Image of 5 St. Paul Mayoral Candidates in 2025 Election. Top left Melvin Carter, top right Yan Chen, bottom left Adam Dullinger, bottom center Kaohly Her and bottom right Mike Hilborn.

2025 Election Preview

September 25, 2025 Damian Goebel 3 min read 2025 Election, Administrative Citations, St. Paul Mayor, St. Paul Public Schools, Voting

Mayor Race

Five candidates are on the ballot this year to be St. Paul’s Mayor. Incumbent Melvin Carter, who is seeking his third term, will face off against four competitors, Yan Chen, Adam Dullinger, State Rep. Kaohly Her and Mike Hilborn, a local business owner, vying for the seat.

Typically St. Paul’s Mayoral elections are for four-year terms, but, thanks to a ballot measure approved by voters last year, city elections will now be shifted to presidential election years – making the next Mayoral term only three years to align the new election cycles.

We asked each candidate to answer five questions about issues facing everyone in St. Paul and are publishing their responses verbatim.

School District Referendum

SPPS is seeking a $37 million annual levy to close funding gaps in the district. The full questions on the ballot reads as follows:

Approval of New School District Referendum Revenue Authorization

The board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota has proposed to increase the School District’s general education revenue by $1,073 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed new referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2025 for taxes payable in 2026 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.

Administrative Citations

The St. Paul City Council has proposed changing the City Charter to be able to impose administrative citations. The full questions on the ballot reads as follows:

Referendum on Ord 25-2 amending the City Charter.

Should Ordinance Ord 25-2, amending Chapter 6.03 of the St. Paul Charter, regarding Administrative Citations take effect? Ordinance Ord 25-2 amends the City Charter to authorize the issuance of Administrative Citations that may result in the imposition of civil fines for violations of City Ordinances. Administrative Citations are not Criminal Citations. A “yes vote is a vote in favor of amending the City Charter to allow the City to issue administrative citations. A “No” vote is a vote against amending the City Charter and against administrative citations.