Kaohly Her , 52, made history early Wednesday when she became the first woman and person of Hmong descent elected mayor of St. Paul, defeating two-term Mayor Melvin Carter in a ranked-choice election.
Kaohly Her, a Democrat and state House member since 2019, represented the Summit Hill, Macalester-Groveland, and Merriam Park neighbourhoods. She concentrated on tenant protections and strengthening pensions for state workers, Mpr news reported.
In the last legislative session, Her co-chaired the House Commerce, Finance and Policy Committee and sat on the House Taxes Committee.
Prior to seeking office, she served as Mayor Melvin Carter’s policy director during his first term in office. Before that, she was administrator for the St. Paul School Board and a member of the city’s human rights commission.
Her campaign was focused on making the city more business friendly, encouraging economic development—especially in the Midway and downtown neighbourhoods—increasing housing options and cutting crime. “We need to ensure public safety goes beyond violent crime and includes giving people the services they need to address addiction and mental health in a meaningful way,” Her said in her victory speech early Wednesday.
She also said the city should be more proactive in giving citizens information and tools as President Donald Trump ramped up federal immigration enforcement.
Born in a bamboo hut in the mountains of Laos, Her came to the US as a refugee at the age of three, living in Illinois and Appleton, Wisconsin, before moving to Minnesota. The Twin Cities has the largest Hmong population of any US metropolitan area, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Centre.
Her studied finance at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and earned her masters of business administration at Northeastern University. She worked in finance for 15 years at American Express and other firms before moving into community organising.
In 2016, Her and two friends founded the state’s first Hmong political action committee, Maiv-PAC, to increase the community’s political clout. She also served as executive director of Hnub Tshiab, an organisation advocating for Hmong women.
She is married to Kong Her and the couple has two adult daughters.
Kaohly Her, a Democrat and state House member since 2019, represented the Summit Hill, Macalester-Groveland, and Merriam Park neighbourhoods. She concentrated on tenant protections and strengthening pensions for state workers, Mpr news reported.
In the last legislative session, Her co-chaired the House Commerce, Finance and Policy Committee and sat on the House Taxes Committee.
Prior to seeking office, she served as Mayor Melvin Carter’s policy director during his first term in office. Before that, she was administrator for the St. Paul School Board and a member of the city’s human rights commission.
Her campaign was focused on making the city more business friendly, encouraging economic development—especially in the Midway and downtown neighbourhoods—increasing housing options and cutting crime. “We need to ensure public safety goes beyond violent crime and includes giving people the services they need to address addiction and mental health in a meaningful way,” Her said in her victory speech early Wednesday.
She also said the city should be more proactive in giving citizens information and tools as President Donald Trump ramped up federal immigration enforcement.
Born in a bamboo hut in the mountains of Laos, Her came to the US as a refugee at the age of three, living in Illinois and Appleton, Wisconsin, before moving to Minnesota. The Twin Cities has the largest Hmong population of any US metropolitan area, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Centre.
Her studied finance at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and earned her masters of business administration at Northeastern University. She worked in finance for 15 years at American Express and other firms before moving into community organising.
In 2016, Her and two friends founded the state’s first Hmong political action committee, Maiv-PAC, to increase the community’s political clout. She also served as executive director of Hnub Tshiab, an organisation advocating for Hmong women.
She is married to Kong Her and the couple has two adult daughters.
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