aThe achievement of the nation’s first all-woman city council of a major city was accomplished when four councilors decided to leave office in 2023, leaving three incumbent women — Jalali, Noecker and Yang — in office. As the four newcomers solidified their campaigns, they joined forces with one another and with the incumbents, and they campaigned together with the goal of achieving an all-woman council.

While the creation of an all-woman council has been widely celebrated, some people are less excited about the development. Newsweek reported that conservatives on social media have already started criticizing the councilmembers as being chosen for diversity’s sake, continuing a popular right-wing talking point that attempts to frame diversity as somehow at odds with competency or qualification.

The city council has a full agenda to tackle this year, focusing on rent control and housing as well as issues such as child care and a ban on smoking marijuana in public parks. The council will also dialogue with they city’s reparations committee. New councilmember Anika Bowie has stated that the reparations effort is one of her top agenda items, according to Pioneer Press. Bowie and the other councilmembers will bring a variety of backgrounds and perspectives with them as they tackle these issues.

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