election.

The timeline moves quickly after that, because the city has to fill the vacancy within 30 days according to state law. Finalists will be picked on Monday and informed by Tuesday if they’ll get an interview. The interviews will begin Wednesday, March 19. And the council will vote on the appointment on Wednesday, March 26.

“One thing I know all of us care a lot about is the commitment on the part of the candidate to not run in the election. It’s really important to us not to give anyone an unfair advantage in that process,” Noecker said, “because none of us live in Ward 4, and we want that decision to be up to the people of Ward 4.”

Noecker also said she thinks the applicant will need to be ready to “hit the ground running,” since they will serve only until the special election is held later this year.

Jay Willms, the interim director of council operations, said in a press release that the city would like to find a candidate with familiarity with city government operations and can spend time and energy handling weekly council meetings, committee and board meetings, and be available to meet with city staff and constituents throughout the week.

Anyone living within Ward 4 can apply by sending their application materials by email to Council-Vacancy@ci.stpaul.mn.us or by mail to Jay Willms, Interim Operations Director, City Council Offices, Suite 310, City Hall, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55102. You can find more information about the process at the city’s website.