My Minneapolis Check Boxes: What I am looking for in candidates for this fall’s Municipal Election

I am not a political pundit and have no political experience beyond being a reliable (although often uninformed) voter. I started a blog last year during the presidential election as a way to educate myself to have an informed opinion. By posting on Substack, I hoped to get some engagement, especially from people who disagree with me.

I recently shifted my focus from national politics to Minneapolis politics, having nothing original to say about the national scene. You can have a greater influence on local politics, and local politics has a more significant impact on you. My current priority is to learn about the candidates for this fall’s Minneapolis Municipal Election, which includes the Mayor, the City Council (Ward 7 is my ward and focus), the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB), and the Board of Estimate & Taxation (BET). My goal is to become a more informed voter, and if my writing helps others become more informed, great.

Minneapolis is a blue city – all the elected officials are shades of Democrats – Republicans need not apply – LOL. The Democratic Party in Minnesota calls itself the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor). All City elected offices are formally nonpartisan; however, the mayoral and city council candidates are allowed to list their party on the ballot (even if they are not endorsed officially). MPRB and BET candidates do not list their party on the ballot.

Given that most candidates identify as DFL, it is not obvious from that label what they stand for. For example, the two Mayoral candidates likely get the most votes (fifteen candidates have filed), one is very left/DSA (Omar Fateh) and one is left of center (Jacob Frey) – both identify as DFL. Several candidates for other offices are DSA-endorsed.

I am an old white-guy homeowner, which influences my politics, left of center, but by Minneapolis standards, practically a Republican. Approaching this fall’s Minneapolis Municipal Election, these are my priorities:

• Public Safety – I like where Minneapolis is going with augmenting traditional police officers with Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) specialists. I sense that we need to increase staffing for both police officers and BCR. I expect the Mayor and City Council members to be honest about crime (they tend to underestimate it). Crime in cities is inevitable, but we can’t tolerate out-of-control lawlessness. I want our leaders to recruit an appropriate number of officers and BCR specialists to be able to meet our city’s needs (more than we have now). I want the police officers to be true believers in protecting and serving. I want the Mayor and City Council to be advocates for the police and BCR. We also need to focus on youth – productively busy youth are less likely to be drawn into crime.
• Affordability – this is a broad topic that includes housing, homelessness, and living wages. On the housing front, I want to see focus on not just low-income housing, but middle-income housing, and advocate for more home ownership in the city (we need to move from 48% home ownership to something closer to the Twin Cities metro average of 70%). I believe rent control is counterproductive, so that is a red flag for me in candidates. We need to be pro-business to bring more good jobs to Minneapolis.
• Reducing vacant commercial property is a priority for me, as Uptown is close to my heart, and its revitalization needs to be a priority for my Ward 7 Council Member and the Mayor. Downtown is also a priority. We need to be pro-business to revitalize vacant commercial property. Still, it will also take some unconventional thinking, as I believe brick and mortar retail is on the decline and remote working is here to stay. Stabilizing commercial real estate values to reduce the tax burden on homeowners is a priority, too.
• Collaboration – I want my elected officials to know how to work well with others, not only across the political spectrum, but across agencies and various governing bodies (City Council, Mayor’s office, Park Board, School Board, County, Met Council, State, etc.).
• Focus on Minneapolis – In 2024, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution (that was vetoed by the Mayor and then that veto was overridden by the Council) calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, and the release of hostages on both sides. The City Council has no business weighing in on international and, in many cases, national politics. This kind of stuff is performative and divisive. City elected officials need to stick to their knitting.
• Youth – Although the Minneapolis public schools are their own governmental entity and the School Board is not part of this fall’s Municipal election, helping young people to be successful needs to be a priority for all Municipal elected officials. Governing bodies like the MPRB already have specific programs focused on youth that need to be preserved, enhanced, and expanded.
• Reduce the influence of DSA politics – The Twin City Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has become a significant voice in Minneapolis politics. DSA deserves a voice in Minneapolis, but I believe its influence today outweighs its actual support from the citizens of Minneapolis. To their credit, DSA has out-organized the traditional DFL. I am for workers and against racism and other forms of oppression, but I am not anti-capitalist (DSA equates capitalism with oppression). I believe that ethical and democratic capitalism is the best system to lift all boats.

The bullet points above will be what I am looking for in candidates for Mayor, the City Council, the MPRB, and the BET this fall. I assume I will update this post as I learn more.

Jim Welby and his wife have lived within a 10-mile radius of downtown Minneapolis for all of their lives and are current homeowners in Ward 7. He retired from a career in financial services. His passions include listening to music (live and recorded), politics, good food, and drink.  He has a political blog on Substack and a music blog.  He loves Minneapolis and is a daily user of its parks.

This article originally appeared in Catchgroove Gets Political