Ward 4 Special Election Resource Page
On August 12th, voters in Saint Paul’s Ward 4 will elect a new councilmember in a special election using ranked choice voting. The SD64 DFL shared a questionnaire with all the candidates running for this seat - their responses can be found below.
Ward 4 includes all or part of five neighborhoods: Hamline-Midway, Merriam Park, Saint Anthony Park, and parts of Macalester-Groveland and Como. View the Ward 4 map
Election day is August 12th, 2025 - Find your polling place
Early voting is now open!
Ward 4 Residents can currently vote early at the Ramsey County Elections Office located at:
90 Plato Blvd West in Saint Paul. First Floor. Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Extended in-person hours are available the weekend before the election:
Sat., Aug. 9 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m and Mon., Aug. 11 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m
Meet the Candidates
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Chauntyll Allen
Educator, organizer, wife, mother, and St. Paul School Board Director running for Ward 4 City Council.
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Molly Coleman
Labor-endorsed candidate for Saint Paul City Council in Ward Four. Executive Director, People’s Parity Project & PPP Action.
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Cole Hanson
Labor-endorsed Candidate for St. Paul Ward 4 | Parent & public health pro. Fighting for safer neighborhoods and the basics.
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Carolyn Will
Carolyn Will is running for Saint Paul City Council. She believes in safety that starts with accountability, neighbors helping neighbors, budgets that respect taxpayers, and a city that welcomes growth without forgetting its roots.
Watch the League of Women Voters candidate forum
SD64 DFL Questionnaire Responses
Molly Coleman
Website: coleman4council.com
Effective governance at the municipal level requires productive working relationships. How will you approach working with your colleagues on the City Council as well as the Mayor’s office to accomplish your goals?
Molly Coleman: Effective leadership on the City Council requires building strong relationships with other Council members, the Mayor’s office, and staff across all city departments. I’ve begun that relationship building already, and am proud to be endorsed by the Mayor and multiple Council members. I know that we won’t always agree, but I’m committed to fostering collaborative, professional working relationships with everyone in City Hall.
How will you approach representing Ward constituents with differing views on hyperlocal issues?
Molly Coleman: City Council members must show up, hear out all parties, and take seriously each perspective shared by a resident of our Ward. It is also a Council member’s responsibility to work to mutually agreeable solutions that balance the needs of all impacted parties. I’m committed to navigating disagreements with integrity, empathy, and a commitment to fairness, while also recognizing that it is the job of a Council member to ultimately make the hard decisions and move our community forward.
Describe your plan to be responsive to constituent correspondence.
Molly Coleman: If people take the time to contact their elected representatives, they deserve a response. This is especially true at the local level. I’m committed to ensuring that every resident of our Ward knows they are heard and respected, and that starts by being responsive to emails, phone calls, and meeting requests. It also requires a Council member who’s out in the community, meeting people where they are, and proactively communicating about the Council’s work in order to increase engagement.
Molly Coleman: I have deep experience with state- and national-level advocacy, and intend to use that to be an effective voice for the residents of Ward Four. On issues like increasing Local Government Aid, instituting a land-value tax, eliminating state preemption that prevents us from banning guns in our libraries and rec centers, and re-making I-94, we need leaders at all levels to step up for Saint Paul. I’m committed to building the relationships and engaging in the advocacy necessary to make that happen.
How do you plan to advocate for the city at the state and federal level?
Saint Paul is a sanctuary city. If elected, how will you approach protecting our undocumented immigrant neighbors within our Saint Paul communities? Please be specific.
Molly Coleman: Immigrants are the bedrock of our community. We need to: 1. Fully fund the Immigration Legal Defense Fund run by the city and county. 2. Conduct city-wide “know your rights” trainings on what to do if ICE comes. 3. Complete a citywide information-sharing audit to ensure we are not providing ICE with any unnecessary information. 4. Launch an immigrant advisory committee to ensure our city services and spaces are as accessible as possible to people in this scary moment.
With federal cuts to Medicaid as well as energy and food assistance, more households and families will be cost burdened in our city. What policies do you support to promote and protect affordability for Saint Paul residents?
Molly Coleman: We start by ensuring everybody can afford a safe, stable home, whether rented or owned. In addition, we must bring down the costs of people’s bills, including by weatherizing and electrifying the homes of low-income residents. Building an affordable city requires us to invest in multimodal transportation so people can get around without a car. Finally, we need to invest in programs aimed at our most vulnerable residents, in order to fill some of the gap being created by the federal government.
Housing continues to be among the highest cost burden for residents in Saint Paul. How would you promote housing affordability while ensuring stability for Saint Paul residents?
