Kaohly Her
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 64A district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byErin Murphy
Personal details
Born (1973-06-18) June 18, 1973
Laos
Political partyDemocratic (DFL)
SpouseKong
Children2
ResidenceSaint Paul, Minnesota
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison (B.B.A.)
University of St. Thomas
Northeastern University (M.B.A.)
Occupation
WebsiteGovernment website Campaign website

Kaohly Her (born June 18, 1973) is a Hmong-American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Her represents District 64A, which includes parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.[1][2]

Early life, education, and career

Her was born in Laos and came to the U.S. as a Hmong refugee at age four, her grandfather fought alongside the U.S. Army before resettling in the United States.[3] Hmong was her first language. She grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin.[1][4]

Her attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration; the University of St. Thomas, studying education leadership; and Northeastern University, graduating with a Master of Business Administration in international management.[1]

Her worked in the investment and finance sector for 15 years after graduating from college.[4][5] She was a community organizer, director of Hmong women's organization Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together, and founder of Maiv-PAC to advocate for Hmong-American women.[6][7] Her has served on the Saint Paul Human Rights Commission and as the Administrator of the Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education.[8] She was a policy director for Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.[1][9]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Her was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018 and has been reelected every two years since. She first ran after six-term DFL incumbent Erin Murphy retired to run for governor of Minnesota. She was the first of two Hmong-American women elected to the Minnesota House along with Samantha Vang.[1][10]

Her serves on the Health Finance and Policy, Legacy Finance, and State and Local Government Committees and as chair of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement.[1][11][12] She served as majority whip of the House from 2021 to 2022, making her the first Hmong-American woman to hold a leadership position in the House.[1][13][14] Her is a member of the Minnesota Asian Pacific (MAP) Caucus and the House People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus.[15][16]

Ban on child marriages

Her authored the End Child Marriage Bill, which raised Minnesota's legal marriage age to 18 without exceptions.[17][18] Previous law allowed 16- and 17-year olds to wed with permission of parents and judicial approval, often as a result of forced marriages.[19] Her shared that when she was in high school an older man sought permission from her parents to marry her, which her father refused. The bill passed unanimously in the Minnesota House.[20]

Public safety and policing

After the murder of George Floyd, Her wrote a bill for police arbitration reform, establishing a special roster of arbitrators to deal with cop cases and changing the process of arbitrator selection.[21][22] She has authored legislation to change the requirements for police disability claims, saying that "bad actors" were using the current system for personal gain.[11][23][24] She supported legislation to provide incentives to train and hire new police officers, saying it would increase diversity within departments.[25][26]

Her has supported anti-hate crime legislation to address an increase in violence targeting the Asian-American community, and called for gun safety measures such as red flag and safe storage laws.[27] Her authored legislation that would require gun owners to notify law enforcement within 48 hours of noticing their firearm is missing.[28] She spoke in support of a House resolution to declare racism a public health emergency and form a select committee to address racism.[29]

Other political positions

Her has supported legislation to create a new, higher income tax tier for those with income over $500,000.[30] She authored legislation to boost school districts' English language learners (ELL) programs, and a bill to give foster kids grants to help cover college expenses.[31][32]

Her sponsored legislation that would allow a vote to amend the Minnesota Constitution to include equal rights protections based on "race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin".[33] She criticized the Trump administration for its push to deport Vietnam War-era refugees, calling it a "betrayal of wartime promises" and for deporting other Hmong and Lao immigrants.[3][34][35]

Her supported the city of St. Paul's efforts to give newborns automatic college savings accounts, appearing with Mayor Melvin Carter at a news conference about the program.[36] Her, who was employed as Carter's policy director, then authored a bill to help fund the program. Her was criticized by House Republicans, and ethics watchdog Common Cause stated she should have recused herself and not carried the bill. Her said "there is no conflict" and that she was not asked by the mayor to author the legislation.[37]

Electoral history

2018 Minnesota State House - District 64A[38]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Kaohly Her 18,995 84.14
Republican Patrick JD Griffin 3,532 15.64
Write-in 49 0.22
Total votes 22,576 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold
2020 Minnesota State House - District 64A[39]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Kaohly Her (incumbent) 20,621 85.62
Republican Sherry Schack 3,419 14.20
Write-in 44 0.18
Total votes 24,084 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold
2022 Minnesota State House - District 64A[40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic (DFL) Kaohly Her (incumbent) 18,080 85.11
Republican Dan Walsh 3,128 14.73
Write-in 34 0.16
Total votes 21,242 100.0
Democratic (DFL) hold

