For the first time ever, St. Paul has an all-female city council.
The ranked-choice ballots were re-tabulated on Friday in a grueling 11-hour process, settling the final two races.
Winning in Ward 7 is Cheniqua Johnson, with Anika Bowie taking Ward 1.
Bowie’s win wasn’t determined until Friday night.
They are joined by Rebecca Noecker in Ward 2, Saura Jost in Ward 3, Mitra Jalali in Ward 4, Hwa Jeong Kim in Ward 5, Nelsie Yang in Ward 6.
The entire St. Paul city council was on the 2023 ballot.
Jalali, Yang, and Noecker all won re-election, while the other four current members of council did not run.
Council members released a joint statement after the votes were finalized:
Final results after reallocation confirm that starting January 2024, the St. Paul City Council will be entirely composed of women from diverse racial, cultural and religious backgrounds — and majority women of color — making it the youngest, most progressive and most diverse in St. Paul’s history.
These historic results reflect St. Paul’s voters and their values.
Despite over a quarter-million dollars of conservative special interest spending citywide, organized people beat organized money.
St. Paul voters united, and through thousands of volunteer hours and grassroots donations, elected a diverse, progressive new Council for our city.
This historic moment was made possible by the relentless work of these campaigns alongside a community coalition of faith leaders, labor allies, frontline city workers, educators, public safety, housing and climate action advocates, and more.
All seven members of the new council are under the age of 40, and six are women of color.
Supporters say the makeup of the council reflects on the Saint Paul’s demographic shifts.
The new St. Paul city council members are sworn in next year.