Molly Coleman: First, we need to build more housing at all price points, from deeply affordable to market rate. Second, we need to invest in our housing vouchers, 4(d) affordable housing incentives, downpayment assistance programs, and other tools that help ensure people can afford a home in Saint Paul. Third, Saint Paul needs to continue to find innovative ways, like the Inspiring Communities program, to ensure the affordable housing we need is financed and can actually be built.
Molly Coleman: Further improving our zoning code to allow more types of homes in more places (including up-zoning key corridors) is an important first step, but alone it isn’t enough. We need to ensure that the housing we know is needed—affordable, multi-unit, accessory dwelling units, etc.—can actually be built, and that requires doing more to ensure these projects can be financed (including through direct financing).
How should our city approach our housing shortage for both renters and homeowners?
What ideas do you have to address our eroding tax base that is putting a strain on our city's ability to deliver services?
Molly Coleman: We have to grow our tax base. Sites like West Rock and Luther Seminary present key opportunities to do this through the development of more housing and industry. We need to use tools like administrative citations to hold accountable absentee corporate landowners (like at the former CVS on Snelling & University) and open up new spaces for investment and increased tax revenue. And we need to work with our small, local businesses to ensure they have the support they need to stay in Saint Paul.
Cole Hanson
Website: coleforward4.org
Effective governance at the municipal level requires productive working relationships. How will you approach working with your colleagues on the City Council as well as the Mayor’s office to accomplish your goals?
Cole Hanson: I'll ensure Ward 4 voices reach every corner of City Hall. My approach: collaborative problem-solving honed through years building consensus as a public health educator and nonprofit leader. I bring a public health lens to old problems—seeing public safety through community outreach, housing through health outcomes. I've navigated diverse teams by focusing on shared outcomes over ideology. The key is keeping constituents, not politics, at the center of every decision.
Cole Hanson: My platform comes from thousands of conversations with neighbors who often disagree on details but share core concerns. I identify genuine common ground by digging beneath positions to find shared values. Most "conflicts" are unmet needs in tension—the resident worried about parking and the density advocate both want livable neighborhoods. My job is crafting solutions that address root causes while maintaining trust and relationships across different viewpoints.
How will you approach representing Ward constituents with differing views on hyperlocal issues?
Describe your plan to be responsive to constituent correspondence.
Cole Hanson: It'll be my full-time job. I'll partner with district councils to ensure no concern falls through cracks. While handling correspondence personally when possible, I'll ensure staff has clear guidance for consistent responses. Real constituent service happens face-to-face—through regular office hours across the ward and showing up to community events year-round. Most importantly, I'll close the loop: when someone raises an issue, they'll know what happened, building transparency and trust.
How do you plan to advocate for the city at the state and federal level?
Cole Hanson: Effective advocacy needs genuine partnerships with our legislative delegations. I'll invite them to forums, connect them with constituents, and provide real-time feedback on policy impacts. My experience working statewide helps build coalitions with other cities—our voice is stronger together. I'll make Ward 4 a reliable implementation partner, earning influence through sustained relationships, not just showing up when we need something. That's how real change happens.
Saint Paul is a sanctuary city. If elected, how will you approach protecting our undocumented immigrant neighbors within our Saint Paul communities? Please be specific.
Cole Hanson: I will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities targeting our families. Period. Beyond that baseline, I'll expand our immigration legal support services and strengthen neighborhood rapid-response networks. This means funding know-your-rights trainings, ensuring city services remain accessible regardless of status, and partnering with organizations already doing this work. Our schools, libraries, and clinics must remain sanctuaries. ICE has no place in a better St. Paul.
With federal cuts to Medicaid as well as energy and food assistance, more households and families will be cost burdened in our city. What policies do you support to promote and protect affordability for Saint Paul residents?
Cole Hanson: First: keep transit affordable and safe—when it isn't, our lowest-income neighbors lose their lifeline. Second: implement PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) to ensure nonprofits and large institutions contribute fairly to city services. Third: protect energy assistance and retrofit programs through local partnerships, not by using those funds for special projects. Fourth: study municipal grocery to serve downtown, because no groceries means no growth. We must feed ourselves.
Housing continues to be among the highest cost burden for residents in Saint Paul. How would you promote housing affordability while ensuring stability for Saint Paul residents?
Cole Hanson: Property tax reform through PILOT is step one—homeowners are drowning while large tax-exempt properties pay nothing. Next: strictly limit usage of TIF which has turned into a developer giveaway. Build social housing on the Dakota County CDA model run like a public utility—affordable, sustainable, accountable. Every new multi-unit development must prioritize actual affordability, not just density. Introduce SRO options for people in school or transition. Housing is a right, not a commodity.
