At St. Paul City Hall, October is shaping up to be the autumn of our discontent, to quote the bard, with the “our” in question being the mayor’s office, the police chief, the city council and more. Navigating the twists and turns of what’s become a three-way legal and political dispute can be dizzying.

Here’s a primer to help.

What just happened?

When St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry filed a complaint about Mayor Kaohly Her’s behavior several months ago, the city contracted Resolute Law, which combed through emails and text messages, interviewed both sides, and completed a 76-page report on its findings. It said the mayor’s behavior, while inappropriate, did not rise to the level of sexual harassment.

Henry, at first, received only a partial summary of that report, as did the St. Paul City Council and the media. On Sept. 23, he filed a wide-ranging lawsuit accusing Her of sexual harassment and other violations of state law, including violations of the state’s whistleblower statute and rules surrounding data practices and reprisal. On Oct. 1, the city released the Resolute Law report to the public in full, but heavily redacted.

Is the relationship between the mayor and police chief irreparable?

The lawyers with Resolute Law did not see how the two sides could move forward together. “The interactions between Mayor Her and (the chief) have been limited, but strained,” reads the conclusion of their report. “Each side has accused the other of retaliation. The temporary solution to assign (an) intermediary between Mayor Her (and the chief) … is not a sustainable solution as it does not allow for a free flow of dialogue between these two important city leaders.”

How much is this costing taxpayers, and who pays the bill?

City attorney Irene Kao would likely be called as a witness if the chief’s harassment lawsuit against the mayor goes to trial. For that reason, the St. Paul City Council authorized the hiring of the employment law firm Fisher Phillips last month, at the rate of $500 per hour.

That’s not an unheard-of rate for major firms, but the city is self-insured, meaning those costs would be borne by city taxpayers with money coming out of the city’s general fund. It’s not a small price to pay in a tough budget year that already saw a city library and multiple recreation centers narrowly avoid the chopping block. The investigation by Resolute Law has already cost more than $43,000, and other costs — like city staff time — are mounting.

For now, Henry is covering the cost of his lawsuit against the city, but the lawsuit asks the city to pick up his attorney’s fees and damages upward of $50,000 if he wins.

Then there’s the cost that could be associated with a legal settlement to make this lawsuit go away.

Could this all go away for money?

In a word: yes. Reached by phone Tuesday, Marshall Tanick, a Twin Cities employment attorney, said he thought the city will offer Henry a large settlement payment to drop his claim and leave city employment.

“This can’t go on much longer,” Tanick said. “This case is very likely to be settled for a sizable amount, relatively soon, possibly before the year is out. There is strong evidence supporting the chief’s claim, and the publicity and political considerations and public outrage are compelling factors to lead the city to want to settle this case rapidly and avoid further running up the legal tab for both sides. Invariably, when there’s a large settlement, the employee leaves. That’s part of the deal.”

Does the mayor have the power to fire the chief?

Not really – or at least not yet. At this stage in his tenure, it would take both an act of the mayor and five votes on the city council to remove the police chief “for cause,” meaning they’d have to prove he committed misconduct or a serious rule violation.

Under the city charter, the police chief can be removed by the mayor and city council in the first year of their six-year term, and Henry, who was appointed in November 2022, is well past that. His six-year term expires in November 2028, the same month as the next mayoral election.

Under the city charter, reconfirming him at that time for another six years would largely be up to the city council. Still, in the 60- to 90-day window before the end of a chief’s term, the charter says a “mayor may … determine to terminate an incumbency on the expiration date of that specific term.”

Could the mayor’s critics unseat her by forcing a recall election before November 2028?

Yes, but unseating a sitting mayor early is also a long slog of a process. Under the city charter, initiating a recall election would require more than 13,000 signatures — equivalent to 20% of the roughly 67,000 St. Paul voters who took part in the last mayoral election. Ramsey County Elections would review the signatures for validity, and the St. Paul City Council would then determine if there were enough basis to move forward.

The council review would focus on more than just having sufficient signatures, Tanick said. While the city charter doesn’t explicitly mention it, under the Minnesota Constitution, it would also require a finding of legal “malfeasance,” meaning that the mayor engaged in a high level of deliberate wrongdoing, and not just careless behavior. That almost never happens.

“I don’t recall any situation where a person has been removed in a recall in recent history in Minnesota, though there have been situations where people resigned before the recall,” Tanick said.

In 2022, the Minnesota Supreme Court canceled the recall election for Columbia Heights City Council Member KT Jacobs, ruling that the petition failed to make a case for legal malfeasance after Jacobs was accused of calling a council candidate on the phone and questioning if he was biracial.

If a recall election does move forward and unseats a sitting mayor, the city council would then appoint an interim mayor until the city hosts a special election. Almost any city resident would be allowed to run in that election, including current or previous mayors.

Do the issues raised in Henry’s lawsuit, the Resolute Law investigation and in subsequent interviews with the mayor go beyond sexual harassment?

Yes. Among a number of different flash points, the police chief questioned the mayor’s use of a single police driver — even for out-of-state travel — at heavy overtime costs, and accused the mayor of retaliation for failing to help him resolve how back pay awarded in the final days of the Carter administration was negatively affecting officers’ public pensions.

In interviews with Resolute Law, the mayor said she was taken aback by decisions the police department had made, without her or city council consent, that would clearly affect the city budget. Disagreements ranged from how the police responded to calls about federal immigration enforcement during Operation Metro Surge last winter to questions about a contract the department signed with Axon, a provider of artificial intelligence-linked law enforcement hardware and software.

