Thanks to Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive for their support. Turbo Tim’s is pleased to join the West St. Paul community! Our goal here is to be a positive presence for all, not just car owners!
West St. Paul Council Member Julie Eastman announced at a recent City Council meeting that she would not be running for reelection. We talked with Eastman about her decision, serving on Council, and her advice for those thinking about running for office.
First elected during 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eastman represents Ward 1 (mostly east of Robert Street). Eastman’s seat will be on the ballot in November, along with Robyn Gulley in Ward 2 and Lisa Eng-Sarne in Ward 3, plus Dave Napier as mayor (no one else has confirmed if they’re running or not in this year’s election).
Why Not Run?
“So last year at this time I would have said, ‘Yes, I’m running again,'” Eastman said.
But in recent months she started thinking about the implications of that—serving through 2028 if reelected. With her husband’s retirement and a potential job opportunity on the horizon, Eastman decided she couldn’t commit to serving the full four-year term.
“That’s what drove my decision to make the announcement when I did,” said Eastman. “To hopefully get people interested in running and give them time to do the research to say, ‘what does this mean?’ and be ready to hit the road when the filing period opens in May.”
The Journey to City Council
Eastman’s path to serving on Council started in earnest in 2018, not with a desire to run, but just wanting to get more involved.
- Eastman started attending meetings—lots of meetings—and asking the former city manager, Ryan Schroeder, lots of questions.
- She has a list of topics she would ask or make suggestions about. It’s a long list—more than two dozen items—including apartment growth, wage theft, TIF, translations, banning conversion therapy, sales tax, and more.
- “I really appreciate the conversations I had with Ryan, because he listened. We had great exchanges, he was always very responsive,” Eastman said. “And of course, I made suggestions of what I thought the city could do in some of these areas. But that didn’t necessarily mean a lot, right? So that drove me to think being on the Council and having a vote would be the way to go.”
Serving on City Council
In her time on Council, Eastman looks back on a lot of accomplishments. She sees a lot of change happening, especially with new City Manager Nate Burkett, hired in 2021, new staff, and their approach, and the make up of the Council.
But it’s a lot of work.
How much work?: “I’d say 20 plus hours a week is not unheard of, and sometimes 30 plus hours if it’s a busy week,” Eastman said. She notes that’s a choice she makes and other Council members may make different decisions. As an example of the work, there are nine different committees, commissions, or groups Eastman has served on—some voluntary, some as an alternate (but she still attends or watches), some that meet infrequently.
Favorite part of serving: “Doing the work. I learn a lot. It really makes your brain work. So you talk about how many hours did you spend? What I didn’t include in there is you’re still thinking about it, right? It doesn’t shut off. I think it’s a positive thing. It is a master class in urban planning and management and environmental anything. So if you’re a geeky person like I am, who reads books about climate change, infrastructure, housing, and economic virtues good and bad—you get to do all of that on City Council.”
Least favorite part: “I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud, but some social media definitely gets to be not a favorite part,” Eastman said.
Run for Office
“We need people to be more involved,” Eastman said. She describes a “culture shift” that happened in West St. Paul in 2018, but warns that just because some things have improved doesn’t it mean it will continue. “Don’t take it for granted.”
The filing period to run for office opens May 21 and runs through June 4.
“We need you. We need you on boards and committees, we need you on City Council, we need you to be aware,” Eastman said. “Because if you don’t like the person that got elected, well, it’s a little bit too late to change that.”
Advice for Running for Office
- The room where it happens: “If you’re just even thinking about it, come attend the meetings in the room,” Eastman said, “because you’ll see a different side of it than if you’re watching it on TV.”
- Help: The Minnesota Secretary of State puts out a helpful campaign manual, so be sure to look at that.
- Represent everyone: A former Council member advised Eastman not to seek any party endorsement because the job is to represent everyone. “It was great advice,” Eastman said. “Make the effort to hit everyone’s doors, and those were some of the good conversations I had with people that were maybe on both sides of the fence politically.”
- Start early: “I wanted to give a lot of notice so people could think about and look into what they want to do and start getting it set up so it’s ready to go when they file,” Eastman said.
- Connect: “If people want to run for my seat, I’m happy to answer questions and meet up with them,” Eastman said.
Opportunity for Young People
“I hope young people want to do this,” Eastman said, advocating for young people to run for office. The minimum age to run for office is 21, though the city also just added an appointed junior council member position.
History: James Husman is the youngest mayor in West St. Paul history, elected at the age of 25. We haven’t confirmed the youngest City Council member in West St. Paul history, though Husman was elected to City Council before serving as mayor, at the age of 23.
“Running for city council—or even serving on these boards and commissions—is a great career opportunity and training opportunity,” Eastman said. “It’s a chance to learn about fields you might never have thought of exploring.”
Uncontested
West St. Paul does have a history of uncontested elections—about a third of elections in the past 30 years have been uncontested. Do we have people who can serve?
“I can think of 12 to 15 people off the top of my head who live in Ward 1 that would be great at this,” Eastman said. “Can I convince them to run? I don’t know. I’m going to be asking. But we have a lot of great people.”
What’s Next for Council?
Now that Eastman is looking at the end of her time on Council, what’s next for Council to accomplish?
- Keep it up: “I think it’s continuing the work,” Eastman said. “I think we’ve got a good foothold, but we’ve still got opportunities to make things better.”
- Engagement: “I’d like to see increased resident participation across the board,” Eastman said, noting that we used to see more people attending meetings and applying to serve on committees. “How do we strengthen the engagement of the community? Some things are working, but it’s small.”
- Pay more: “I think we need to ask the question, ‘Do we pay enough?'” Eastman said, reflecting on Council salaries and who is able to run for office. “That might make a difference.” (West St. Paul Council members are paid $8,410 per year in 2024.)
What’s Next for Eastman?
Eastman is looking forward to traveling again in 2025. She also expects to be around, potentially serving on committees as a resident.
“I still am a proud supporter of West St. Paul,” Eastman said. “I’ve lived there for 30 years now, and we have a lot to brag about.”
Stories like this happen thanks to our members. Join now to support neighborhood news.
(Thanks to the City of West St. Paul and Julie Eastman for the photos. West St. Paul Reader is not endorsed, affiliated with, or sponsored by the City of West St. Paul.)