St. Paul human rights director steps down

The director of St. Paul's Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) resigned last week, paving the way for the sixth change in leadership in five years for the office, which handles duties ranging from contract compliance to labor standards.

Kristien Butler, who took over the department in spring 2021, sent a Nov. 30 email to colleagues saying he is stepping down to accept an assistant chief judge position with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings.

"I believe wholeheartedly in the mission of HREEO and what this department means to our community, and I have no doubt all of you will have no issues carrying on our critical work after my departure," Butler wrote.

The City Council is slated to appoint Andrea Ledger, the department's deputy director, as interim HREEO director while a search for Butler's permanent replacement gets underway in the new year. Kamal Baker, press secretary for Mayor Melvin Carter, said Deputy Director Beth Commers will co-lead the department during the transition period.

Carter's office declined to respond to questions about Butler's resignation and the high rate of turnover in the department's leadership. The chair of St. Paul's HREEO Commission, a civilian group that advises the department, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Since Carter first took office in 2018, HREEO has been led by five different directors or interim directors.

Former director Jessica Kingston in 2018 received a $250,000 settlement from the city in exchange for leaving the job, later telling the Star Tribune she repeatedly raised concerns that the Police Department was blocking investigations of officer misconduct.

In 2019, Carter named Valerie Jensen, a local diversity and inclusion consultant and adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, to the department's top job. She resigned a little more than a year later, in April 2021.

Butler, who had joined the city just two months earlier, was appointed interim director in the wake of Jensen's departure. Carter announced that Butler would permanently fill the role late last year.

The new director will oversee multiple divisions and be responsible for enforcement of the city's earned sick and safe time and minimum wage laws. They will also be responsible for staffing multiple civilian commissions, including the Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission, which investigates St. Paul police misconduct.