All-female St. Paul City Council to be sworn into public office

The youngest and most diverse city council in the history of Minnesota’s capital city will be sworn into office Tuesday at the downtown Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, officially elevating the first all-female St. Paul City Council into public service at City Hall.

The seven council members, all of them under 40 and four of them new to the role, will host their first official public meetings on Wednesday. On the agenda is a resolution, sponsored by returning Council Member Mitra Jalali, to appoint Jalali as council president and newly-elected Council Member HwaJeong Kim as vice president.

Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who previously expressed interest in the role of president but later withdrew her name, is poised to be appointed chair of the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Anika Bowie (Courtesy of the candidate)

Here’s how other committee and commission assignments are slated to shake out, including mayoral appointments to city and outside boards that are scheduled to be confirmed by the council on Wednesday.

Some positions, such as chair of the council’s audit committee, have yet to be assigned.

Anika Bowie

Bowie has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the Visit St. Paul board of directors, the Ramsey County Dispatch Policy Committee, the Family Housing Fund and the Board of Water Commissioners. The city council on Wednesday is poised to appoint Bowie to serve on the Ramsey County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

HwaJeong Kim

Hwa Jeong Kim (Courtesy of the candidate)

Kim has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the Ramsey County Dispatch Policy Committee, the Joint Property Tax Advisory Committee and the Metropolitan Transportation Advisory Board. Kim is poised to be appointed secretary of the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Mitra Jalali

Mitra Jalali

Jalali has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the Visit St. Paul board of directors, the Ramsey County Dispatch Policy Committee and the Joint Property Tax Advisory Committee. Jalali will also chair the council’s budget committee.

Cheniqua Johnson

Cheniqua Johnson (Courtesy of the candidate)

Johnson has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the St. Paul Port Authority, the Ramsey County Workforce Innovation Board, the Red Rock Corridor Commission and the Joint Property Tax Advisory Committee. The council on Wednesday is poised to approve Johnson as vice-chair of the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Saura Jost

Saura Jost (Courtesy of the Jost campaign)

Jost has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the Board of Water Commissioners and as an alternate on the Metropolitan Transportation Advisory Board. Jost is poised to be appointed treasurer of the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Rebecca Noecker

Rebecca Noecker (Courtesy of the candidate)

Noecker has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the Great River Rail Commission, and reappointed by the mayor to serve on the St. Paul Children’s Collaborative and the Visit St. Paul board. The council is also poised to approve Noecker as chair of the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Nelsie Yang

Undated courtesy photo, circa July 2023, of St. Paul Ward 6 City Council member Nelsie Yang. (Courtesy of the City of St. Paul)

Yang has been appointed by the mayor to serve on the St. Paul Port Authority, Ramsey County League of Local Governments, the Family Housing Fund and the Board of Water Commissioners.

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