Retired firefighter, property manager and former St. Paul NAACP president Nick Khaliq was sworn in Wednesday as the interim St. Paul City Council member representing Frogtown, Summit-University and other parts of Ward 1. He replaces Melvin Carter, who is moving on to a position with the state mid-way through his four-year council term.
But that’s not the end of the story. Khaliq, the fill-in guy, will serve into November, when he, too, will be replaced by whoever wins the Ward 1 election. To complicate matters, there will be no primary, and voters will get to rank what could be a wide cast of candidates in order of preference. So far, about nine or 10 hopefuls have declared their intention to run for the seat, and more could emerge as election filings commence at the end of this month. Some could drop off the list of likely candidates, too.
Much depends upon the outcome of the upcoming DFL endorsement process. Candidates of the DFL political stripe have been invited to a special Ward 1 “endorsing meeting” on the morning of July 27 at Insulators Hall, 95 Empire Drive. The site, borrowed from the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34, is located in a business center off Pennsylvania Avenue near Rice Street.
Delegates chosen at Ward 1 precinct caucuses a few months ago will meet there to make a party endorsement.
The GOP has already rallied around Paul Holmgren, a former candidate for the Minnesota House. The Greens have yet to make an endorsement, but they plan to.