How should our city approach our housing shortage for both renters and homeowners?
Cole Hanson: Build social housing ourselves using Dakota County CDA's self-sustaining model—1500+ units shows it works. Build more senior housing across St. Paul for aging residents. Focus development along transit corridors for maximum efficiency. Hold bad landlords accountable through inspections & citations—every unit must be safe. Support missing middle housing in every neighborhood. The shortage isn't just about quantity; it's about affordability, location, and quality. We need all three.
Cole Hanson: PILOT implementation brings universities, hospitals, and large nonprofits to the table—Boston's model works. Reform DSI processes that limit small business development. Implement land value taxation to incentivize filling vacant storefronts on University and other corridors. Support Traditional Zoning rollout to enable corner stores and neighborhood businesses. The answer isn't higher taxes on residents—it's broadening who contributes and removing barriers to growth.
What ideas do you have to address our eroding tax base that is putting a strain on our city's ability to deliver services?
Carolyn Will
Website: carolynwillforcitycouncil.com
Effective governance at the municipal level requires productive working relationships. How will you approach working with your colleagues on the City Council as well as the Mayor’s office to accomplish your goals?
Carolyn Will: By finding shared values. We all care deeply about Saint Paul and want to see our city thrive. I have had training with Braver Angels, a nonpartisan group that teaches people how to talk to one another no matter where you stand on the political continuum. As the training teaches you, listen deeply, do not try to convince them of "your side," but learn to understand one another better.
Carolyn Will: Once again, I would appeal to the better angels in all of us, and remember that we all share a common goal-- to help our city thrive. I have heard wide-ranging views on affordable housing, rent control, road contruction, safety in our neighborhoods, parks and on transit. Finding the common values and working toward consensus would be the goal for the work in Ward 4.
How will you approach representing Ward constituents with differing views on hyperlocal issues?
Carolyn Will: I plan to prioritize constituent services. I will publish my contact information and I will respond! This is a job that requires representation and I will show up for Ward 4 residents at city hall, at city council meetings, at neighborhood meetings, at their homes. It's a large ward, and I am ready to go to bat for them.
Describe your plan to be responsive to constituent correspondence.
How do you plan to advocate for the city at the state and federal level?
I plan to advocate for Saint Paul at every opportunity at the state and federal level. I am committed to key DFL values, such as ensuring access to quality education, affordable housing, and healthcare for everyone. However, I also recognize the need for fiscal responsibility and economic sustainability. I believe we can support our local businesses while investing in social programs that lift up our most vulnerable citizens.
Saint Paul is a sanctuary city. If elected, how will you approach protecting our undocumented immigrant neighbors within our Saint Paul communities? Please be specific.
Carolyn Will: As a sanctuary city, we have a responsibility to create a safe and welcoming environment for all residents, regardless of their immigration status. If elected, I will approach this issue through a combination of policy advocacy, community engagement, and support services.
With federal cuts to Medicaid as well as energy and food assistance, more households and families will be cost burdened in our city. What policies do you support to promote and protect affordability for Saint Paul residents?
Carolyn Will: We must take a proactive approach to address the challenges posed by federal cuts. If elected, I would focus on build on our local assistance programs, making certain that those in need know about food banks, community kitchens, SNAP, etc. I support building on affordable housing initiatives, utility assistance, and healthcare accessibility.
Carolyn Will: Balance. Neighborhoods benefit from a variety of housing options. I will support policies that promote the development of affordable housing units, including inclusionary zoning that requires new developments to include affordable options, and support saving our current affordable housing stock from tear downs.
Housing continues to be among the highest cost burden for residents in Saint Paul. How would you promote housing affordability while ensuring stability for Saint Paul residents?
Carolyn Will: Addressing the housing shortage in our city is a critical challenge.We need to prioritize building affordable housing units by providing incentives for developers to build affordable housing, utilizing public land for affordable projects, and supporting non-profit housing organizations.
How should our city approach our housing shortage for both renters and homeowners?
What ideas do you have to address our eroding tax base that is putting a strain on our city's ability to deliver services?
Carolyn Will: When my business is slow, I hustle and find new projects, new clients. And I review a list of people who value my services in the past, and revisit them. This is the same approach the city could take.I want to hustle on behalf of our city and attract new investors, new businesses to Saint Paul. First, we need to make our city look attractive - reduce the crime, address the needs of our homeless, and clean up our transit! I believe there is value in asking nonprofits to pay for city services.