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Recognizing Mitra Jalali's leadership and service to the City of Saint Paul.
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WHEREAS, since being sworn into office on September 5, 2018 following a special election, Council President and Ward 4 Councilmember Mitra Jalali has shown up every day with an unwavering commitment to her constituents and a vision for Saint Paul that centers our residents' most pressing needs and boldest dreams; and
WHEREAS, over nearly seven years, Councilmember Jalali made her four core value areas the top focus in her work, championing housing justice, climate action and sustainability, community-first public safety, and equitable economic development; and
WHEREAS, these core values became a greater reality through numerous programs and initiatives in the City of Saint Paul made possible with Councilmember Jalali’s leadership, her Council colleagues, community leaders and the leadership of Mayor Melvin Carter; and
WHEREAS, to show that inclusion and equity are not words, but a public policy agenda that Councilmember Jalali dedicated herself to making a reality in our Capitol city, this resolution seeks to reflect Councilmember Jalali’s record of service to the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, upon taking office in 2018 amid the first Trump administration, Councilmember Jalali worked hard to uplift immigrant and refugee communities through advocating for an immigrant legal defense fund and eventually helping create dedicated capacity in the City Attorney’s office for immigration support for Saint Paul residents; and
WHEREAS, with the support of her colleagues, Councilmember Jalali was appointed to lead the 2020 Census initiative for Saint Paul, helping Minnesota save a congressional seat and billions in federal funds for Saint Paul constituents through focused and multilingual community education and engagement, and;
WHEREAS, throughout her time in office, Councilmember Jalali was a fierce advocate for housing construction at all income levels, voting to approve dozens of housing projects citywide that created hundreds of new homes at all affordability levels throughout the city; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali also supported the creation of the city’s first-ever Affordable Housing Trust Fund in 2019 and the 30% AMI Fund through federal American Rescue Plan funds in 2021 to support over $74M in deep investments in affordability in new housing throughout Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali was also a dedicated advocate for progressive land use policy that included zoning reforms to allow greater density in every neighborhood of our city, including the 1-4 Unit Studies ordinances that legalized small-scale development and eliminated single-family-only zoning citywide, the Saint Paul ADU ordinance, the revision of the definition of family in the city to reflect more modern households, and the Marshall Ave zoning study that preserved multifamily housing along a critical commercial corridor; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali was the lead sponsor of Ordinance 20-14, the Stable, Accessible, Fair and Equitable (SAFE) Housing ordinance, a comprehensive renter protections package developed for years with community partners to prevent displacement and support renter stability in Saint Paul, including a cap on up-front fees and security deposits, an advance notice of sale policy with relocation assistance, uniform screening criteria on criminal, rental and credit history, a just cause notice provision in the event of a non-renewal of a lease, and renter and landlord rights and responsibilities information; and
WHEREAS, the latest iteration of this set of policies are carried forward today by Councilmember Johnson and the rest of Councilmember Jalali’s colleagues as a reflection of our city’s shared commitment to renters as an institution; and
WHEREAS, amid a global pandemic with mounting homelessness and an eviction crisis, Councilmember Jalali led the fight for these and other renter protections and more humane, compassionate encampment response, partnering closely with Mayor Carter, Deputy Mayor Tincher, Ramsey County and numerous service providers and city staff to create best practices for supporting our unhoused community members that exist today; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali was a consistent advocate for all forms of supportive housing, voting for expansion of day shelters citywide through new zoning laws, city funding for housing for people struggling with addiction like at Kimball Court in the Midway, and specialized overnight shelters in Ward 4 like at Central Baptist Church and Luther Seminary Stub Hall; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali was a leading proponent in the effort to pass and implement rent stabilization in its early stages in Saint Paul, working closely with community advocates to shape an implementation plan and budget in the first year of the policy and pushing for renter voices to always be at the center of the Council process to amend it; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali also championed a more resilient Saint Paul through supporting the buildout of over 28 miles of new bikeways since 2018, including major routes like Ayd Mill Trail and Summit Ave Regional Trail, and an electric vehicle community carshare program now known as Evie carshare; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali and her staff advocated for the full elimination of parking minimums citywide to shift away from car-oriented development rules and expand housing opportunity and sustainability in new development, which Saint Paul adopted in August 2021; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, Councilmember Jalali also led the effort to update Ordinance 17-29, Saint Paul’s sustainable packaging ordinance to ensure that harmful plastics and non-recyclable packaging are no longer used in Saint Paul businesses as part of our city’s commitment to climate action and sustainability; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali and her ward stood together through a painful international racial reckoning centered in the Twin Cities when civil unrest rocked the Midway because of the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali and her constituents worked together throughout 2020 to support their community, working closely with Saint Paul Fire Department, Saint Paul PED, community organizations and more to board up businesses, coordinate city responses until 4AM every night, organize millions in public and private relief funds to the neighborhood, and support community healing spaces for people experiencing racial trauma; and
