Saint Paul City Council
Type
Type
Term limits
None
Leadership
President
Mitra Jalali
since January 10, 2024
Structure
Seats7
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Instant-runoff voting
Last election
November 7, 2023
Next election
November 2, 2027
RedistrictingCharter 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]

History

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.

Demographic changes in representation

One hundred and two years after the city incorporated in 1854, the first female council member, Elizabeth DeCourcy, was elected in 1956 and served three two-year terms.[4]

Debbie Montgomery became the first woman of color to serve on the Council in 2004.[4] She represented Ward 1. She had previously been the city's first woman to serve as a police officer.[4] She served one term in office.[5]

In 2013, Dai Thao became the first Hmong American to serve on the Council.[6] He represented Ward 1. He served until he moved to Florida in 2022.[7]

In 2018, Mitra Jalali became the first Asian American woman to serve on the Council and the first to openly identify as LGBTQ+.[4] She was also the first Iranian American elected official in Minnesota.[8] She represents Ward 4.

After Jalali was sworn into office in 2018, the Council had a majority of women for the first time, with four of the seven seats.[5]

In 2020, Nelsie Yang became the first Hmong American woman to serve on the Council after being elected in 2019.[9] She represents Ward 6. Volunteering on Thao's reelection campaign influenced her interest in running.[9] She was also the youngest ever council member, at age 24 when she was sworn into office in 2020.[10]

As of 2024, after the 2023 elections, all seven council members are women, making St. Paul the first city in American history of its size (more than 300,000 people) with an all-female legislative body.[4][11] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the sex ratio between males and females is almost equal, with men making 49.5% and women making 50.5% of the total population.[12] Six of the seven are also women of color; Saura Jost, Hwa Jeong Kim, and Yang are Asian-American, Jalali is Asian-American and Iranian, and Anika Bowie and Cheniqua Johnson are African-American.[13] The Center for American Women and Politics has noted that "only 32 percent of municipal officeholders across the country are women. And women of color are even more underrepresented."[11] According to Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, "If you compare that, it's [Saint Paul's new Council] not just sort of bucking the trend, it's blowing it right out of the water. So it's a big moment."[11]

Membership

As of January 9, 2024, the Saint Paul City Council members are[14]:

Ward Name
1st Anika Bowie
2nd Rebecca Noecker
3rd Saura Jost
4th Mitra Jalali
5th HwaJeong Kim
6th Nelsie Yang
7th Cheniqua Johnson

References

  1. ↑ "Minnesota Secretary Of State - Primary election". www.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  2. ↑ "Job Titles & Salary Schedules | Saint Paul Minnesota". www.stpaul.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  3. ↑ "Minneapolis council members won't see a pay raise in 2024". FOX 9. 2023-11-30. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Galioto, Katie; Boone, Anna; Steinberg, Jake (8 January 2024). "St. Paul will swear in its first all-female City Council on Tuesday. How did we get here?". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  5. 1 2 Galvan, Katelyn Vue, Alfonzo (2023-11-17). "Historic all-female St. Paul City Council part of growing trend". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Tribune, Kevin Duchschere Star. "Dai Thao wins seat on St. Paul City Council". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  7. ↑ Galioto, Katie (2022-07-08). "St. Paul Council Member Dai Thao to leave office". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  8. ↑ Ansari, Hibah (2022-12-23). "Iranian Minnesotans call attention to political uprisings in Iran". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  9. 1 2 Dernbach, Becky Z. (2019-11-14). "Youth, diversity take the reins of power at St. Paul City Hall". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  10. ↑ Tribune, Greta Kaul Star. "Progressive DFLer Yang seeking second term in St. Paul's Sixth Ward". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  11. 1 2 3 Cummings, Caroline (2024-01-09). "All-women, racially diverse St. Paul City Council sworn in Tuesday - CBS Minnesota". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  12. ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: St. Paul city, Minnesota". www.census.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  13. ↑ Tumin, Remy (2024-01-10). "All-Female City Council Marks a 'Turning Point' for a Twin City". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  14. ↑ "City Council | Saint Paul Minnesota". www.stpaul.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
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