Following the decision of current City Council President Mitra Jalali to step down from her position in order to focus on her health, St. Paul leaders say they now know who will be leading the council starting next month.

Early Tuesday, the city announced Councilor Rebecca Noecker will be the next president, effective Feb. 12.

As reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Jalali is stepping down after the meeting on Feb. 5. She announced her departure on social media late last week.

“I really respect Council President Jalali and her leadership,” Noecker said. “When you’re in a job like this, when you have the demands of leadership, of representing your ward and then also being council president, it’s a lot.”

“I’m looking forward to stepping in to help make sure that our council is prepared for whatever is to come in the next few years,” she added. “We are dealing with a really challenging time at both the state and federal levels of government. I see it as my role to make sure that our city is resilient and ready for whatever it takes to protect our people and our communities.”

When Jalali steps down, her Ward 4 seat will be empty.

The council has to choose a date for a special election and appoint an interim council member in the meantime.

“While I love being part of this historic council, and I would love for us to be able to continue in that way, I know we will be open to anybody who puts themselves forward and says, ‘I want to serve’ and who is going to be a good representative,” Noecker said.

Meanwhile, Hwa Jeong Kim — who was elected to the council for the first time in 2023 — will continue to serve as the Council’s Vice President. She also issued a statement on the leadership change.

“We are reimagining how power is held and shared and building a deep bench of leadership ability amongst all Councilmembers. When our members have a wider range of policy and leadership experiences, we’ll be able to craft better legislation and deliver better services for constituents.”

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Also on Tuesday, the city announced that the council intends to create a new Public Safety Committee. However, no other details about the committee were shared, including its future responsibilities.

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