Hundreds are expected to celebrate a new era in St. Paul with the inauguration of Kaohly Her, the capital city’s 56th incoming mayor.
The event marks the beginning of Her’s historic term as the city’s first mayor who is a woman and Hmong.
“There will be something in this ceremony for everyone,” Her said in a statement, “and it will be a true reflection of both the historic nature of this moment and an appreciation for where we go from here.”
Her’s inauguration begins Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. at St. Catherine University. Doors open at noon, and residents can register for tickets. Organizers say more than 1,000 people have reserved seats for the ceremony, which will feature an invocation, other speakers and a spoken-word performance.
Her plans to change the structure of the mayor’s office, and will eliminate the powerful Deputy Mayor job. With the City Council’s approval next week, Her will instead appoint four “assistant mayors.”
Her arrived in the U.S. as a toddler with her parents, who left Laos as refugees to settle in Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked in finance before starting in local politics after winning an election for Minnesota House in 2018. She served four terms in the House before securing enough mayoral ballots and second-choice votes this November to outpace two-term incumbent Melvin Carter, Her’s former boss.
Her attributes much of her success to holding dozens of meet-and-greets and knocking on 40,000 doors before Election Day. She’s toured the city since then to hear residents’ priorities and ask what they want from their mayor.
Carter congratulated Her after the win.
