Her-story made in St. Paul, Minnesota
On Jan. 9, Nelsie Yang, Rebecca Noecker, Cheniqua Johnson, Hwa Jeong Kim, Saura Jost, Anika Bowie and Mitra Jalali were sworn into office at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. All of the members are under the age of 40, three are newcomers, and the majority of them are women of color, making them one of the youngest and most racially diverse councils. They are the city’s first-ever all-female city council.
Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor, was present at the swearing-in ceremony and expressed her excitement for the new members. “A city council’s inauguration is exciting as is, but to have an all-women city council […], leaves me nearly speechless,” Flanagan said. “And while this is historic, it should also simply be the way it is, the norm, the reality.”
The current mayor, Melvin Carter, welcomed St. Paul’s new city council and council president, Mitra Jalili. Jalali began her speech by thanking the voters of St. Paul, while also addressing members of the community who may doubt the inclusivity of the council. “St. Paul is a city that values not just diversity, but the necessary work to make inclusion, equity and justice real for everybody,” Jalali said.
As for what the council hopes to accomplish, Jalali said their top priorities will be housing, climate action, public safety interventions using mental health responders and economic development. “We know we were sent here to do important work, and we know what voters expect us to do,” Jalali said.
Returning for her third term in office, council member Noecker thanked the community and feels that the council has given people a reason to hope. “We have an opportunity to see one another, to listen to one another, to see and feel each other’s pain, to hear each other’s stories, to use our identities, not to build walls, but to build bridges,” Noecker said.
In reflection of her inauguration moment, Noecker found that it was all about the city of St. Paul and it would take everyone to make change. “We have the chance to show, through our actions, not just our words, what we all believe: that government can be a force for good in people’s lives,” Noecker said.
Although they are not the first ever all-women’s city council, St. Paul is the largest U.S. city to have such a council, and are making history all over the country.