WHEREAS, with Mayor Carter and community leadership, Councilmember Jalali was selected by her peers to serve on the Saint Paul Community-First Public Safety Commission, a Citizens League task force entrusted with the tremendous responsibility to chart a different public safety course for Saint Paul that breaks historic cycles of disinvestment and focuses on community stability instead of just relying on traditional policing; and
WHEREAS, as a result of this focused work, Councilmember Jalali carried the community vision from this commission through every budget cycle to grow Saint Paul’s community stability programs and invest in safety beyond policing through initiatives like Healing Streets, the Community Ambassadors and the Awakenings program in Saint Paul Parks and Recreation; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, to codify this new city approach across the Council, Councilmember Jalali brought forth RES 20-1601, Advancing the City’s Continued Efforts to Implement a Community-First Approach to Public Safety, with the support of her colleagues, to guide this early-stage community safety system and make community ideas an institutional reality; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali also brought forth Ordinance 22-9 to formally create the Office of Neighborhood Safety and immigrant and refugee support programs in ordinance, giving them a permanent home within the City Attorney’s Office and the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, to uplift community economic development and local businesses in the many neighborhoods of Ward 4, Councilmember Jalali partnered with community to dedicate city funding to the Little Africa Plaza and African-owned businesses in the Snelling Ave corridor, supported community ownership through local real estate cooperatives like Taproot Investment Cooperative and Midway Investment Cooperative, and guided major redevelopment opportunities in their early stages like the Luther Seminary site and the United Village superblock surrounding Allianz Field; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali’s office also supported the opening of Black Garnet Books, a Black-owned independent local bookstore in the Midway, with economic development funds, making it a thriving local business with a home in Saint Paul now; and
WHEREAS, to support a strong organized labor movement and ensure Saint Paul workers in all sectors have access to fair wages and fair workplace policies, Councilmember Jalali voted with her colleagues to pass Saint Paul’s minimum wage ordinance, uphold Saint Paul’s earned sick and safe time ordinance, pass a local wage theft ordinance and hospitality worker “right to recall” ordinance; and
WHEREAS, to further support economic empowerment for all residents in Saint Paul, Councilmember Jalali was a leading proponent of the establishment of the Office of Financial Empowerment through Mayor Carter’s 2019 budget proposal, a city office that has become a hub for Saint Paul innovation through policies and programs for fair housing, fines and fees reforms, guaranteed income, elimination of medical debt, child savings accounts and more; and
WHEREAS, in close partnership with the Saint Paul Public Library, Councilmember Jalali and her staff conducted years of focused community engagement to secure an over $8M investment in a safer, more accessible and more sustainable brand new public Hamline-Midway Library, which will begin construction this year; and
WHEREAS, following a major shift in city leadership with the retirement of the majority of her Council colleagues in 2023, Councilmember Jalali worked hard to elect a new generation of diverse leadership to City Hall, and was deeply proud to serve with her colleagues on the nationally recognized and barrier-breaking 2024 City Council made up entirely of women under the age of 40, almost all of whom are women of color; and
WHEREAS, from 2024-2025, Councilmember Jalali was entrusted by her colleagues to serve in the position of Council President and help this landmark Council lay foundations together to endure the challenging and rewarding work of public service at City Hall; and
WHEREAS, in her time as Council President, Jalali and her Council colleagues worked with Mayor Carter’s administration to uphold the work of equity in our Capitol city; and
WHEREAS, together, Council President Jalali and her colleagues passed an historic investment of over $45M in Saint Paul streets and parks through the Common Cent sales tax, secured nearly $2M in funding annually for climate action and sustainability initiatives through a new franchise fee ordinance, passed a strong local wage theft ordinance so our workers benefit fully from the model state law, expanded the Downtown Improvement District to build on a successful city partnership, boosted investments in downtown and equity programs citywide through the 2025 budget, and unanimously passed a charter change to create administrative citations as a new city tool in the fight for Saint Paul renters, workers and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Jalali’s story began in 2018 as the then-only renter, then-youngest member, then-only out LGBTQ elected, first Asian-American woman, first Korean-American city elected official and first Iranian-American elected official in the state of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, nearly seven years later today, Councilmember Jalali is deeply grateful to transition from this chapter of service at the City in order to focus on her health, surrounded by countless colleagues and friends who reflect our community’s belief in representative and effective local leadership;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, in honor of her barrier-breaking leadership and steadfast commitment to equity throughout her years of service, that the City of Saint Paul formally recognizes and celebrates Mitra Jalali’s contributions to the city we love; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Saint Paul and its thousands of hardworking public servants carry forward her legacy and values in their daily work for our residents, continuing to prove every day that local government can and does care for people, and is a force for good in their lives.