Saint Paul City Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Term limits | None |
Leadership | |
President | Mitra Jalali since January 10, 2024 |
Structure | |
Seats | 7 |
Length of term | 4 years |
Elections | |
Instant-runoff voting | |
Last election | November 7, 2023 |
Next election | November 2, 2027 |
Redistricting | Charter Commission |
Meeting place | |
Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse | |
Website | |
http://www.stpaul.gov/ |
The Saint Paul City Council is the governing body of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, as part of a strong mayor–council government. It has seven members from seven wards, each elected to four-year terms. As of 2024, all seven are members of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, although city elected official positions are nonpartisan according to state law, and political party identifications are not included on election ballots. [1]
Council members' hourly wage as of February 2023 is $70.28 per hour, but council members are considered part-time workers and paid only for 40 hours each pay period (equivalent to about $73,000 annually). [2] [3]
St. Paul has used the single transferable vote system, a form of ranked voting, since 2011, after voters approved it in 2009. The city council has single-member districts, so the single transferable vote functions the same way as instant-runoff voting.
One hundred and two years after its incorporation in 1854, the city elected Elizabeth DeCourcy as its first female council member in 1956. DeCourcy served three two-year terms. [4] In 2004, Debbie Montgomery made history as the first woman of color on the council, representing Ward 1. [4] Before her political career, she been the city's first female police officer. She served one term on the council. [5] Dai Thao, elected in 2013, was the first Hmong American council member, representing Ward 1 until he moved to Florida in 2022. [6] [7] Mitra Jalali's election in 2018 to represent Ward 4 marked several firsts: she was the first Asian American woman, the first openly LGBTQ+ member, and Minnesota's first Iranian American elected official. [8] With Jalali's election, the council had a majority-female composition for the first time, with women holding four of the seven seats.
Nelsie Yang joined the council in 2020 as the first Hmong American woman and the youngest member ever at age 24, representing Ward 6. [9] [10]
In 2024, the council became the first in an American city of its size (over 300,000 residents) entirely composed of women, with six of the seven members women of color: [4] [11] Asian Americans Yang, Saura Jost, and Hwa Jeong Kim; Jalali, who is Asian American and Iranian; and African Americans Anika Bowie and Cheniqua Johnson. [12] The Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University reports that women hold 32 percent of municipal offices nationwide. [11]
On February 28, 2024, Nelsie Yang attempted to introduce a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Before Yang could do so, Council President Jalali adjourned the meeting after approximately 50 minutes for unspecified reasons and asked Yang to connect with her later. After the adjournment, there were protests and dissatisfaction among the attendees, including pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Yang expressed frustration with the abrupt adjournment, calling it "undemocratic". She also voiced disappointment in her colleagues' unwillingness to support the resolution their despite personal agreement with it. The incident prompted discussions about democracy, public leadership, and the role of elected officials in addressing global issues at the local level. [13] [14]
The council has seven members. Council positions are nonpartisan. The newest members took office in January 2024. [15]
Ward | Name | Party | Further affiliations | Neighborhoods | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Anika Bowie | DFL | Frogtown, Summit-University, North End, Lexington-Hamline, Snelling-Hamline | ||
2 | Rebecca Noecker | DFL | West 7th Street, West Side, Summit Hill, Railroad Island, Lowertown, Downtown | ||
3 | Saura Jost | DFL | Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland | ||
4 | Mitra Jalali | DFL | Hamline-Midway, Merriam Park, Saint Anthony Park, Macalester-Groveland, Como | ||
5 | HwaJeong Kim | DFL | DSA [16] | Como, North End, Payne-Phalen, Railroad Island | |
6 | Nelsie Yang | DFL | DSA [16] | Frost Lake, Hayden Heights, Hazel Park, Payne/Phalen, Phalen Village, Prosperity | |
7 | Cheniqua Johnson | DFL | Dayton's Bluff, Mounds Park, Swede Hollow, Battle Creek, Highwood, Conway, Eastview |
Saint Paul is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers.
The Minneapolis City Council is the legislative branch of the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota, United States. Comprising 13 members, the council holds the authority to create and modify laws, policies, and ordinances that govern the city. Each member represents one of the 13 wards in Minneapolis, elected for a four-year term. The current council structure has been in place since the 1950s.
