The St. Paul City Council, now led by an historic all-female group of elected officials, has found itself in the midst of a contentious debate over filling the Ward 4 seat following the resignation of former councilwoman Mitra Jalali.
A special vote was originally scheduled for Friday, but the situation took an unexpected turn when Councilwoman Saura Jost proposed a motion on Wednesday, seeking to amend a resolution to appoint Matt Privratsky, Jalali’s former aide, as the interim replacement. However, the move came while Council President Rebecca Noecker was on bereavement leave, prompting an immediate backlash.
Councilwoman Nelsie Yang quickly intervened. “What you're doing is very inappropriate, especially knowing that we have a council president who is not here because of bereavement leave. To me, it seems like you are really taking advantage of the moment here to push for a vote,” Yang said. She further urged her colleagues to wait until Friday’s meeting to decide on one of the four candidates they had interviewed for the position.
Jost’s motion, which had the support of Councilwomen Anika Bowie and Cheniqua Johnson, was eventually overturned on Friday when Council President Noecker returned and withdrew the resolution.
“My goal as Council President throughout this process has been to ensure that we have a fair, open, and transparent process. Unfortunately, this week, actions were taken that did not meet that standard and did not reflect well on us as a council,” Noecker said in a statement.
The failure to reach consensus on how to appoint an interim Ward 4 representative raises concerns about the council’s ability to move on critical issues like rent stabilization and public safety that are currently on the table.
If the appointment process is any indication of how future decisions will be made, there are worries that the appointed representative—who is expected to serve as a tie-breaking vote at least until August, when a permanent replacement is elected—could further complicate the council’s ability to function smoothly.
The council has until April to finalize the appointment. President Noecker has scheduled the next meeting on the matter for Wednesday.
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