Voters are set to pick one of four candidates to represent St. Paul City Council’s Ward 4 in a special election Tuesday.
Ward 4 is in northwestern St. Paul and includes all or part of five neighborhoods: Hamline-Midway, Merriam Park, St. Anthony Park, and parts of Macalester-Groveland and Como.
Former City Council member Mitra Jalali vacated the seat in March. Mayor Melvin Carter appointed Matt Privratsky to fill the seat until the special election.
The winner of the special election will take the seat and represent Ward 4 through the November 2028 election.
The candidates
Four candidates have filed to run in the August 2025 special election the Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council: Chauntyll Allen, a leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities who serves on the St. Paul Board of Education; Molly Coleman, the founder of the nonprofit People’s Parity Project, which seeks progressive court reform; Cole Hanson, a statewide online education coordinator who teaches nutrition to recipients of federal food assistance, or SNAP; and Carolyn Will, founder of CW Marketing and Communications. (Courtesy of the candidates)
Here’s who’s on the ballot:
Chauntyll Allen, a member of the St. Paul school board and a leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities.
Molly Coleman, founder of progressive court reform nonprofit People’s Parity Project.
Cole Hanson, a statewide online education coordinator who teaches nutrition to recipients of federal food assistance who is endorsed by the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America.
Carolyn Will, founder of CW Marketing and Communications, a former TV newscaster and opponent of the city’s proposed Summit Avenue bikeway.
For more information on the candidates go to twincities.com/news/politics/elections.
Ranked-choice voting, non-partisan
Under St. Paul’s ranked-choice voting system, voters will be able to rank candidates in order of preference. There was no primary election.
The race is officially non-partisan, and the St. Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party did not make any endorsements this summer as it works to rebuild itself.
Allen, Coleman and Hanson have spent money to access progressive and Democrat-affiliated campaign software, such as ActBlue and the MN DFL Action Network.
Coleman has a significant fundraising advantage over her opponents, with $57,000 raised as of late July. Those donations came in over five months. Her donors include the mayor, former U.S. Sen. Al Franken, and former Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak.
Hanson raised about $24,000 from donors, including St. Paul City Council Member Nelsie Yang, Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley and state Rep. Athena Rollins, as well as people involved with the Twin Cities DSA.
Will had raised about $21,000 as of the end of July, according to the most recently available reports from Ramsey County Elections. Her donors include people opposed to the Summit Avenue bikeway and former St. Paul City Council Member Jane Prince.
Allen had raised more than $10,000 as of the end of July. Her donors included Hoang Murphy, chief executive officer of the People Serving People emergency shelter, fellow school board member Carlo Franco and several educators and city employees.
When, where to vote
Polls for the Ward 4 special election open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 8 p.m.
A winner could emerge late Tuesday. However, if no candidate wins an absolute majority on election night — 50% plus one of the vote — election officials will begin a reallocation process.
How does it work?
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St. Paul voters rank candidates by choice on their ballots.
If one candidate gets a simple majority, they win. But if there’s no clear winner, officials will eliminate the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes and award votes to the second choice listed on the ballot. This process is repeated until one candidate has 50% support.
More information on polling locations can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website: pollfinder.sos.mn.gov/.
Some voters have already cast their ballots. Early voting started July 25 and ended on Friday, Aug. 8.
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