On Tuesday, May 27th Minneapolis for the Many, a group primarily funded by a PAC from Massachusetts, sent out the following email accusing 10th Ward Candidate Lydia Millard of claiming a vacant building in Ward 1 as her home. Millard responded, explaining she had purchased a home to provide housing for women leaving incarceration but that a pipe burst, and did substantial damage, making occupancy impossible. She is still working to get the home habitable and sell it. The 10th Ward Endorsing Convention is Saturday, so this email was calibrated to help Aisha Chughtai get endorsement, a candidate that Minneapolis for the Many supports.
The email from Minneapolis for the Many states:
“If Lydia Millard is a Ward 10 resident, why is she claiming a vacant home in Ward 1 as her primary residence on 2025 tax forms?
We recently obtained documents showing that while running for City Council in Ward 10, Lydia Millard is simultaneously claiming that her primary residence is at an address in Ward 1 which is providing her with a property tax break via a homestead exemption.
Millard registered to vote at her Ward 10 address in 2024, but continued to claim her primary residence was in Ward 1 on her property taxes. Millard paid property taxes earlier this year, continuing to claim the homestead exemption for the Ward 1 address in 2025.
Meanwhile, Lydia Millard’s Ward 1 house has fallen into disrepair. After Millard failed to respond to notices of multiple property violations, the City has begun the process of adding the property to the Vacant Building Registry.
There are significant penalties for any homeowner who falsifies state documents, as the Homestead Application makes clear, “Minnesota Statutes, section 609.41, states that anyone giving false information in order to avoid or reduce their tax obligations is subject to a fine of up to $3,000 and/or up to one year in prison.” Homeowners who leave a homesteaded property are required to notify the county within 30 days.”
Millard responded:
“Hello Ward 10 and beyond,
It has come to my attention that a PAC supporting my opponent has sent out an email about a house I own in NE Minneapolis. Of course, they did not share the complete story. In 2023 I bought a 100 year old home with the goal of living in one unit and renting out the rest of the house to women who have recently been released from prison. A lot of work needed to be done on the property first. I also had to complete a mountain of paper work to have the correct licenses. But the investment and work was worth it because my homeownership dream was to not only take care of myself, but provide a place for women with few other places to go.
All of that was drowned out by a burst pipe at the end of January 2024 just days before the first group of women were set to arrive. To say that this was a devastating event would be an understatement. I knew I would be fine as my apartment in Uptown was still available, but my whole focus went into taking care of the women who I had promised a home. To be honest, the tax status on the house has been the least of my concerns. The first priority was to rehouse my tenants. Then I began the long battle with the insurance company who denied the claim. This battle has been going on for over a year. I also had to close down my business and begin the process of selling a house that is uninhabitable.
While this conversation was started with the intention of damaging my campaign and deflecting from the many problems facing Ward 10 under its current leadership, I am grateful that it gives me the opportunity to highlight an issue I remain passionate about: the plight of recently incarcerated women. Nationwide, formerly incarcerated people are ten times more likely to be homeless than the general public — that number dramatically increases for women. When we talk about how we support those without housing, this is the kind of root cause problem-solving that we need more of. Instead of making it more difficult for people to take the leap and invest in housing for those who need it, we could instead support them and make it easier and less costly. As your next Ward 10 City Council Member I look forward to using this difficult experience to work with city, county, and state partners in the public and private sectors to not just talk about problems but solve them.
Policy Paper: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/housing.html
Anyone who has further concerns can reach out directly to me. I have no problems answering any of your questions. In fact, last week I spoke with a reporter from the Star Tribune who received a tip about this situation, and this morning I reached out asking them to publish the piece since it would be in everyone’s best interest to have the full story. However, after our conversation of last week the reporter decided not to write about it at all.
I remain focused and excited for our Ward 10 Convention this Saturday, May 31, in which I have the majority of the pledged delegates and look forward to sharing my vision of a more vibrant, more connected Ward 10. See you there!
Let’s move forward.
As Mpls for the Many stays busy turning this election season into something that could make even the hard core MAGAs blush, with anything goes, and their say and do anything tactics, as we see now in many of our wards, we still need to stay focused on the bigger issues.
It is more important than ever that our City Council acts responsibility with our money, with considerable constraint, especially since we are certain to come into even more lean times. The other big thing for me is requiring our CMs, ( our representatives) to support all of our employees and to demonstrate respect for their work, particularly those working in public safety.
Moved over from another piece..
“This opens up some wounds though, that are acutely felt a year later. I continue to be disheartened and even disgusted by some on our City Council, who continue to look for any way to blame the police, even as our employees work hard to try to do this massively difficult and dangerous job, AND even after one of ours, Officer Mitchell, is killed on the job.
How police critics on the Minneapolis City Council responded to a police officer%2��s killing
https://www.startribune.com/how-police-critics-on-the-minneapolis-city-council-responded-to-a-police-officers-killing/600371765?utm_source=gift_email
Statements made by CM Chughtai..
She added that the “violent loss of three people was traumatic for our community, and for many of our neighbors, the (law enforcement) response made it so much worse,”
** The DFL convention for Ward 10 is tomorrow, Saturday, May 31st. For so many reasons, CM Chughtai does NOT deserve to stay on the Council another four years.
I find this attack on candidate Millard by Mpls for the Many to be beyond the pale. Mpls for the Many is our city’s own Central Park Karen.
How is it beyond the pale to point out a candidate is claiming a homestead exemption (a tax break) for a residence they aren’t living in? If you run for office, people are going to try to find flaws. She could’ve easily avoided this line of attack by simply following the law.
Thank you for pointing out the very salient fact that Millard, the law-and-order candidate, is herself a lawbreaker.
She’s the preferred candidate for landlords – yes , the rent seekers of our economy. Also she’s proudly not labor endorsed. Tells me all I need to know about Millard.