St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter faces two declared challengers in the November election, which also will feature a ballot question on giving city officials the authority to issue administrative citations.

Meanwhile, a declared candidate has dropped out of this summer’s race for the Ward 4 seat on the city council.

One thing St. Paul voters can’t count on this summer? Political endorsements from the St. Paul DFL, which has no plans to host caucuses or a Ward 4 endorsing convention this year, according to party treasurer Rick Varco.The St. Paul DFL is in the midst of rebuilding its leadership roster and discussing how to adjust its constitution in advance of the city’s upcoming shift to even-year municipal elections, a change that city voters approved at ballot last November, and won’t be devoting resources to caucuses and conventions this summer.

Other parties may weigh in. Twin Cities DSA, a chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, has already endorsed Cole Hanson in the Ward 4 race, well in advance of campaign filings.

Carter announced in January he would seek a third term. The mayor, whose progressive agenda has included college savings accounts for St. Paul newborns and a new sales tax to support roads and parks, won both of his previous four-year terms on the first ballot of each ranked-choice election.

In 2021, Carter received more than 61% of the vote in an eight-way race.

Two mayoral challengers

Those numbers haven’t stopped declared challengers Yan Chen, a biophysicist at the University of Minnesota, and Mike Hilborn, who runs a power-washing, Christmas tree lighting and snowplowing company.

Chen, who previously ran for the Ward 1 seat on the St. Paul City Council, released a series of videos on her campaign website, yanchenmn.com, analyzing what she describes as the unsustainable course of the city’s finances and rising property taxes.

She also plans videos criticizing the mayor’s decision to endorse rent control before the policy was approved at public ballot in 2021, as well as his handling of the citywide garbage contract. A landlord, she rents out five single-family homes in St. Paul.

Hilborn, who previously ran for state representative representing the downtown area, lists a series of one-sentence campaign promises on his website, hilbornforstpaul.com, pledging without further elaboration that he can cut the city’s property taxes by 50% while doubling the size of the city’s police force. He also lists among his priorities “no boys in girls sports” and that he supports “school choice/school vouchers.”

Hilborn, who works closely with nonprofits that create opportunities for the previously incarcerated and disabled, said he is a “second chance” employer, offering $25-per-hour jobs with benefits to men and women who have had brushes with the law or are in addiction recovery.

The filing period for the mayoral election is July 29 to Aug. 12, and additional candidates may yet join the pool. The election will be ranked choice, meaning there will be no political primary to whittle down the field, and voters will be allowed to choose more than one candidate in order of preference.

As a result of a petition drive led by financial analyst Peter Butler, the Nov. 4 ballot will also feature a question regarding amending the city charter to allow administrative citations, or non-criminal fines for violations of city ordinances.

Carter and the city council have called for giving the council the power to create various fine schedules for ordinance infractions, as other cities in the metro already do to varying degrees. Butler and other critics have questioned whether the city will attempt to raise badly-needed revenue for the city budget through excess enforcement.

Ward 4 race tightens

The race for the open Ward 4 seat on the city council has already tightened, even though the filing period doesn’t open until later this month.

Cristen Incitti, president and chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity Minnesota, has pulled out of the Ward 4 contest and endorsed fellow candidate Molly Coleman, a nonprofit founder and daughter of former mayor Chris Coleman.

Also running are school board member Chauntyll Allen and Hanson, a public health worker who previously served as chair of the Hamline-Midway Coalition. The ward, which centers around the Midway, spans all or parts of St. Anthony Park, Hamline-Midway, Como, Merriam Park and Macalester Groveland.

The Ward 4 filing period is May 20 through June 2, and the special election will be held Aug. 12.

Previous Ward 4 Council Member Mitra Jalali resigned her seat in February, and the mayor appointed Matt Privratsky as her interim replacement last month after the council failed to muster enough votes to choose someone on their own.