Star Tribune
Here’s what’s at stake in the Minneapolis City Council elections
The ballots are simple enough: Every Minneapolis voter will see only their local City Council race when they turn out to the polls.
But voters’ decisions in those 13 separate races will have a far-reaching impact, determining the dynamics of the next chapter in the city’s politics and setting the course for how Minneapolis will proceed with big issues like policing and homelessness. And while he’s not on the ballot, Mayor Jacob Frey’s standing — whether he faces a council that is friendly, combative or something in between — is up in the air as well.
Early voting began Friday. Election Day is Nov. 7. Here’s how to vote in the ranked-choice system, check your registration and see a sample ballot.
The 38 council candidates have crafted their messages, printers have printed ballots, and groups have made endorsements. While the politicking and fundraising continues, now the voters have their say.
Here are some things to consider.
Council coalitions
Even though each council member is an individual, coalitions form.
The current council is divided between a more progressive wing, a moderate wing — by comparison, as there are no Republicans on the council — and some members who swing between the two and often cast deciding votes.
The relatively moderate segment includes Council Members Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, Lisa Goodman, Emily Koski and Vice President Linea Palmisano.
Council President Andrea Jenkins and Council Members Jamal Osman and Andrew Johnson often provide swing votes — but frequently Jenkins and at least one other will side with the moderate wing, allowing them to hold sway.
The more progressive wing includes Council Members Elliott Payne, Robin Wonsley, Jeremiah Ellison, Jason Chavez and Aisha Chughtai.
That’s an oversimplification, but it’s useful in understanding how the council works.
It’s a delicate balance — and one that can easily be tipped in this election.
For example: Johnson and Goodman aren’t running for re-election, and Jenkins lost the DFL Party endorsement to challenger Soren Stevenson. Several incumbents face multiple challengers. That makes for an unpredictable situation under ranked-choice voting, where candidates can urge their voters to pick backups, potentially upsetting an incumbent who, at first glance, has the strongest support.
Policing, rent control, etc.
It’s nearly a given in DFL-dominated Minneapolis that the next City Council will be dominated by people who favor robust taxes for government services, a liberal social agenda, and support for historically marginalized groups.
But there’s spirited disagreement on how to approach several important issues facing the city. The balance of power on the council could steer one course over another on:
- Public safety: Major changes will be coming to the Minneapolis Police Department regardless of who’s in charge, thanks to a court-approved settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and an anticipated federal court-enforced consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. But how to get to those prescribed changes, how much to emphasize alternatives to policing and even whether to fund police requests, will be affected by who’s in charge. So could the debate on the future of the Third Precinct police station.
- Homelessness: It’s unclear that any approach to homelessness will solve the problem of people living outside — as public officials have been promising to do for decades. But the posture of how to approach homeless encampments is split: More progressive candidates have been critical of the city’s approach, accusing Frey’s administration of being too aggressive. There’s a lot of overlap in how the candidates want to tackle the problem long-term, such as increasing the supply of affordable housing. Much of the distinction lies in how much weight to give nearby residents’ concerns about encampments, and when, or whether, to clear them.
- Rent control: There’s a clear split between the most liberal candidates, who favor a strict 3% cap on rent increases, and the moderates, who range from cautious to hostile when it comes to supporting any rent control.
- Sidewalk shoveling: Another clear split. The more progressive candidates support spending taxpayer dollars to create an ambitious program to clear snow from miles of city sidewalks — perhaps all sidewalks citywide. Other candidates are less enthused and have seemed open to targeted pilot programs at most.
Balance of power
In 2021, Minneapolis voters approved a charter amendment that transformed the city government structure into a “strong mayor” system. But that doesn’t mean Frey, whose term continues through 2024, will govern from a position of strength.
Today, Frey usually gets his way on major issues the council takes up, although the margins are often thin. When he doesn’t, he has used his veto power — and has yet to be overridden by the current council.
But if the elections result in a council majority hostile to Frey, the two branches of government could end up at loggerheads, with the council frequently passing measures then vetoed by Frey, and the mayor facing a council that refuses to approve his spending priorities or confirm appointments of senior staff.
It might be a long shot for a nine-member, veto-proof, supermajority of full Frey foes to form from this election. But there are multiple scenarios where the next council is far more combative to the mayor than the current one.
Some candidates have made clear their opinions of the mayor, while others have remained relatively neutral.
For example, when asked by the Star Tribune whether “Frey is doing a good job,” Stevenson, who’s challenging Jenkins in one of the most closely watched races, responded, in part: “No. … The Mayor’s priority has been protecting the interests of corporations and the wealthy rather than improving the lives of the residents of Minneapolis.”
Jenkins answered avoided a straight yes or no, writing, in part, that Frey “is doing the best he can under tremendous pressure.”
‘Many’ vs. ‘All’
For further-left progressives hoping to win a seven-seat majority, there’s one easy way to see the math: combine the candidates endorsed by the Twin Cities chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America with a slate put forward by the group Minneapolis for the Many, which formed in August with the stated goal of electing a “progressive majority.”
