MINNEAPOLIMEDIA EDITORIAL | St. Paul Cannot Hide a Crisis of Public Trust Behind a Two-Page Summary

ST. PAUL, MN (September 24, 2026). 

Saint Paul city’s outside investigation did not substantiate statutory sexual harassment or retaliation, but it confirmed that Mayor Kaohly Her engaged in offensive and inappropriate conduct. Her own acknowledgment that she crossed workplace policy lines leaves St. Paul with a governance crisis that mandatory training and carefully worded press releases cannot repair.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her should step down.

That conclusion does not require the public to accept every assertion in Police Chief Axel Henry’s civil lawsuit as an established fact. It does not require an editorial board to preempt a court, declare Her legally liable for battery, or deny her the right to present a full defense. Civil complaints are structured to state a plaintiff’s strongest possible case, the city vigorously disputes the suit's core claims, and the evidence has not yet undergone cross-examination before a judge or jury.

The case for resignation rests on what the city and the mayor have already acknowledged.

An independent investigation commissioned by St. Paul concluded that Her engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior toward municipal employees. While the investigator found that the conduct fell short of statutory harassment or unlawful retaliation, the findings were serious enough to warrant formal corrective action: recommending that the mayor maintain strict professional boundaries, complete conduct training, and retain an executive coach at her own expense.

Her conceded that she became overly informal in her communications and crossed lines inconsistent with the city’s Workplace Conduct Policy, offering an apology for the resulting discomfort.

Those are not findings of professional excellence, nor do they constitute vindication. They establish that the chief executive of Minnesota’s capital city violated basic workplace standards while exercising direct authority over employees whose careers, assignments, and budgets depend on her office.

St. Paul cannot maintain one standard of professional conduct for rank-and-file workers and a relaxed standard for its highest elected official.

If a police supervisor admitted crossing professional boundaries with subordinates and engaged in behavior an outside investigator deemed inappropriate, city management would not dismiss the matter as benign informality. If an employee were directed to undergo mandatory boundary training following an internal inquiry, that worker would understand the outcome as formal discipline for misconduct.

The standard of accountability must remain consistent regardless of rank. Public service requires adherence to established workplace ethics, and executive power does not insulate an individual from the policies enforced across the broader municipal workforce.

Henry’s 73-page complaint, filed in Ramsey County District Court, contains detailed allegations that extend beyond workplace awkwardness. It accuses Her of unwanted physical contact, improper personal remarks, misuse of executive authority, and professional retaliation after he raised concerns. The suit asserts claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, the Whistleblower Act, and the Data Practices Act, alongside common law battery claims against Her individually.

According to the complaint, Her touched Henry’s leg during a budget meeting, circulated altered images of police leadership, made unsolicited personal comments, and initiated after-hours contact. Her and the city strongly deny these specific allegations and are entitled to a fair legal process to contest them. The public should evaluate unproven claims with appropriate skepticism.

These claims matter because they expose the gap between what the city disclosed and what remains hidden. A two-page summary offers an insufficient accounting of a multi-month investigation involving the city's top executive and its chief law enforcement officer. It leaves residents unable to discern which factual assertions were confirmed, which were disproved, how witness credibility was weighed, or why behavior labeled offensive did not meet the legal threshold for statutory harassment.

While the complete investigative report contains private personnel data protected under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, municipal transparency requires more than a compressed summary. Mayor Her should exercise her legal authority under state law to execute a voluntary waiver of privacy protections regarding her own conduct findings, allowing the city to release the fullest permissible version of the report with narrow redactions restricted solely to third-party witnesses.

The current lack of clarity undermines institutional stability. The mayor and the police chief now stand as opposing parties in active civil litigation. That conflict has already disrupted city operations, culminating in the unprecedented transfer of the mayor’s security detail from the St. Paul Police Department to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.

St. Paul faces pressing budget choices, public safety decisions, and complex labor negotiations. The city cannot operate effectively when every executive action or administrative decision is viewed through the lens of pending litigation and workplace distrust.

Calling for an elected official's resignation carries immense civic weight, as it asks to alter the result of a democratic election. Yet holding executive office is an ongoing ethical trust, not an irrevocable title. When admitted policy violations by an executive break the institutional trust required to supervise municipal workforce operations, demanding resignation does not override voters; it honors the fundamental standard of governance that voters expect. Resignation is not a legal finding of guilt; it is a necessary acknowledgment that continued leadership has become functionally unsustainable.

The St. Paul City Council must also take an active, independent role. Council members should retain independent legal counsel, receive a full confidential briefing on the complete investigative record, and establish clear administrative firewalls to insulate police operations and potential witnesses from executive interference. Furthermore, the council should reform existing city charter protocols to ensure that future complaints against elected executives are handled through fully independent, third-party oversight mechanisms beyond executive control.

Representation in public office remains vital. Her’s election as St. Paul’s first woman and first Asian American mayor represents an important milestone in the city's history. Yet groundbreaking leadership must coexist with equal accountability. Holding elected officials to standard workplace expectations honors both the office and the community it serves.

Similarly, Chief Henry’s allegations must face rigorous testing in court. His position does not grant automatic credibility to every claim in the complaint, and the city must have a full opportunity to present its defense through proper legal channels.

The primary issue facing St. Paul extends beyond the legal definitions of civil liability. It centers on whether the city will uphold a single, transparent standard of conduct across all levels of municipal government.

St. Paul deserves complete transparency, clear protections for employees who raise workplace concerns, and leadership capable of carrying out the city's business without distraction. Mayor Kaohly Her should execute a privacy waiver for the complete investigative findings and resign from office, allowing the legal proceedings to resolve on their merits while the city moves forward.

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