Mai Neng Moua is a Hmong-American writer and a founder of the Paj Ntaub Voice, a Hmong literary magazine. She is also the editor of the first anthology of Hmong American writers, Bamboo Among the Oaks.
University is a community in Minneapolis. It is composed of seven smaller neighborhoods. It also contains the University of Minnesota campus. Most of the community is commonly referred to as Southeast Minneapolis due street names with a SE suffix.
Saint Paul, Minnesota is the capital of Minnesota. The city is also the largest city and county seat of Ramsey County. Saint Paul has a strong mayor-council government. Seven city council members elected in wards and one mayor elected at large serve the city.
The Hmong people are a major ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. As of 2000, there were 40,707 ethnic Hmong in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The 2010 U.S. Census stated there were 66,000 ethnic Hmong in Minneapolis-St. Paul, giving it the largest urban Hmong population in the world. Grit Grigoleit, author of "Coming Home? The Integration of Hmong Refugees from Wat Tham Krabok, Thailand, into American Society," wrote that the Minneapolis-St. Paul area "acted as the cultural and socio-political center of Hmong life in the U.S."
The city of St. Paul, Minnesota held an election on November 7, 2017, to elect its next mayor, which was won by city councilman Melvin Carter III. Chris Coleman, who served as mayor from 2006, did not run for a fourth term and instead planning to run for Governor of Minnesota in 2018. This was the second mayoral election in St. Paul to use ranked-choice voting. Municipal elections in Minnesota are non-partisan, although candidates can identify with a political party.
Melvin Whitfield Carter III is an American politician who is the mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Elected to his first term in 2017 and reelected in 2021, Carter is the 55th mayor of St. Paul and its first African American mayor. His current term of office ends on January 1, 2026. Carter has supported raising the city's minimum wage to $15 per hour. He is one of 11 U.S. mayors who co-founded Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity, a coalition of municipal leaders dedicated to starting pilot reparations programs in their cities.
TakeAction Minnesota is a social welfare organization and political advocacy group operating in the U.S. state of Minnesota. According to its mission statement, the group's goal is to "unite the power of diverse individuals, communities and organizations in active grassroots democracy that builds racial, social and economic justice. Minnesotan media have called it "a powerful advocate for liberal causes" and "a powerhouse in DFL politics".
Linea Palmisano is an American businesswoman, non-profit executive, and politician serving as a member of the Minneapolis City Council for the 13th ward.
Jamal Osman is a Somali-American politician in Minnesota's Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. In August 2020, he was elected to the Minneapolis City Council to represent the city's 6th Ward.
Robin Wonsley is an American activist and politician affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America who has been a member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 2nd Ward since 2021.
Aisha Siddida Chughtai is an American community organizer and politician serving as the vice president of the Minneapolis City Council, representing the 10th Ward. A member of the DFL, she was elected in 2021 to succeed retiring Council President Lisa Bender. She is the youngest person and first Muslim woman elected to the Council.
The 2022 Hennepin County Attorney election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the county attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota. On September 1, 2021, incumbent county attorney Michael O. Freeman announced that he would retire at the end of his term after 24 years in the role. Former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Mary Moriarty defeated former Hennepin County judge Martha Holton Dimick and became the first openly LGBTQ woman elected as Hennepin County Attorney.
Susan Kaying Pha is a Hmong-American politician and businesswoman serving as a member of the Minnesota Senate for the 38th district. Elected in November 2022, she assumed office on January 3, 2023.
Alicia Kozlowski is an American politician serving as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Kozlowski represents District 8B in northeastern Minnesota, which includes the city of Duluth and parts of St. Louis County.
Samakab Hussein is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Hussein represents District 65A in the Twin Cities, which includes parts of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County.
The 2024 Minnesota Democratic presidential primary took place on March 5, 2024, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 92 delegates to the Democratic National Convention were allocated to presidential candidates. The contest was held on Super Tuesday alongside primaries in 14 other states and territories.
Mitra Jalali is the City Council President and the Council Member for Ward 4 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She became the first Iranian-American elected official in Minnesota when she was elected to the Saint Paul City Council in 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)