Melvin Carter and Kaohly Her face off at first St. Paul mayoral candidate forum

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s four challengers attacked the incumbent’s approach to running the city Wednesday night in the only forum scheduled so far in the city’s election.

The election comes as St. Paul continues to revive its downtown and buoy its tax base after the pandemic, and as residents could face steep tax increases in 2026.

While Carter spoke about driving down violent crime and his hopes for economic development, his opponents criticized his style as too passive and said the administration does too little to work with businesses, nonprofits and other parts of government to run the city effectively.

An audience of about 200 watched Carter face off against state Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, Yan Chen, Adam Dullinger and Mike Hilborn, who all poked at issues of high taxes, stagnation downtown and along University Avenue, and the high cost of renting and buying a home.

Early voting starts Friday.

During the 90-minute forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters at Johnson High School, Carter was relentlessly optimistic in his portrayal of his record in St. Paul.

He pointed to a decrease in gun violence and progress on major developments at the former Ford plant site and at the former Hillcrest golf course as successes under his leadership, and he said he thought downtown St. Paul was on the brink of a comeback.

“Cutting significantly would mean cutting police, would mean cutting fire, would mean cutting the things that hold up our property values, that make sure our city is a desirable place to live,” he said.

Her, the mayor’s best-known opponent, hammered on Carter’s administration for being hard to work with, and said businesses are slipping through bureaucratic cracks.

“We do business poorly. We do not respond to phone calls,” Her said.

She recounted a business owner who tried to set up shop in St. Paul, but found more helpful city staff in Roseville. Unglamorous functions are part of attracting businesses, she said. “We have to actually facilitate the process.”

Her also said the mayor’s administration has rarely engaged with the state and county government. Though Carter started a fresh push for gun control after the Annunciation Church shooting, Her said city lobbyists never met with her when she carried gun control bills in the Legislature.

“The attitude in the mayor’s office is, ‘We’re the mayor’s office, we don’t’ have to consult with anyone,’” Her said.

Carter countered by saying a majority of the seven City Council members have endorsed him.

Her connected Carter’s go-it-alone style in pursuit of ambitious ideas to the idea that St. Paul has been neglecting basic city services. In setting up a debt forgiveness pilot program during Carter’s first term, she said, St. Paul chose not to seek state partners and funding.

Instead, the city went on its own, using city funds for the program rather than directing that money to basic city services.

The three other candidates also spoke about how their approaches would differ from Carter.

Dullinger, a political newcomer, spoke primarily about bicycle infrastructure and city planning, and at one point argued with Her about the quality of the bike lanes on Summit Avenue. “Summit Avenue sucks as a bike trail,” he said. “It all sucks.”

He also criticized the city’s use of tax-increment financing and other subsidies, called for more support to housing that people could own rather than rental apartments, and said the city should consider municipal grocery stores to address food prices and food deserts.

Hilborn, who owns a pressure-washing and snowplowing business, focused on the need to lower taxes for both property owners and businesses, while saying that the city should hire more police officers. Audience members put up thumbs-down signs when he said city police should cooperate with ICE after arresting people suspected of crimes.

Carter stuck to positive points about his record and his high hopes for the city, his casual, cheerful affect a contrast to Her’s businesslike demeanor.

A pointed exchange with Her over the closure of the Midway Cub Foods last month stayed upbeat.

Her rebutted, saying Cub felt the city not a good partner, but said “We’re getting different versions of stories from different people,” she said.