The resulting seven are: Wonsley (the only candidate running unopposed), Ellison, Ward 7 candidate Katie Cashman, Stevenson, Chavez, Chughtai and Ward 12 candidate Aurin Chowdhury. That doesn’t include Payne, who is seeking re-election.
On the other side is All of Mpls, which calls for “collaborative leadership at City Hall,” and offers up its path to seven: Rainville, Vetaw, Ward 7 candidate Scott Graham, Jenkins, Koski, Ward 12 candidate Luther Ranheim and Palmisano.
Correction:
Previous version of the story had an incorrect last name for council candidate Soren Stevenson.
A judge acquitted a 37-year-old man of threatening to harm St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Maplewood Mall and concluded that the defendant’s intention was to buy the shopping center and run for mayor.
Andrew Thomas Grzywinski, of St. Paul, was found not guilty late Thursday afternoon by Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann on two counts of threats of violence.
The suspicion took root when Grzywinski sent a former girlfriend a text on Dec. 27, 2022, showing an assault-style gun on a window ledge, with a message that read, “Maplewood Mall is my idea, and Mayor of St. Paul is an end goal,” according to the charges filed in December 2022.
The woman alerted Woodbury police because Grzywinski was staying at a hotel in that city. A Woodbury police investigator said Grzywinski had been hospitalized Dec. 15-22, 2022, in Pensacola, Fla., “on a mental health hold,” the charges read, and a doctor there said Grzywinski’s threats should be taken seriously.
Woodbury police then notified their counterparts in Maplewood and St. Paul, leading to his arrest and charges.
In returning his verdicts in writing, Guthmann said, “The text message does not state or imply a threat to commit an act of violence. There is nothing expressly or impliedly threatening about the words ‘Maplewood is my idea,’ and the existence of a gun in the background of a panorama photo of a hotel room containing many other objects does not reasonably change the character of those words.”
The judge continued, “To conclude that defendant’s text was intended as an express or implied threat to the Maplewood Mall or anyone inside is entirely speculative and without support in the evidence.”
Guthmann’s filing noted that Grzywinski, who owns his own heating and cooling business, was not mulling or making any threats against the mall or the mayor but had been telling various people close to him that he wanted to buy the mall and run for mayor.
Star Tribune
Critics say Duluth judicial candidate fought improvements to domestic violence work as city attorney
Johnson said this week he felt a victim advocate position was important, but needed to “ask the hard questions” first.
“You have to be careful of what you take on,” he said, when potentially adding employees, considering potential future budget cuts. “I explore all options before jumping into something and that’s what we did with that position.”
After Holtberg’s phone call with Johnson, she said she sought advice from others and brought the opportunity and Johnson’s initial response to former Mayor Emily Larson. Larson confirmed this week that she then directed Johnson to apply for the grant. Funding was awarded to the city, and the position remains grant-funded today. Johnson said he doesn’t think Larson told him to apply, but said her administration was part of the discussion.
“We got it done, and we got it done in a way that’s stuck with the city,” he said. “Just because you ask hard questions doesn’t mean that it’s bad … that’s what I do, and as judge I’ll ask hard questions.”
Retired city prosecutor Mary Asmus said recently that Johnson told her at the time that if that position was added, he would probably need to dismiss someone from the office’s criminal division. This was at a time when criminal caseloads were high, she said. Johnson said he doesn’t recall saying that, but noted that grant funding isn’t guaranteed to last, inevitably affecting budgets and staffing.
“I don’t think he understood the importance of a victim services coordinator to the prosecution of a domestic violence case,” Asmus said, and “he was the first Duluth City Attorney in four decades who had never prosecuted criminal cases for our office.”
The DFL candidate for a Roseville seat in the Minnesota House is pushing back on allegations from his Republican opponent that he doesn’t live in the district he hopes to represent.
Curtis Johnson is currently a member of the Roseville Area Schools board. He has owned a home in Little Canada since 2017, according to Ramsey County property records.
In May he filed to run for the open seat in House District 40B, saying he lived in an apartment complex less than 3 miles from his Little Canada home. The district includes parts of Roseville and Shoreview and has been represented by DFLer Jamie Becker-Finn, who isn’t seeking re-election, since 2017.
In a statement, Johnson said he and his wife decided to move to Roseville last year, but they’ve struggled to find the right house. In the meantime, he’s been renting “a Roseville apartment as my primary residence while we keep searching for a forever home.”
“My wife and our youngest child still live in the house because we didn’t want to disrupt our child’s life by moving the rest of the family into my apartment and then moving them again after we found a house in Roseville,” Johnson’s statement said.
Wikstrom released an ad Oct. 15 that accused Johnson of lying about his residency, but he has not committed to making a legal challenge. A residency challenge would be decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
“My confidence level is high that we have a solid case he is not a resident of the district,” Wikstrom said in an interview. He noted that Johnson’s vehicle is often at the Little Canada home and a portable storage container appeared out front days after his political ad went online.
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