Saint Paul, Minnesota is the capital ofMinnesota. The city is also the largest city and county seat ofRamsey County.Saint Paul has astrong mayor-council government. Seven city council members elected in wards and one mayor elected at large serve the city.
Saint Paul is governed with a variation of thestrong mayor-council form of government.[1] The mayor is thechief executive andchief administrative officer for the city and the seven member city council is the legislative body.[2][3] The mayor is elected from the entire city, while members of the city council are elected from seven different geographic wards, which have approximately equal populations.[4][5] Both the mayor and the city council serve four-year terms.[6]
The mayor's duties include preparing an annual budget, appointing heads to executive departments of the city and either signing or vetoing legislative ordinance passed by the city council.[7] The city council is responsible for the city budget, which is supposed to be based on the mayor's proposed budget. All appointments made by the mayor must be approved by the city council.[8][9] The city council may override the mayor's veto.[10] In addition, the city council creates all of the city's ordinance. The city council may create legislative ordinance with four of seven votes. Legislative ordinance must then be presented to the mayor who may then veto or approve the legislation. With an additional vote, for a total of five votes, the council may override the mayor's veto.[10]
In addition to the mayor-council system, Saint Paul is governed by a unique neighborhood system. Since 1975, the city is split up into 17 City Districts, which are then governed by a District Council. The District Councils receive funding from the city but are otherwise independently run. Most councils have significant power on land use issues.[11]
The city has had three mayors who were natives ofIreland,William Dawson,Christopher D. O'Brien, andFrank Doran. OtherIrish-American mayors of Saint Paul include:William Mahoney,William H. Fallon,John J. McDonough,Edward K. Delaney,John C. Daubney,Joseph E. Dillon,Thomas R. Byrne,Randy Kelly, and the current mayor,Chris Coleman. Saint Paul has long been a Democratic stronghold. Aside fromNorm Coleman who became a Republican in his second term, Saint Paul has not elected a Republican mayor since 1952.[12] The city's currentmayor is Melvin Carter, a member of theDemocratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).
As of the 2023 general election the Saint Paul City Council included:
| Ward | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Anika Bowie | DFL |
| 2nd | Rebecca Noecker | DFL |
| 3rd | Saura Jost | DFL |
| 4th | Mitra Jalali | DFL |
| 5th | HwaJeong Kim | DFL |
| 6th | Nelsie Yang | DFL |
| 7th | Cheniqua Johnson | DFL |
 | This section'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: State legislators have changed. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2024) |
Saint Paul is the capital of the state of Minnesota. The city hosts the capitol building, designed by Saint Paul residentCass Gilbert. TheMinnesota Supreme Court meets in the state capitol as well as theMinnesota Judicial Center. The Minnesota house and senate office buildings are also in the city. TheMinnesota Governor's Residence, which is used for some state functions, is onSummit Avenue.
TheMinnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the state affiliate of theDemocratic Party, is headquartered in Saint Paul.
Saint Paul is also the county seat for Ramsey County.
The city is represented by fourMinnesota Senate districts; 64, 65, 66 and 67.Minnesota House of Representatives districts 64A, 64B, 65A, 65B, 66A, 66B, 67A and 67B are all located in the city.
| Minnesota House and Senate districts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | House | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | First Elected | Party | Name | First Elected | Party | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 64 | Dick Cohen | 1986 | DFL | 64A | Erin Murphy | 2006 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 64B | Dave Pinto | 2014 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 65 | Sandy Pappas | 1990 | DFL | 65A | Rena Moran | 2010 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 65B | Carlos Mariani | 1990 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 66 | John Marty* | 1992 | DFL | 66A | John Lesch | 2002 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 66B | Alice Hausman* | 1989 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 67 | Foung Hawj | 2012 | DFL | 67A | Tim Mahoney | 1998 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||
| 67B | Sheldon Johnson | 2000 | DFL | ||||||||||||||||||||||
*District also includesFalcon Heights,Lauderdale andRoseville .
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2000 | 32,520 | 26.65% | 77,158 | 63.22% | 12,369 | 10.13% |
| 2004 | 35,671 | 25.93% | 99,851 | 72.59% | 2,026 | 1.47% |
| 2008 | 31,667 | 22.38% | 106,926 | 75.58% | 2,883 | 2.04% |
| 2012 | 30,035 | 21.01% | 108,983 | 76.23% | 3,946 | 2.76% |
| 2016 | 23,530 | 16.86% | 104,226 | 74.68% | 11,800 | 8.46% |
| 2020 | 27,764 | 18.27% | 120,687 | 79.43% | 3,490 | 2.30% |
Saint Paul is located inMinnesota's 4th congressional district, a solidlyDemocratic district with aCPVI of D + 13.[14] The district is represented byBetty McCollum, a progressiveDemocrat, scoring 92%progressive by a progressive group[15] and 4%conservative by a conservative group[16] on a range of issues. Former U.S. Senator,Norm Coleman, was formerly mayor of Saint Paul. Saint Paul'sXcel Energy Center was the host of the2008 Republican National Convention.