St. Paul City Council president to step down in Dec. 2023

Voters in St. Paul will need to elect a new representative for the city’s fifth ward.

Monday, St. Paul City Councilor and Council President Amy Brendmoen announced she intends to “step aside” at the end of her current term in Dec. 2023.

Brendmoen said she wanted to announce her decision now “to clear a new path for new candidates to step up to run to represent Ward 5.”

Ward 5 includes parts of the Como, North End, Payne-Phalen and Railroad Island neighborhoods. It borders Lake Como, the Como Park Zoo and Edgerton Avenue.

In the Facebook post announcing her decision, Brendmoen said the community’s “firm rejection of divisiveness and fear and its clear unification around service and progress” created the opportunity for her to leave office. However, before ending her term, Brendmoen says she is “fine-tuning a very aggressive to-do list of projects and policy goals.”

The city’s fifth ward won’t be the only section voting for a new representative – voters in Ward 1 will also have new names on the ballot. As previously reported, Russel Balenger is serving as an interim council member in that ward through Dec. 2023 after the seat was vacated by Dai Thao, who moved to Sarasota, Florida for a position with a faith-based organization.

Ward 1 includes the Thomas-Dale (Frogtown) and North End neighborhoods, Lexington-Hamline and Snelling-Hamline communities, the Summit-University district councils/neighborhoods, and part of the Union Park District Council.