12 vying for interim St. Paul council position

Wanted: Temporary St. Paul City Council member. Position offers chance to have an impact on community. Lasts only a few weeks and pays just OK, but quarters are nice and job comes with built-in soapbox for all occasions.

That's essentially the ad that seven men and five women are responding to Wednesday when they will be interviewed by the council to hold the First Ward seat from the time Council Member Melvin Carter III leaves office in early July until a special election in November is held to fill out the remaining two years of his term.

Carter announced last month that he will step down July 5 to become director of the state Office of Early Learning. The City Council, which intends to make an appointment July 10, prefers applicants who not only live in the ward but who don't plan to run for the office this fall.

Fourteen applicants submitted résumés for the job by the May 31 deadline, but two will be unavailable for Wednesday's interview session. Each applicant will get 15 minutes to make his or her case and answer questions. The interviews, which are open to the public, are scheduled from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and 4:30 to 6:45 p.m. in Room 330 at City Hall.

Here's a list of those slated to be interviewed Wednesday:

• Marvin Roger Anderson, 73, Summit-University neighborhood. Anderson, an attorney and a former Peace Corps volunteer, was the state law librarian from 1980 to 2002 and co-founded the Rondo Days Celebration in St. Paul.

• Matthew Brenengen, 44, Summit-University, is a landlord and a self-employed personal injury attorney based in St. Louis Park.

• Warsan Farah, 40, Summit-University, runs the Al-Ihsan Islamic Center School in Frogtown and is a community activist.

• Robin Hickman, 50, Summit-University, is the CEO and executive producer of Soultouch Inc., a production and media consulting company that works on film projects and public affairs programming.

• Nathaniel Khaliq, 69, Summit-University, is a former St. Paul firefighter and retired head of the St. Paul NAACP who also served as president of the Summit-University Planning Council.

• Patty Lammers, 38, North End, is a rehab lending programs manager for the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation and longtime community activist.

• John Loban, 64, Summit-University, is a St. Paul Realtor and retired teacher who has served on many community boards and ran for the City Council in 1993.

• Jacqui Shoholm, 63, Summit-University, was a U.S. Department of Labor administrator and worked for the city of St. Paul for 27 years, including 14 years as director of workforce development.

• Darryl Spence Sr., 49, Summit-University, pastor of a Minneapolis church, community volunteer and an outreach worker for the St. Paul police.

• Renee Tyler, 46, Summit-University, district administrative manager at the University of Minnesota and a former legislative aide to former Council Member Debbie Montgomery.

Another applicant, Lori Stee, 55, of Frogtown, vice president at Project for Pride in Living, said Monday she can't attend the interview and will submit a letter to the City Council.