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Network-building pays off in Nelsie Yang’s groundbreaking council win

Nelsie Yang’s 3-year-old niece was at her side when she learned that she’d been elected to the St. Paul City Council, after eight hours of ballot counting and 18 months of campaigning.

“I’m just so happy she’s here,” Yang said after her victory in the Sixth Ward race was called Friday. “When I was 3 years old, I never would have imagined myself being here.”

Election reveals changing face of leadership in Twin Cities suburbs

The newly elected women say the trend has been building over the last few years, and they credit each other for support and inspiration, as well as organizations such as TakeAction Minnesota, Women Organizing Women and Women Winning, aimed at encouraging women to seek public office.

Such women are “feeling a sense of confidence because they are seeing representation now that look like them,” said Pahoua Yang Hoffman, executive director of the Citizens League. “The community is also rallying around them.”