ST. PAUL— For the first time in Saint Paul’s 170-year history, the City Council is comprised of all women.
Over the past decades only 20 women have sat on the council, now the entire chamber is made up of them.
Hundreds of people crowded into the Ordway Concert Hall in Downton St. Paul yesterday afternoon as the Council was sworn into office.
St. Paul is not the first city to elect an all-female council in the United States, but it is believed to be the biggest in the nation, earning attention throughout the country.
“We’re here because our work at City Hall is not only to ensure amazing city services,” said incumbent Mitra Jalali, who is set to be voted council president by her peers Wednesday. “This historic council was sent to do historic work.”
Every member of the incoming council is younger than 40, and a majority are women of color.
“We’re here because our work at City Hall is not only to ensure amazing city services,” said incumbent Mitra Jalali, who is set to be voted council president by her peers Wednesday. “This historic council was sent to do historic work.”
In a Star Tribune report, which explores the extensive history of the capitol city’s council in its entirety, incoming councilperson HwaJeong Kim is recorded after winning the election in November 2023.
“I think we’ve been writing this story for a while,” she said. “To place yourself in the middle of this timeline, it feels very historic.”
Meet the City Council
Get to know the women who will be helping lead St. Paul! According to the city’s website, the City Council is responsible for setting City policy through ordinances and resolutions. The Council also has sole responsibility for adopting the City’s budget. The Council legislates by passing Ordinances which become City laws.
Anika Bowie — Ward 1
Councilmember Anika Bowie is a life-long Saint Paul resident, a big sister, a proud aunt, an entrepreneur, a creative in the field of arts for social change, a community organizer, and a policy strategist.
She has worked on grassroots campaigns for 12 years and has talked with thousands of voters to help elect progressive candidates across the country. For nearly 100 years, Councilmember Bowie’s family has made Saint Paul their home. She is a proud alumna of Saint Paul Central High School and Hamline University in Saint Paul.
Rebecca Noecker — Ward 2
Councilmember Noecker grew up in Saint Louis Park and earned her bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard College. She dedicated her early career to educational equity, as a middle school science teacher with Teach for America in Baton Rouge, a program officer at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and Teach for India, and as director of community engagement at AchieveMpls.
In 2015, she was elected to be the first woman to represent Ward 2 on the Saint Paul City Council. Her priorities are equity, economic development and creating opportunities for young people.
Saura Jost — Ward 3
Councilmember Saura Jost is a community leader, an engineer, and a mom. As a civil engineer, she has worked on building a Minnesota public infrastructure designed to work for everyone.
Councilmember Jost has called Saint Paul home nearly all her life. She graduated from Saint Paul Public Schools and has been civically active since she was young. She has campaigned for several politicians, including John Kerry, Amy Klobuchar, and former Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. Most recently, she has been proud to serve on the Macalester Groveland Community Council.
Mitra Jalali — Ward 4
Mitra Jalali was sworn into the Saint Paul City Council in a special election in 2018 and was reelected for a full term in 2019. Councilmember Jalali’s previous work includes being an educator, community organizer, and policy aide and congressional staffer to U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison.
Her priorities in office include attainable and affordable housing and homeownership, community-first public safety and police accountability, sustainability and transit, and community wealth-building through economic development. Councilmember Jalali is also passionate about organizing, inclusive community engagement, and representation for all, including underrepresented and underserved community members.
HwaJeong Kim — Ward 5
Councilmember HwaJeong Kim is an organizer, Korean American, nonprofit executive director, and graduate of Hamline University in Saint Paul. She is a proud North End resident who was first inspired to get involved through volunteering at the Rice Street branch of the Saint Paul Public Library. She went on to serve as part of the North End Neighborhood Organization, the Saint Paul Planning Commission and its zoning committee. From 2018 to 2021, she was the Legislative Aide for Ward 5.
Councilmember Kim has spent the last several years working to elect diverse, progressive candidates to offices throughout Saint Paul. She currently serves as the executive director of Minnesota Voice, a nonprofit focused on voting rights, voting access, civic engagement, and education.
Nelsie Yang — Ward 6
Councilmember Nelsie Yang was sworn into the Saint Paul City Council in January 2020. She is the youngest and first Hmong American woman elected as councilmember in the history of Saint Paul. Councilmember Young is a daughter of Hmong refugees and the youngest of five children.
She has a background in social work and social justice activism. She was inspired to get involved in political organizing to make change based on her lived experiences growing up in systemic poverty and racism. She is co-governing alongside people, labor unions, and organizations to build toward a society united across race, class, and gender, where working families live lives that are long, fulfilled, and joyful.
Cheniqua Johnson — Ward 7
Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson is a lifelong Minnesotan and proud first-generation homeowner on Saint Paul’s East Side. Grounded in her family values, she has dedicated her life to organizing and advocating to build a better Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Minnesota as the first person in her family to receive a four-year degree and has spent her career working alongside elected officials to serve Minnesota residents.
As outreach and inclusion officer for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Councilmember Johnson has worked with leaders statewide to support Democratic campaigns across the ballot. In her role as program officer at the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation and the East Side Funders Group, she helped bring over $2 million in resources to improve health and wellness in her community. She is also proud to have served on the 2022 Saint Paul Police Chief Selection Committee.
Council Member profiles were provided by the St. Paul city website.
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