Personal life

Her and her husband, Kong, have two children. She resides in St. Paul.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Her, Kaohly Vang - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  2. ↑ "Rep. Kaohly Vang Her (64A) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  3. 1 2 McKinney, Matt (December 20, 2018). "Twin Cities community leaders call for end to deportations of Vietnam War-era refugees". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  4. 1 2 Yuen, Laura (September 24, 2021). "The grief of losing your parents' language". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  5. ↑ Stockton, Gracie (2021-02-18). "Q&A: Rep. Kaohly Vang Her says her refugee status, career in finance help her represent". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  6. ↑ Siple, Julie (April 3, 2013). "Hmong leaders call for help with violence prevention". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  7. ↑ Xaykaothao, Doualy (October 5, 2016). "Hmong-American women form PAC to wield political clout". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  8. ↑ Lonetree, Anthony (June 1, 2017). "Search firm knew of St. Paul superintendent candidate's bankruptcy". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  9. ↑ Nelson, Emma (January 24, 2018). "Russ Stark leaves St. Paul City Council to work for mayor". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  10. ↑ Yuen, Laura (October 26, 2018). "New influx of Hmong-American legislators appears likely". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  11. 1 2 Randy, Furst (March 25, 2023). "Police disability retirements stressing communities, sending state pension costs soaring". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  12. ↑ Winter, Deena (February 27, 2023). "Bill would reduce assumed rate of return on state investments, require more money for retirement plans". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  13. ↑ Dernbach, Becky Z.; Ansari, Hibah (January 25, 2021). "In St. Paul, the most diverse Minnesota Legislature ever is just getting started". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  14. ↑ Kaul, Greta (2018-11-19). "The 2019 Minnesota House of Representatives is going to be a little more representative". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  15. ↑ Keen, Judy (December 22, 2018). "New Asian caucus hopes to exert its clout in the Legislature". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  16. ↑ Multiple authors (May 19, 2022). "OPINION EXCHANGE | Find room in the budget deal for communities of color". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  17. ↑ Bierschbach, Briana (February 12, 2019). "Bill aims to put an end to 'child marriages' in Minnesota". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  18. ↑ MPR News Staff (February 13, 2020). "Legislators say Minnesota should stop marriages under 18". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  19. ↑ Van Oot, Torey (February 18, 2020). "'We don't want our girls to get married': Push to raise wedding age to 18". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  20. ↑ Star Tribune Editorial Board (February 24, 2020). "EDITORIAL | End child marriage in Minnesota". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  21. ↑ Tice, D. J. (May 15, 2021). "OPINION EXCHANGE | Some actual, practical police reform deserves to be noticed". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  22. ↑ Collins, Jon (July 9, 2020). "Half of fired MN cops get jobs back through arbitration". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  23. ↑ Winter, Deena (2023-03-21). "Law firm, some police lobbying hard against bill to rein in disability costs". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  24. ↑ Winter, Deena (2023-03-09). "Bill aimed at stemming tide of PTSD police retirements prompts heated debate about police". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  25. ↑ Nelson, Emma (February 21, 2022). "Minnesota DFLers unveil plan to recruit police officers with 'strong moral character'". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  26. ↑ Winter, Deena (2022-02-21). "Winkler proposes expedited police training program for people with 'strong moral character'". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  27. ↑ Olson, Rochelle (January 23, 2023). "Minnesota Asian and Pacific Caucus leaders say they live in state of 'red-alert,' mourn shooting victims". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  28. ↑ Griffith, Michelle (2023-02-03). "Minnesota House committee furthers four gun control bills". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  29. ↑ Pugmire, Tim (July 14, 2020). "House poised to declare racism public health crisis". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  30. ↑ Bakst, Brian (April 22, 2021). "House OKs tax plan with breaks for some, hikes for others". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  31. ↑ Lonetree, Anthony (February 18, 2019). "Push on at Capitol to help English language newcomers". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  32. ↑ Faircloth, Ryan (July 31, 2021). "New state grant program will cover college costs for Minnesotans who spent time in foster care". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  33. ↑ Bierschbach, Briana (December 3, 2022). "Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment supporters hopeful heading into 2023 session". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  34. ↑ Feshir, Riham (February 10, 2020). "What you need to know about Trump's plan to deport Hmong, Lao immigrants". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  35. ↑ HoangLong, Samantha (2019-01-25). "Minnesota Asian Pacific Caucus: Hmong legislators are setting a broad agenda". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  36. ↑ Olson, Rochelle (January 1, 2020). "St. Paul kicks off college savings account for city's newborns". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  37. ↑ Walsh, James (January 6, 2020). "Legislator's work as St. Paul mayor's aide raises red flag". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  38. ↑ "2018 Results for State Representative District 64A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  39. ↑ "2020 Results for State Representative District 64A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  40. ↑ "2022 Results for State Representative District 64A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
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