First woman mayor in St. Paul with Kaohly Her win

Kaohly Her will be St. Paul’s first female and its first Hmong-American mayor in January. She beat two-term incumbent Melvin Carter in the Nov. 4, 2025 general election.
This is not the first “first” that Her has achieved. She was the first of two Hmong-American women elected to the Minnesota House along with Samantha Vang in 2018. She also served as majority whip of the House from 2021 to 2022, making her the first Hmong-American woman to hold a leadership position in the House.
While Carter received more votes in the first round (27,261 to Her’s 25,658), when votes from the three lower-finishing candidates were tabulated, she had 47.8% compared to Carter’s 45%.
In the first round, mayoral candidates Yan Chen received 9.61% of the votes, Mike Hilborn 8.54%, and Adam Dullinger 2.36%.
Her’s victory means the entire St. Paul leadership team will be female, as there are seven female city council members.
In a Facebook post yesterday before she knew whether she had won, Her wrote: “This race was for our dear Speaker Emerita of the House Melissa Hortman. She taught us that these seats do not belong to us. We must earn the right to represent people every time! We did that team. We honored her today.”
Her was born in Laos, where she and her family lived in a refugee camp due to the Vietnam War. She came to America at age four, and grew up in Appleton, Wis.
Her worked in the investment and finance sector for 15 years after graduating from college. She was a community organizer, director of Hmong women’s organization Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together, and founder of Maiv-PAC to advocate for Hmong-American women.
Her, who worked for Mayor Melvin Carter’s office in his first term, was a late addition to the St. Paul mayor’s race.
Her has represented District 64A, which includes Summit-Dale, Macalester-Groveland and Merriam Park neighborhoods in the Minnesota House since 2019. She has been re-elected every two years.
The Governor is expected to call a special election to fill her state seat, likely in January, as well  as that of state representative Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, who won the special for Senate District 47.
Her and husband, Kong, have two children.

VOTERS APPROVE ADMINISTRATIVE CITATIONS
St. Paul voters approved amending the city charter to allow the city to use administrative citations as a tool for enforcing local rules with 68% (44,069) of the vote. Instead of criminal penalties, administrative citations impose civil citations for certain ordinance violations. Administrative citations provide a step toward achieving compliance in a manner that is consistent, timely, and appropriate for each situation, according to the city. Many cities in Minnesota and across the nation have implemented administrative fines as part of their enforcement strategy. This approach has proven effective in promoting compliance while minimizing unnecessary legal or financial burdens on residents, according to the city page on administrative citations.

VOTERS APPROVE SCHOOL LEVY
The St. Paul Public School levy question passed with 65% (43,178) of voters approving it.
This will increase the current operating levy by $1,073 per student, per year, and generate approximately $37.2 million per year in additional revenue for the district. This levy will extend for 10 years with annual inflation adjustments.
“This operating levy will help SPPS maintain the arts and music, language and culture, and college and career readiness programs that fuel our students’ excitement for learning and make our schools shine,” said Superintendent Stacie Stanley. “I want to thank everyone who voted in this election. While this funding will not solve every challenge that comes our way, it will set us up for better outcomes and a brighter future.”
Despite being the state’s second-largest school district, SPPS had one of the lowest voter-approved operating levies among Minnesota’s largest and St. Paul’s neighboring districts. With the levy increase approved by voters, SPPS will now be closer to the metro-area average.
The estimated additional property tax for a St. Paul home valued at $289,200 will be approximately $26 per month or $309 per year.
SPPS is currently facing a $51.1 million deficit for the current academic year, which members of Vote Yes point out is the difference in inflation over the last 25 years.
“Thank you to the voters of Saint Paul for continuing to put our kids and families first. We’re so proud of these results,” said Vote Yes campaign manager Teresa Mozur. “Now it is our time to deliver our students, to keep pushing to get the outcomes and opportunities they deserve while turning our focus to advocate at the capitol for stable long-term funding.”
St. Paul wasn’t the only school district asking local voters for more funding this year. There were 44 ballot questions requesting additional operating revenue, and another 80 asking for funds for construction, renovations, and other capital projects.
This referendum is a critical stopgap for SPPS because fixing a broken funding system will take time, said Leah VanDassor, president of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators.
“St. Paul has yet again stepped up to protect our students and what makes our schools strong,” VanDassor said. “We know times are tough, and we are especially grateful voters recognized the dire situation we’re in. This is a short-term fix to a long-term problem. Educators are committed to working together for more state funding so the burden doesn’t keep falling on local taxpayers.”