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St. Paul City Council Ward 3 2023 candidates: Isaac Russell, Saura Jost, Troy Barksdale, Patty Hartmann

The ward has an open seat after council member Chris Tolbert decided not to run. We have resources to help you decide whom to rank.

Voting in St. Paul Ward 3? We have resources to help you meet the candidates and get ready to vote. 

  • Read the candidates’ full responses to a range of questions from MinnPost by visiting our 2023 Minneapolis and St. Paul election guide and selecting the city and ward number.
  • Remember, this is a ranked choice voting election — meaning you get to cast a ballot for your top three candidates. As you read our voter guide, keep in mind your first, second and third choices for the position.

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Click here for MinnPost’s full 2023 Minneapolis and St. Paul City Council candidate guide

Troy Barksdale

  • If elected this fall, what policy would be your top priority? Repealing or heavily amending the Rent Stabilization Ordinance is atop my agenda. It’s the most stringent in the country and is simply bad economics all around. The two tier rental market triggered by the current version of the ordinance has made the unrestricted tier increasingly unaffordable, has reduced market mobility in the restricted tier, and has left affordable housing occupants out to dry. Moreover, in the restricted tier, there are no incentives for capital improvements on the part of the landlords. Any and all housing policies have to currently be made with this poorly executed ordinance in mind.”

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Patty Hartmann

  • If elected this fall, what policy would be your top priority? My campaign motto is: Your city, your voice. We need to support stronger municipal services to fix the roads, more authentic citizen engagement on big decisions like Summit Avenue redesign, safer neighborhoods, and promote real economic opportunities for all residents, not just the special interests.”

Saura Jost

  • If elected this fall, what policy would be your top priority? Building St. Paul’s infrastructure. I’ve spent my professional life as a civil engineer designing the infrastructure that we all depend on from buildings to clean water. Infrastructure touches on nearly every other decision we make as a city from the environment and transportation to health and housing. When I say I view this broadly, I mean that we need to take steps not just to reconstruct our streets and build the transit methods we need, but also deal with the housing crisis too many of our families are still facing.”

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Isaac Russell

  • If elected this fall, what policy would be your top priority? My top priority is improving public safety in St. Paul. Our city is facing many challenges: road and infrastructure repairs, building the housing our residents need, and public safety. I intend to work diligently on each of these priorities and more, but I want to especially focus on public safety. People and businesses are concerned about safety downtown and we need to continue to invest in youth programming. For Ward 3, many people are concerned by catalytic converter theft, vehicle theft, and property crimes.”