Election 2023

Omar Syed files in Ward 1
Omar Syed, candidate for Saint Paul City Council in Ward 1, is bringing his lifelong leadership experience to represent his neighbors and community as a city council member.
“I am a father and husband, a small business owner, and community leader. I am running to bring the voice of our communities to city hall,” said Syed. “I promise to be a responsive and accessible council member for all of us.”
Syed brings a long history of local city and community leadership that has prepared him to run for city council.
“I believe my experience best prepares me to represent Ward 1,” said Syed. “As a member of the St. Paul Planning Commission, I have taken tough votes and have city-level experience working on local issues like zoning and transportation. As a St. Paul small business owner, I understand the needs of small businesses across our city and will ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely. As a Somali American, I will help the city deliver better services to meet the needs of our growing immigrant and refugee populations in St. Paul.”
Syed immigrated to St. Paul from Somalia at the age of 18 years old. He lived in Frogtown for most of his life, eventually starting a family and opening two small businesses in St. Paul. Syed is a renter and currently lives in the Rondo neighborhood of Ward 1 with his wife and son. If elected, he would bring a unique voice to city hall as the first Somali American elected to the Saint Paul City Council.
Syed is committed to working with neighbors to find solutions to the many issues facing our city. His priorities include: building more affordable housing and ensuring better tenant protections; creating a public safety system that includes prevention, transparency, and accountability; fixing streets and improving roads; investing and supporting small businesses; and improving city services and response times.
For more information about Omar Syed and his vision for Ward 1, visit: omarward1.com

David Greenwood-Sánchez files in Ward 5
David Greenwood-Sánchez has registered as a candidate for the open seat in the St. Paul City Council Ward 5.
Originally from the Como neighborhood of St. Paul, Greenwood-Sánchez is an alum of MMSA (Maternity of Mary-St. Andrews), St. Paul Central High School, and the U of M Humphrey School.He also holds a PhD in political science from UW-Madison.
A dedicated community member, Greenwood-Sánchez played an important role in the effort to reverse Falcon Heights’ ban on front yard vegetable gardening, the fight to protect Pig’s Eye Lake from harmful contamination, and the effort to save the historic St. Andrew’s building. Professionally, he teaches political science, specializing in environmental politics and Latin American politics. He has prior work experience as an economic researcher for Poverty Action Lab in Santiago, Chile, and as a program evaluator with the MN Office of the Legislative Auditor.
Greenwood-Sánchez is running to restore the voice of St. Paul’s neighborhoods. He states, “Neighborhoods aren’t really being included in our political decision making. By the time neighborhoods are given a chance to participate, the city has usually made its decision. We saw this with the destruction of the historic St. Andrew’s building, we saw it with trash collection, and now we are seeing another version of this with the response to rent stabilization. Neighborhoods, and most fundamentally people, aren’t feeling like their voice matters much in St. Paul.”
Greenwood-Sánchez is Minnesotan-Peruvian, and would be the first Latino councilmember in St. Paul’s history.
Greenwood-Sánchez is also running in opposition to the proposed one percent sales tax increase, which will also be on the Nov 7th ballot.
Greenwood-Sánchez is making his run while working as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa. He also serves as a board member for the St. Paul Central Foundation, and is a co-founder of the Twin Cities Front Yard Organic Gardeners Club.