Call Her mayor: History made as St. Paul swears in new leader
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The journey that brought Kaohly Her to St. Paul’s mayor’s office started in a bamboo hut some 8,000 miles from Minnesota's capital city.
Her, 52, was born in the mountains of Laos. When she was still young, her family fled war, ending up in the United States as refugees, first in Illinois and Wisconsin and later Minnesota.
On Friday afternoon at St. Catherine University, Her was sworn in as the 56th mayor of St. Paul, becoming the first woman and first person of Hmong ancestry to hold the title.
With her hand on the family Bible and her husband, father and children by her side, she took the oath of office in a ceremony led by the Rev. Daniel Johnson of Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, a family friend.
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After she was sworn in, she was greeted by other community leaders and six other “firsts,” including Debbie Montgomery, the first woman to become a St Paul police offer and the first Black woman elected to St. Paul City Council and Choua Lee, the first person of Hmong ancestry elected to a school board seat in the United States.
“The strong women standing with me here on stage, broke barriers. It is because of their achievements that we keep opening new doors and shattering ceilings,” she said. “No woman accomplishes something big without standing shoulder to shoulder with the women who did it before them.”
In her speech, Her took aim at the federal government, saying she’ll work with the City Council to take action to make immigration raids that have been targeting Minnesota tougher to do in St. Paul.
“One thing we know about this administration is that they won’t play by the rules, but it is important we stand up for our neighbors and set those rules first,” she said.
Her also talked about House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated in her home last June along with her husband, Mark, and dog, Gilbert. Her worked closely with Hortman during her time as a state representative.
“Melissa’s legacy and words wrapped themselves around my heart after her death. It was her mentorship and example that lead me to run for this office,” she said. “Now let’s get to work, or in the words of Melissa Hortman, LFG.”
Bo Thao-Urabe, a former University of Minnesota regent and social entrepreneur, said over the years she has watched Her fulfill the dreams their parents had for them when they came to the United States.
“They hoped we would belong, and they hoped we would have choices they never did. Many times over, Kaohly has become those dreams come true, and today we celebrate another one,” she said.
“She walks into rooms not built for her, because she knows that it matters,” Thao-Urabe added. “She listens, she learns, she laughs at herself and cries sometimes and when she speaks, people lean in because she is curious, clear and purposeful.”
Her’s history-making victory at the polls in November included defeating her former boss, incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter, in a close race that went to a second ballot in the ranked choice election.
The win was an upset, yet the office she'll lead won't be entirely new to the incoming mayor. After a career start in finance, she gravitated to the public sector and wound up working for Carter's first administration as a policy director.
In 2018, the mother of two was elected as a state representative for part of St. Paul.
‘We need to be open for business’
St. Paulites will see differences between Her and Carter. Where Carter is known for his soaring speeches, Her is content talking about tax law and the intricacies of policy. While they’re both DFLers, Her campaigned for mayor on a message of subtle but definite change.
“Finances and getting our government back to doing the basics right may not be flashy, but it is important for every facet of our city, from renters to business owners to visitors to homeowners,” she said. “My commitment to the city is that we will get back to the basics of running our government right.”
In an interview earlier this week, she said she plans to have a much more collaborative cabinet. It is a move that melds with her campaign promise of having a more responsive city government. That includes making the city more friendly to entrepreneurs.
“Getting construction permits out the door, and facilitating conversations that keep and retain businesses from downtown to paid avenue to Grand Avenue and everywhere people hope to chase their dreams and make our city more vibrant,” she said.
An ‘opportunity to transform the city’
Her’s victory is also one for the state’s Hmong community. It’s been 50 years since the first Hmong family arrived in Minnesota. Lee Pao Xiong, who teaches Hmong studies at Concordia University, St. Paul, says the new mayor is a notable high water mark in that history.
“With 36,000 or so Hmong in the city of St. Paul, it’s just natural that we would one day be having someone like Kaohly serving in the mayor position,” he said. “And I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future we will have someone sitting in Washington, DC.”
Xiong said Her’s family has a history of leadership. Her’s father worked in the U.S. Consulate in Laos, her uncle worked for USAID and her grandfather fought alongside the U.S. Army and CIA during the so-called “secret war” in Laos in the 1960s and 70s.
“A lot of people, they know her family, they know her well,” Xiong said. “People are excited about her leadership and the opportunity to transform the city.”
Her says being St. Paul’s first mayor of Hmong ancestry was not something she’d really thought about when campaigning, but she’s heard from many people in the Hmong community since.
“I’m very proud of it, and I feel really honored that I get to be the person that does that,” she said. “It’s so much bigger than me, and it's so much more powerful than me, and so, like, I just, I just get to feel so honored that I get to be a part of that.”
With Her’s swearing-in, women now control the top of the city’s political power structure. She’ll work with a City Council made up entirely of women.
“What I think is so cool about this is that nobody in the city set out to elect an-all woman council,” said Molly Coleman, a newly elected council member. “You don’t run as a slate. You don't choose all seven council members and a mayor.”
Former House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler served with Her in the Minnesota Legislature. He points to three qualities he said makes Her effective: she's empathetic, she’s lived the struggles of many residents and has a background in finance, economics and taxes.
“Those three things together make her stand out as a leader in any party, and made her stand out at the Legislature,” he said.
Winkler said shifting from a legislative role into a purely executive role is a challenge, but one Her is up for.
“She learns very quickly, and if she makes mistakes or gets things wrong at a certain point in time, she will correct them and address them and fix them and move forward,” he said.
