This is the seat that’s been held by Rafael Ortega for basically forever. Last year, St. Paul City Council rep Rebecca Noecker announced a run against him; Rafael Ortega bowed out and endorsed State Representative Maria Isa Pérez-Vega.

It is tempting to just put this post off until the general because this is only a primary because it’s a three-way race due to perennial candidate Charles Barklind.

On the ballot in the primary:

Charles S. Barklind
Maria Isa Pérez-Vega
Rebecca Noecker

Charles Barklind is, to quote the Pioneer Press article about the race, an 82-year-old retired golf caddy and newspaper delivery man. He’s run repeatedly for this seat. I dug up a few nuggets of information about him in 2014. No one needs to vote for him.

Rebecca has been on the St. Paul City Council since 2016 and had no serious opposition last time she ran. Maria Isa served two terms in the Minnesota House, running for the first time in 2022. This is my district, and I went to the DFL convention as a delegate, where we adjourned after one ballot because it was a 50/50 split almost to the vote. (You need 60% of the ballot to get endorsed. It was super clear that we were not going to be endorsing anyone that day.)

I went to the convention as a Rebecca supporter, and I’m planning to vote for her, for the following reasons:

• Rebecca ran for this office because she was dissatisfied with the job Rafael Ortega (and the County Board in general) were doing. She goes into some specific detail about that on her website. I appreciate that she’s willing to talk about what’s wrong with the current situation and I find it pretty persuasive. Maria Isa is running very much as Rafael Ortega’s successor, and given an actual alternative, I think I would prefer the person who cites as a specific goal that she will actually see projects through to the end.
  
• Rebecca’s case for herself is that in terms of preparation for the job, she has worked for ten years on the City Council (a job where you’re one of seven members, like the County Board) as opposed to in the Legislature, where you’re one of 134; she thinks this is better preparation. Also, on the current County Board there are multiple former legislators, no former St. Paul City Council reps.
  
• The “one of seven rather than 134” is an additionally compelling argument to me because every time I hear Maria Isa give a speech, she loses me somewhere in the tangents. (Here’s an example of her style.) Maria Isa is inspiring and passionate and energetic and I wind up at the end of her speeches having no idea what point she was actually making. If Maria Isa were the Democrat and Rebecca were a Republican I’d shrug and vote for Maria Isa, but I think overall their goals are mostly the same, and I think Rebecca is likely to be more effective.

Here’s a sample of what I mean. On their websites, they both talk about West 7th, which is in dire need of a rebuild and redesign. Maria Isa says:

West 7th Street is a major artery for our district and our region. I am ready to work with partners at the Met Council, the city of Saint Paul, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and our staff at the county to find a solution that fixes the street and provides better transit and bike/ped infrastructure. All have committed to this work so I am more hopeful than ever that we can get this done.

Rebecca’s website goes into a lot more detail but includes a history of the problem:

Ramsey County spent two decades and allocated $730 million to the Riverview Corridor project aimed at revitalizing West 7th:

• Modern streetcar to improve mobility
• Replacing Highway 5 Mississippi River Bridge
• Additional streetscaping

These design challenges proved too steep, and the County officially, and abruptly, abandoned it in September 2024.

In June 2025, the Ramsey County Board voted unanimously to reallocate the $730 million previously allocated to the Riverview Corridor project.

She then says:

As of January 2026, The City of St. Paul, MnDOT, Ramsey County, and Metro Transit have made a commitment to West 7th:

• Rebuilding and repaving West 7th led by MnDOT
• Arterial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) led by Metro Transit

After decades of planning and reallocating $730 million intended for West 7th, it is clear that the County left behind this vital corridor.

West 7th deserves thoughtful, effective investment that supports both the immediate needs and long-term goals of the neighborhood and broader city.

Now that there is a new, workable concept, I want to bring Ramsey County back to the table and ready to invest in this much-needed project.

(Me again.) The thing about saying you’re “ready to work” on this when the county spent so many years doing studies and making plans and having community meetings and then just shelved the whole project is that it feels almost disingenuous to me. After years of planning that got shelved, West 7th is dangerous and unpleasant and also collapsing and “I’m ready to tackle the problem!” doesn’t feel like enough.

All that said, there are several months until November (where, as I noted before, it will absolutely be Maria Isa vs. Rebecca.) And I’m sure there are issues where I am more aligned with Maria Isa. I may revisit this in October. (If it’s October and you’re looking, you can probably safely assume that my reasoning has not significantly changed.)

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This seems like a good year to fundraise for a trans nonprofit, so I’m fundraising this year for TIGERRS. I don’t have a Patreon, and a fundraiser lets me see in a tangible way that people value my work, which is really helpful as a motivator. (This project is a lot of work.)

I also have a new book! Obstetrix is about an obstetrician who gets kidnapped by a cult because they want someone on hand to deliver their babies; it’s a story about enduring, surviving, and not giving up. You can buy it anywhere fine books are sold, and I’ve been doing my best to keep Uncle Hugo’s, Moon Palace, and Dreamhaven in signed copies.