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Ward 4 Councilmember, Council President Mitra Jalali Announces Retirement

Council President Mitra Jalali announced on social media January 24 that she would be retiring her post on the City Council effective February 5. She said in her statement that she would be leaving to focus on her health.

“Being an elected official is a privilege. It also carries human costs that are far less visible than the role you are elected to. It is not an easy job, and if you are doing it well, it shouldn’t be. But when your body is telling you that you shouldn’t be in the place that you come to work everyday, it knows something that you have to listen to,” Jalali said in a social media post.

Jalali was first elected in 2018 in a special election after former Councilmember Russ Stark left his position for a job in Mayor Carter’s administration. Last year, she was part of a historic cohort of elected officials in St. Paul, the first all women and majority people of color council the city has even had.

She was elected as Council President in 2024 to lead the historic group.

Jalali said she will be taking a leave of absence beginning on February 5 while she transitions out of her role. 

Replace this sentence with: On January 28, the City Council elected Ward 2 Councilmember Rebecca Noecker to replace Jalali as President. They will appoint an interim member in Ward 4 until a special election can be held later this year.

One thought on “Ward 4 Councilmember, Council President Mitra Jalali Announces Retirement

  • Oliver

    I’m not on facebook to wish her good health in her retirement, but what is councilmember Jalali’s given name? The print version of this article spells it three different ways: is it Mitra as spelled in the headline, Mirta as written in the body of the text, or Mitral as the photo is captioned? One discrepancy is an understandable typo, but twice shows a level of carelessness that reads as disrespect. I don’t suppose “Martha” would be spelled incorrectly twice as often as it is spelled correctly, so thank you for linking the social media page confirming that her name is in fact Mitra. If you are in need of a proofreader, I am available.

    Reply

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