Voters in the St. Thomas community cast their votes in the 2021 municipal election Tuesday at St. Thomas’ McNeely Hall and the Merriam Park Recreation Center in St. Paul.
St. Paul voters are choosing between nine mayoral candidates, including incumbent Melvin Carter, as well as school board members and a rent stabilization proposal that would cap the yearly increase of rent at 3% and be one of the strictest in the country if passed.
“I live in St. Paul right now, like I pay a pretty good rent, and I want to continue living in the community I live in,” St. Thomas junior Jessica Trombley said. “I think it is really important that rent doesn’t go up so much.”
A majority of St. Paul residents are renters, with the rental population most dense in areas surrounding St. Thomas, making the ballot question regarding the proposal a prominent issue for St. Thomas students.
“I think there are things that could have significant impact for students, certainly the mayoral race, rent control, even school board impacts siblings or other people that might live in the district too,” McNeely Hall Head Election Judge Mitch Helle-Morrissey said.
Merriam Park Head Election Judges Allison Liuzzi and Linda Kaehler emphasized the importance of these city ballots.
“These are the people and questions that really affect your day to day life, like policing, libraries, minimum wage and schools,” Liuzzi said. “What you’re doing every day is what you’re voting on today.”
“Get involved. Get involved in your community,” Kaehler said.
Helle-Morissey wants students to learn about the overall election process.
“I would encourage students to kind of understand the election process and how it works; there has been a lot of discussion in the media about how elections work, and I think students can also serve as election judges, which I would love to see,” Helle-Morrissey said.
Trombley cast her vote on campus at McNeely Hall and emphasized the convenience of a close polling place.
“Voting is so much easier than you think, like it literally takes five minutes of your time to register and it takes like 15 minutes to go to your nearest polling place and cast your vote,” Trombley said.
Kaehler and Liuzzi believe voting on municipal ballots is important and students should go out and vote.
“I think if you vote you have a say in things. Otherwise, I don’t think you do,” Kaehler said.
Natalie Hoepner can be reached at hoep8497@stthomas.edu.