“She stated that the Police Department created a new RTIC (real time information center/high tech) unit,” reads the Resolute Law report. “Mayor Her stated that when she went to the gym, she saw they were building something and was assured there were no costs. She stated that they promoted people into sergeant and commander positions in the units. Between the building and promotions, Mayor Her learned there were in fact increased costs to adding the unit. Mayor Her stated that it is her job to manage the city’s budget and that her review was not simply unwarranted scrutiny. Mayor Her stated that the Police Department believes it can act autonomously.”

The report goes on to say: “Mayor Her stated that in meetings she would ask for a proposal so then a decision could then be made. She stated that she would later learn the decision had already been made without consulting her.”

Other issues raised in interviews with Resolute Law ranged from smoothies the mayor would make and hand-deliver to the police department — officers thought it was immature of her to take issue when she found one in the police refrigerator, unconsumed — to a question the mayor raised about a security contract at Whole Foods.

Of the seven initial major allegations against the mayor, which ones did the independent investigation by Resolute Law substantiate?

Finding One: The Resolute Law investigation substantiated the allegations that the mayor acted inappropriately with city employees, including sending an altered image of an internet meme about the police department’s “Weiner Wednesdays” lunches to members of the department. The picture contained the caption: “When she wraps you up in her blanket after you gave her a good weinering,” though the investigation found the mayor did not write the caption, which was already part of the meme.

“Regardless of whether Mayor Her drafted the words, the content of the meme is sexual in nature and inappropriate,” reads the report. “Mayor Her also took the time to photoshop (her police driver’s face) into the meme. … Had a male mayor sent this type of text to two younger, female officers, there would be no question about the inappropriateness of the behavior.”

Finding Two: The investigation substantiated the allegations that Her created and shared inappropriate photographs. The investigation confirmed that Her photoshopped several pictures of the chief and top law enforcement officers and placed them around the police department. The altered images included pictures of Henry and two other men depicted as UFC fighters wearing nothing but shorts and UFC belts partially covering their bare chests. Another picture depicted top law enforcement personnel as bodybuilders, and yet another as boy band singers. She placed her own headshot over that of pictures of command staff.

Finding Three: The investigation did not substantiate the allegations that the mayor was sexually harassing the police chief, but it did note she created an uncomfortable work environment for him. Text messages, according to the report, show she developed a friendship with the chief dating back to November, but that deteriorated in January, around the height of Operation Metro Surge, and the amount of texting diminished.

The chief said the mayor, through her official scheduler, scheduled a “date” with him at Sweeney’s Saloon, but Resolute Law found that description of their Sweeney’s meeting “not credible,” given that she also said he could bring other key staff with him. She asked if the chief, a subordinate, wanted to be “friends,” which is inappropriate, but not necessarily sexual in nature, according to the report.

Henry’s lawsuit says the mayor chose Sweeney’s over another location because she wanted to drink THC drinks, and that her offer to be “friends” included two other options — to be “colleagues” or to “go,” which he took to mean resign.

During a budget meeting on March 18, the mayor’s hand allegedly touched the chief’s thigh twice. One of the touches was witnessed by another attendee at the meeting. The investigation said the touch was unwelcome but not necessarily sexual in nature.

Finding Four: Resolute Law searched through 51,316 messages on the mayor’s personal cellphone and 4,285 messages on her city-issued cellphone. It found no evidence she had sent inappropriate texts to other city employees outside of the police chief.

Finding Five: The investigation did not substantiate allegations that the mayor made sexual noises while working out at the St. Paul Police Department gym.

“While some officers reported hearing noises from Mayor Her during her workouts … that sounded like she was having an orgasm, there were others that denied hearing these noises,” reads the report. “The Fire Department video from February 13, 2026 (Exhibit 21) confirms Mayor Her does make grunting noises while engaging in demanding physical workouts, but there is no evidence that even if she made these same noises at the Police Department that the noises were sexual in nature. Women are allowed to make noises in the gym when lifting heavy weights.”

Finding Six: The investigation substantiated allegations the mayor engaged in inappropriate and offensive behavior with two female city employees. On Jan. 14, the mayor allegedly “engaged in a discussion with a female Police Department employee in which the mayor repeatedly discussed her breasts, touched her breasts and made the female employee uncomfortable. … The employee’s text message to her friend the same day the interaction is alleged to have occurred references the uncomfortable interaction and Mayor Her’s question about the appearance of Mayor Her’s breasts.”

Sometime in February, the mayor allegedly discussed her breasts with another female officer in the police gym locker room. “Specifically, (the officer) alleges Mayor Her stood near her in only her bra and repeatedly asked if her breasts would look appropriate for an upcoming national interview. (The officer) also alleges Mayor Her approached her and complimented (her on her) breasts.”

“Mayor Her denies engaging in a conversation about breasts … and instead testified that both were discussing the changes women’s bodies undergo with age. According to Mayor Her, the women exchanged compliments and she denies exposing her breasts to (her). This incident is more of a close call. … Given the prior incident involving the other female employee from January 2026, it is more likely than not that the discussion about women’s changing bodies included a discussion about Mayor Her’s breasts.”

Finding Seven: The investigation did not substantiate allegations that the mayor and police chief retaliated against one another. The mayor had accused the chief of assigning two drivers for her, who would switch off, instead of letting her pick and retain one officer with overtime pay.

“The two-shift model proposed by the Police Department was reasonable and would have saved the Police Department money — an important consideration in light of the budgetary issues facing the city,” reads the Resolute Law report.

The chief had accused the mayor of using the budget process against his department after warning him he needed to be “nice” to her. Henry said the mayor refused to get involved in a situation involving back pay for Henry and his officers that was negatively affecting their public pensions, and seemed to be demanding his attention in exchange for her attention to budget matters. Resolute Law found that the mayor indeed did not have control over pension payments and had asked every department to propose cuts to their budget.

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(Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.)

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