FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2022
Contact: Director of Council Operations Brynn Hausz, 651-266-8575
Sasha Cotton and Kathy Lantry to lead Saint Paul Police Chief Examining Committee
SAINT PAUL (MN) – Today, the Saint Paul City Council announces Kathy Lantry and Sasha Cotton as co-chairs of the Police Chief Examining Committee.
Sasha Cotton is a lifelong Saint Paul resident with deep ties to the Rondo/Summit-University Neighborhood. She is currently the Director of the Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention (Minneapolis OVP). The Minneapolis OVP is responsible for coordinating violence prevention initiatives across the city and engaging with communities throughout Minneapolis to better address safety issues using a public health approach. Cotton’s work experience also includes positions at the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community at the University of Minnesota, Violence Free Minnesota - the state’s domestic violence coalition and various roles in the juvenile justice system. She is currently representing Minnesota on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and is the Vice President of the African American Leadership Council.
Kathy Lantry represented Ward 7 on the Saint Paul City Council for almost 18 years. In the last 11 of those years, she served as City Council President. In March of 2015, Lantry was appointed by Mayor Chris Coleman to serve as the director of Public Works. After his election, Mayor Carter asked her to stay on in that position which she held until her retirement in March of 2020. Lantry is a lifelong East Sider where she lives with her husband. Both of her sons and their wives live in Saint Paul. She has 3 grandchildren.
The Council anticipates appointing the remaining committee members later this April. Lantry and Cotton will lead the committee’s work to ultimately recommend five candidates to the Mayor from the pool of applicants once the position has been posted for 30 days by the City’s Human Resources department. The Mayor will appoint the next Chief of Police from those five recommended candidates.
To learn more about the work of the Committee please visit www.stpaul.gov/department/city-council#saint-paul-chief-of-police-vacancy. The City Council establishes the Committee pursuant to section 12.12 of the City Charter.
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