Council Member Lisa Eng-Sarne’s Last Roller Derby Bout

Recently appointed West St. Paul city council member Lisa Eng-Sarne hangs up her roller-skates after 11 years of playing in the Minnesota RollerGirls roller derby league.

Known on the track as “Diamond Rough,” Eng-Sarne’s last game will be Saturday, March 30.  Grab some tickets and check this one out.

If you’ve never seen roller derby before, it’s pretty epic. The rules… well, I still can’t explain them, but basically two teams muscle their way around a flat track while trying to slow the other team down. Points are earned, elbows fly—it’s all pretty wild.

Lisa-Eng Sarne on her way to vote.

I went to my first roller derby match to see Eng-Sarne, inspired by her run for city council (she ultimately lost in the primary, but was eventually appointed to fill Dave Napier’s council seat when he became mayor). I even saw Eng-Sarne roller-skate her way down Charlton to her polling place on election day. I honked and rolled down my window to cheer her on.

Diamond Rough

What I love about watching Eng-Sarne in roller derby is that she’s tough.

Lisa Eng-Sarne hard at work

But it’s also a sport with a lot of heart. They play hard and are fierce competitors, but there’s still a lot of love.

The heart of the game.

“I’ve had a longer roller derby life than most — for most people, it’s a couple years,” Eng-Sarne told the Pioneer Press in January. “So I’m old in roller derby years.”

West St. Paul Wins

The Minnesota RollerGirls’ loss is already West St. Paul’s gain. Eng-Sarne has only been on the job for three months, and she’s already been up at the capitol multiple times fighting for West St. Paul.

Eng-Sarne is trading the track for the council table, but she’ll still get the job done.

Lisa Eng-Sarne being sworn is as a West St. Paul city council member

Her appointment also marks the first time in West St. Paul history that two women have served on city council at the same time:

Women Of Ward 3

Meet two councilmembers who made history in West St. Paul.

Posted by Town Square Television on Thursday, February 21, 2019

One thought on “Council Member Lisa Eng-Sarne’s Last Roller Derby Bout”

  1. We here in West St. Paul are incredibly fortunate to have Eng-Sarne serving on our city council. She is a great listener, a hard worker, and a person who is happy to tackle a problem and find creative, collaborative ways of solving it. She is approachable, thoughtful, and compassionate. Eng-Sarne brings the best of her experience and excellence in her sport to the council table: she is a team player with outstanding leadership abilities. Thank you, Lisa Eng-Sarne for your exceptional service to the City of W. St. Paul!

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