Melvin Carter

Melvin Whitfield Carter III is an American politician who was the 55th mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Elected to his first term in 2017 and reelected in 2021, Carter was St. Paul's first African American mayor. His mayoralty ended on January 2, 2026. Carter supported raising the city's minimum wage to $15 per hour. He is one of 11 U.S. mayors who co-founded Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity, a coalition of municipal leaders dedicated to starting pilot reparations programs in their cities.