When St. Paul’s new City Council was sworn in yesterday, all of its seats were filled by women for the first time in the city’s 170-year history. St. Paul just might be the largest American city to ever elect an all-female council or legislative body. Via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

“I think we’ve been writing this story for a while,” Hwa Jeong Kim said after winning election to the council in November. “To place yourself in the middle of this timeline, it feels very historic.”

Like her six colleagues, Kim has a list of several women elected to office who served as her mentors. And those women also credit female leaders for wisdom and guidance.

“There are people that have come before us that have envisioned this happening in some regard and have been investing in the change around women running for office,” Kim said. “They’ve been speaking it into existence years before a squad of ladies decided to run together.”