Scoop: St. Paul homelessness meeting went off the rails amid high City Hall tensions
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St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her at a state legislative hearing in 2026. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her lashed out at multiple top local officials for asking her on a private call last Thursday to delay a homeless encampment sweep. One state representative grew so frustrated she logged off the call early, according to a recording reviewed by Axios.
Why it matters: Many attendees left the meeting concerned that the mayor had done lasting damage to her relationships with St. Paul's legislative delegation — relationships Her, a former state lawmaker, had touted during her campaign — two officials who were on the call told Axios.
- Several call attendees believe the meeting went off the rails in part because Her was angry about a sexual harassment complaint against her, revealed in news reports less than 24 hours before the call, those two officials said.
What they're saying: "This meeting was about one question: whether the city can responsibly delay closing the encampment," the mayor told Axios in a written statement.
- "If people heard urgency or bluntness in my voice, they heard it correctly," she added. "My frustration was not directed at any individual in that room."
Driving the news: The first of three encampment closures is set for Wednesday, marking a major shift in the city's response to homelessness — a sensitive, controversial policy project for any mayor, let alone one facing separate headline-dominating allegations.
What happened: At least half of St. Paul's state House delegation, plus a range of city and county officials, attended last Thursday's virtual meeting to discuss Her's sweeps plan, according to four officials granted anonymity by Axios to discuss details of a sensitive private call.
- Several state reps on the call were sympathetic to arguments by encampment residents and outreach workers that sweeps don't help homeless people reach permanent housing.
- The mayor rebuffed them, telling attendees that a delay was highly unlikely.
Friction point: What alarmed Axios' sources wasn't the mayor's argument per se, but her tone, her refusal to negotiate and her dismissiveness of other officials' personal and professional dedication to a vexing issue.
- If all that was needed was a one-month delay, she demanded during one heated moment on the call, "Where the hell have we been? Why haven't we brought these 30-day, 60-day solutions years ago?"
"This is extremely inappropriate," interjected state Rep. Leigh Finke, who had personally agreed minutes earlier to commit her time to the issue. "I'm gonna follow up later," she said, and logged off.
Inside the room: During the meeting, Her attributed her bluntness to frustration with the "fuckery that's on the news about me," three attendees independently told Axios — a remark that at least two of them interpreted as a reference to the harassment allegations.
- "I understand the frustrations," City Council Member Anika Bowie told the mayor during one tense moment of the meeting. "I understand the human side — the filter this is coming through and all the things that you're experiencing right now."
Yes, but: "The conversation was about encampments," the mayor's spokesperson, Matt Wagenius, told Axios. "Any comments should be viewed as such."
Between the lines: Axios' sources are worried Her's handling of the call could test relationships with state and county officials who have more direct access to exponentially deeper pools of resources to proactively address homelessness.
- On the trail last fall, Her had accused former mayor Melvin Carter's staff of not returning phone calls to St. Paul's state legislative delegation — accusations that Carter had disputed.
- She campaigned on pledges to leverage her relationships with her colleagues into appropriations, like the $50 million in long-sought funding for Grand Casino Arena renovations that state lawmakers delivered five months into Her's term.
Plus: The mayor and Bowie also traded tense words during last Thursday's meeting, raising broader questions about what strain Her's City Hall relationships might be under.
- Since police chief Axel Henry's complaint triggered the investigation, St. Paul City Council Member Molly Coleman has also publicly demanded "clarity now on the current relationship between the mayor and the police department."
- An SPPD spokesperson told Axios last week that "there has been no change in communication" with the mayor's office.
The bottom line: The mayor's statement to Axios reiterated the position Her took during the meeting: that the city's primary duty is to ensure public safety.
- "I will keep asking our partners at every level to bring concrete commitments," but "if we do not have a real plan with resources behind it, the city cannot delay a closure," she said.