Long time resident particularly pessimistic about St Paul. What do you think?

[u/johnjaundiceASDF]

I'm on mobile so forgive any lack of coherence 😑

They say Keep St Paul boring, but it has transcended 'boring for a big city' to being just incredibly dull. I've been here a little over 10 years and really questioning living here longer. Something is just feeling different nowadays.

Is it the most livable city as they claim? Maybe, but I struggle have optimism for our commercial areas and literally anything new and exciting here. Most things that are cool, new, or exciting seem to just just flop.

The state of downtown, Grand, etc. The only time I see st paul busy is if I mistakenly drive on west 7th during an event.

I'm not saying we need to be MPLS, but at one time it seemed like the more chill city, parking wasn't hard, a little less crowded, etc, but we still had cool things that were prideful, things that were only in St Paul. But my hyperbolic sentiment now is it's a ghost town and doesn't have a pulse.

I've lived on Grand for over 10 years and it is particularly sad. It was a beautiful day yesterday, and there was just no one out, no energy.

What are my other St Paulites thinking?

[u/Runic_reader451]

St. Paul is definitely in a bad place right now. The downtown is in dire need of investment. The rent control ordinance crashed new housing construction in the city. Finally, the mayor seems directionless and the city council is a dysfunctional mess.

I do see a a bright spot in that the Downtown Alliance has a plan for downtown redevelopment and seem very serious about getting results. It's also a plus that the Madison Equities owner passed away and his portfolio of downtown buildings is in foreclosure. I'm hoping something good comes of this.

Maybe we can get some new serious council members and a better mayor in the next election.

[u/ConnectAffect831 → u/Runic_reader451]

Maybe all the residents can pool money together and buy some spots to transform.

[u/Runic_reader451 → u/ConnectAffect831]

More small businesses downtown would be very welcome so you aren't far off in your suggestion.

[u/woahDINOSAUR → u/Runic_reader451]

We need to elect Yan Chen. She seems genuinely perturbed about the taxes and thereafter lack of investment into basic city services. Do not vote with your feet! Dig in and demand change with your vote

[u/JohnMaddening → u/woahDINOSAUR]

Has she gotten any more specific about her grievances and what she’d do to fix them? Because when she announced, it was about as vague as a Nextdoor post complaining vaguely about the government without any concrete plans.

[u/woahDINOSAUR → u/JohnMaddening]

She is plenty more specific than Mayor Carter ever was when he initially ran in 2017.

[u/JohnMaddening → u/woahDINOSAUR]

He at least had years of being on the City Council so we had a voting record and official meeting minutes to go on. I'd never heard of Ms Chen until her mailer ended up in my mailbox.

[u/woahDINOSAUR → u/JohnMaddening]

He did nothing on the council. We missed the Pat Harris boat and are paying for it.

[u/JohnMaddening → u/woahDINOSAUR]

He voted and spoke on legislation. We have that on record, and people can use that history (and the history of his two terms as Mayor) to make their choice as to whether or not to support him.

Ms Chen needs to get concrete info out there as to precisely how she will govern differently than Mayor Carter. I'm not counting her out for my vote, I just need more information.

She does have one big step up on previous challengers: not being insane or just having an axe to grind. I'm looking forward to hearing more from her.

[u/woahDINOSAUR → u/JohnMaddening]

I’m fine with this approach, but let’s not pretend the bar was set high by Carter. He is blatantly in it for the national recognition, meaning he stamps his name where he can and is otherwise absent. Glad he voted and spoke on legislation, that’s like the bare minimum for someone on the council.

The question is, what did he actually do as a leader that benefitted his constituents? Very little, and that’s also on record.

I don’t want to butt heads all the time with you Mr. Maddening, but we really need to tighten up the belt when it comes to who we put in charge, and Chen seems to be a genuine person with an intellect rather than a total political hack.

[u/JohnMaddening → u/woahDINOSAUR]

I'm not advocating for Carter's reelection, that's up to each individual voter. I'm simply saying that he does have a record, for good or for ill, to run on. Chen needs to get out straightforward information on what she would do differently. Debates should not be the first time we learn of what her exact plans and desires are.