An investigation into St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her concluded that she engaged in “offensive” and “inappropriate” behavior with city employees and created an “uncomfortable” work environment, but did not commit sexual harassment.
Her’s office issued a news release Friday morning revealing the information, and included a letter she received Thursday from the city’s human resources department.
“As reflected in the summary of investigative findings, at times, I became too informal in my communications and crossed lines that are not consistent with the standards set forth in the City’s Workplace Conduct Policy. I apologize for any discomfort I caused,” Her said in a written statement.
St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry filed a sexual harassment complaint against Her earlier this year. The allegations centered around jokes Her allegedly made with city employees about a weekly “Wiener Wednesday” tradition in the police department, and an innuendo-filled text she allegedly sent to a police officer on her security detail superimposing his face on a meme about “wienering.”
Axel could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a prepared statement, Axel’s attorney, Chris Madel, criticized the city’s summary of the findings as “nothing more than a sanitized, self-serving whitewash of an investigation the City refuses to let the public see.”
A letter from St. Paul Human Resources Director Kamaria Kassim that was included in Her’s news release said the city was “made aware” of the allegations on March 30, and that an investigation conducted by outside law firm, Resolute Law, concluded on Sept. 14.
Kassim’s letter said the investigation substantiated claims that Her:
- “engaged in offensive and inappropriate behavior with City employees”
- “created and shared offensive material”
- “created an uncomfortable work environment for City employees”
“The substantiated findings reflect conduct that did not meet the City’s expectations and require your immediate attention,” Kassim wrote.
However, the investigation did not substantiate claims that Her:
- “engaged in sexual harassment of any City employee”
- “sent inappropriate text messages to City employees, other than with two employees”
- “made sexual noises while exercising at a City facility”
- “retaliated against any City employee”
Madel, in his statement, took issue with the dismissal of allegations that Her made sexual noises while stretching in front of St. Paul police officers in the police gym.
“Among many other things, we are aware of at least [five] separate witnesses who confirm that Mayor Her made unmistakable orgasm-like noises in the St. Paul Police Department gym,” Madel said. “No amount of bureaucratic wordsmithing by the City’s HR department can make witnesses—or what they heard—disappear.”
Kassim’s letter required Her to comply with city policies and workplace expectations, and to maintain professional boundaries and “exercise sound judgement in workplace interactions.”
Her will also be required to attend workplace conduct training and to hire an executive coach at her own expense. Kassim will check in with Her monthly about her compliance for the next six months, according to the letter.
“… I intend to comply with all of the recommended action steps,” Her said in her news release. “I am gratified that the report finds that the allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation were unsubstantiated.”
The investigation into Her was made public in July through news reports. Her said in her statement that she was “deeply disappointed” that information about the investigation was shared with the media. Madel spoke with news outlets and shared details about the investigation on his social media platforms.
“Those actions caused real harm to my family and the public trust,” Her said in her written statement.
Dave Thune, a former St. Paul City Council member who supports Her, told Sahan Journal that the findings show the investigation led to a “nothingburger.” He said he’s “glad it’s done.”
“The mayor has a little bit of soul searching to do [to] right the ship a little bit and then move on with really important stuff for the city,” Thune said.
Thune added that he knows and respects Henry, and speculated that Henry was “ill-advised” by a “hired gun attorney looking for a payday.”
“I think there are a number of people who wanted to do damage to Her because she won the election,” Thune said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Read Mayor Her’s full statement here
I take my responsibilities as Mayor and as a community leader seriously. That is why I cooperated fully with the independent investigation conducted for the City of St. Paul regarding the allegations against me. I did not respond to these allegations publicly because I respected the process initiated by the City. I was, however, I am deeply disappointed that during the course of a confidential HR investigation allegations and information were shared with the media. Those actions caused real harm to my family and the public trust.
Now that the investigation is complete, I have received a summary of the findings, and I intend to comply with all of the recommended action steps. I am gratified that the report finds that the allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation were unsubstantiated.
Over the first months of my administration, I faced real challenges. I have always worked to be approachable as a leader and build strong working relationships, and I attempt to connect with people to build camaraderie.
As reflected in the summary of investigative findings, at times, I became too informal in my communications and crossed lines that are not consistent with the standards set forth in the City’s Workplace Conduct Policy. I apologize for any discomfort I caused.
I am committed to learning from this experience and leading with greater clarity, respect, and awareness. I look forward to continuing to advance our critical efforts to make the City of St. Paul work for all our residents.
A copy of Her’s statement can be found here.
Read the letter Mayor Her received from the city’s human resources department.
