How will Kaohly Her’s legislative career shape her leadership of St. Paul?

St Paul Mayor-elect Kaohly Her will soon take the reins at City Hall though she isn t new to elected office Before running for mayor Her who s first name is pronounced kuh-LEE spent nearly six years representing a St Paul district in the Minnesota House of Representatives that includes the Union Park Macalester-Groveland and Summit-University neighborhoods She first won the seat in after now-Sen Erin Murphy DFL-St Paul launched a campaign for governor After one term in office Her rose to the third-highest-ranking position in the Minnesota House DFL Caucus majority whip She has also served as deputy speaker pro tempore who presides over House debate in the absence of the speaker Rep Kaohly Vang Her DFL-St Paul wipes away tears as she speaks against a bill removing undocumented adult Minnesotans from MinnesotaCare during debate in House chambers at the Minnesota State Capitol building on Monday June John Autey Pioneer Press Part of the campaign message that got Her elected mayor was her call for more focus on the basics of governing and improving core city services Her s reputation for organization and thoroughness as a lawmaker may help her achieve that goal former colleagues commented Those who have worked with Her at the state Capitol describe St Paul s next mayor as a pragmatic lawmaker with a deep understanding of process and keen attention to detail She s extremely organized She s extremely thorough She s nuts and bolts brass tacks no detail left unturned reported Rep Dan Wolgamott a St Cloud DFLer who was elected to the Legislature the same year as Her Pension commission Wolgamott served on the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement with Her who chaired the panel before leaving the House this year The commission doesn t just budget for the next two years like the rest of the Legislature he explained It must balance the concerns of various residents employee retirement plans while planning for the decades ahead This year the pensions commission advanced a bill that boosted pensions for teachers firefighters and police which passed with largely bipartisan help and nearly unanimous advocacy in the House Wolgamott reported he got to know his former House colleague better during the pandemic when the Legislature held votes and hearings remotely Wolgamott Her and then-House Speaker Melissa Hortman had to be present at the Capitol and as whip Her had to double- and triple-check that members joining sessions by phone were present for votes But past that Her made sure members were taken care of during long floor sessions which at times can drag on into the early morning hours according to Wolgamott Target snack runs and a family egg roll recipe were just specific of the solutions Her kept members assured he mentioned I think why she s so flourishing is she has very high standards for how she operates Wolgamott reported But she also looks after people and makes sure that people are cared for and validated and supported Ability to compromise Rep Tim O Driscoll R-Sartell worked with Her when she was chair of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and this year as co-chairs of the House Commerce Committee He praised his former colleague for her ability to compromise I think that the folks in St Paul could benefit from that experience that she has in being able to come to an equitable and workable answer the eight-term Republican lawmaker announced It may take a couple of times to get there but she s willing to work and she s willing to let people continue to work on things till we get to the right answer Compromise was especially crucial in this year s closely divided Legislature Last year voters delivered a House of Representatives with DFL and Republican members O Driscoll who has served on the pensions commission for majority of of his legislative career revealed Her s finance background was invaluable in piecing together bills shaping payouts and retirement ages for teachers firefighters police and other residents employees A lot of the work done on pensions and commerce doesn t get much new coverage at the Capitol something O Driscoll mentioned might be a sign of their success as policymakers We both have unfailingly kind of lived by the idea that if you don t hear about what we did we must have done our job right he declared Commerce committee Commerce is one of the more powerful committees in the Minnesota House It covers a broad range of strategy areas including financial services insurance consumer protection potential and telecommunications There s a lot of revenue that flows in there there s a lot of regulation that flows through there and usually bills that come out of there take bipartisan encouragement stated Rich Ginsberg a lobbyist with decades of experience at the Minnesota Capitol This year for instance the Commerce committee handled bills on legal cannabis regulation and created a new position to handle disputes between owners and tenants and homeowners associations It also advanced a bill to provide more backing to the state s reinsurance scheme a campaign state representatives disclosed helped prevent robustness insurance premiums from increasing by more than they already did this year Bills on tenant rights reporting lost or stolen firearms Besides her leadership on pensions and commerce Her backed bills including those supporting tenants rights and a proposal to create a reporting requirement for lost and stolen firearms The gun theft bill which would have required a gun owner to record a stolen weapon to law enforcement within hours passed in the House in but did not make it through the Senate In the Legislature passed a bill authored by Her banning the practice of child marriage in Minnesota The bill barred any minors from marrying in the state Related Articles St Paul Mayor-elect Kaohly Her announces transition unit St Paul mayor s race What voters say about Kaohly Her s triumph St Paul Mayor-elect Kaohly Her on her new path at City Hall Ginsberg who also praised Her for her thoroughness and preparation revealed she was a good lawmaker for lobbyists to approach if they yearned a well-crafted bill that would pass so long as they could convince her to take it on I really believe that her legislative record and how she operates will serve the city and constituents very well he revealed I just think it s going to be a little bit of a different approach