Mayor Jacob Frey’s election victory at the polls on Tuesday suggests Minneapolis voters opted for a known quantity in City Hall over the more progressive priorities promised by his lead challenger, Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed Omar Fateh.
Like it or not, Frey will find a known quantity in the City Council, too. Voters returned a progressive majority to power, setting up the possibility of continuing acrimony between the city’s executive and legislative branches.
“I’m humbled by the support and trust that the people of Minneapolis have placed in me,” Frey said in a statement Wednesday, promising to work for a city where residents “can build a brilliant life in an affordable home and a safe neighborhood.”
Conceding defeat, Fateh said the relatively close race had reframed public debate in Minnesota’s largest city.
“We have changed the narrative about what kind of city Minneapolis can be,” Fateh said. “Because now, truly affordable housing, workers’ rights, and public safety rooted in care are no longer side conversations; they are at the center of the narrative.”
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A mixed picture downballot complicated efforts by either side to claim a win for their version of events — though not for lack of trying.
Despite an overwhelming fundraising advantage, Frey-aligned groups unseated only one City Council progressive: Ward 7’s Katie Cashman, who was heavily outspent by Park Board member Elizabeth Shaffer.
Progressive stalwarts Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) and Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10) both easily retained their seats against well-funded challengers while Aurin Chowdhury (Ward 12) cruised to victory, barely challenged.
Frey-friendly candidates netted one seat for moderates in Ward 5, with Pearll Warren winning the vacancy left by progressive Jeremiah Ellison, but dropped an opportunity in Ward 8, where DSA-backed Soren Stevenson claimed the seat vacated by moderate Andrea Jenkins.
The Minneapolis Park Board shifted leftward after chaos at the DFL’s August nominating convention prevented some Frey-aligned candidates from earning the party nod.
Still, representatives from pro-Frey groups hailed the results as a vote of confidence in their leadership as the Trump administration looms as a threat to city operations.
Related: To win election in Minneapolis, mayoral candidates tout their influence outside of it
“I feel great about how things turned out,” said Jacob Hill, executive director of pro-Frey political action committee All of Minneapolis. “The mayor was reelected with a majority for the first time since RT Rybak. We held all our good council incumbents, won two open seats, and flipped a seat,” he said, referring to wins in Wards 5, 7 and 11, where Jamison Whiting won a seat vacated by Emily Koski.
“There is a lot of important work for Mayor Frey and the council to do in our city, and we’re confident that we’ve elected a better group of people to do it,” Hill added.
Progressives, meanwhile, lamented the infusion of capital from Frey’s supporters, many of whom live outside of Minneapolis, while congratulating their candidates and voters for holding their own.
“Jacob Frey didn’t win on his vision, nor his record of leadership. Instead he won on the strength of multiple million dollar PACs bankrolled by the same landlords and developers who profit from the deepening inequality in Minneapolis,” Chelsea McFarren, chair of the anti-Frey PAC Minneapolis for the Many, said in a statement.
“And yet, despite their best efforts, voters retained our strong progressive majority on the City Council,” McFarren added.
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Though prospects for Minneapolis to follow St. Paul on rent control appear dim in a third Frey term with fewer solid progressive votes on the City Council, housing advocates said Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai’s victory signaled the issue would not go away.
“We’re so glad to see that the people of Ward 10 went to the polls to fight back against corrupt landlords and financial interests who want to extract every possible penny from communities who have faced structural disadvantage for generations,” said Klyde Warren, IPG Tenant Union leader and member of Renters for Political Transformation.
Frey’s supporters claim he fights for the same communities in his work. At his election-night party in the St. Anthony Main neighborhood, some credited him with showing up in overlooked parts of north Minneapolis, for supporting production of deeply affordable housing and for taking a robust and comprehensive approach to public safety.
Howard Dotson, a north Minneapolis street medic active in city politics, said the Frey administration has dramatically improved emergency response times and eased access to the anti-overdose medication naloxone.
The difference is life-saving, he said, pointing to a 26% drop in overdoses statewide.
Frey “follows the data and he follows the facts,” Dotson said.
Brian Martucci is a Twin Cities-based freelance journalist covering the Twin Cities elections for MinnPost.
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