Politics & Government
Minneapolis Mayoral Race 2017: Meet The Candidates
The Nov. 7 municipal election will take place less than four months after the fatal police shooting of Justine Damond.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Police shootings, racial justice, and affordable housing are the dominant themes as the 2017 Minneapolis mayoral race approaches the finish line. The Nov. 7 municipal election will occur less than four months after the city made global headlines when a police officer fatally shot 40-year-old Australian woman Justine Damond.
Damond was killed July 15 in an alleyway behind West 51st Street and Washburn Avenue South in Minneapolis. She lived with her fiancé, Don Damond, 50, whom she planned to marry in August.
Despite a departmental policy requiring police to wear body cameras, the two officers involved hadn't turned theirs on. The police cruiser camera also has no record of what happened.
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It was later learned that the officer who shot Damond was responding to a possible assault she reported near her home minutes earlier.
The fallout from the shooting led to Police Chief Janeé Harteau’s resignation. Weeks after the shooting, Hodges' press conference announcing Assistant Chief Medaria Arradondo as the person to replace Harteau was interrupted by protesters calling for Hodges' own resignation.
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Hodges said she would not resign. She has since made police reform a pivotal part of her campaign.
On Monday, Minnesota Public Radio hosted a debate among the five leading candidates for mayor, including Nekima Levy-Pounds, Jacob Frey, Betsy Hodges, Raymond Dehn, and Tom Hoch. All five candidates are members of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Education: University of Southern California, University of Illinois College of Law
Work experience: Civil rights attorney, University of St. Thomas Law professor, co-owner of Black Pearl, LLC, a Minneapolis-based media consulting company
Political experience: Community Justice Project, The Minneapolis Foundation, President of NAACP-Minneapolis
Primary issues: Economic, environmental, and racial justice, raising the minimum wage, affordable housing, police reform
Key debate quote: "I am tired of reading studies that show that we are are the bottom in terms of the quality of life for people of color."
Education: College of William and Mary, Villanova University
Work experience: Civil rights attorney, Faegre & Benson, Halunen Law
Political experience: Current member of Minneapolis City Council, Third Ward
Primary issues: Closing achievement gap, affordable housing and homelessness, public safety and police reform, improved public transit, climate change.
Key debate quote: “We have an affordable housing crisis right now in our city.”
Betsy Hodges (Incumbent)
Education: Bryn Mawr College, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Work experience: Minnesota Justice Foundation
Political experience: Elected to Minneapolis City Council's Ward 13 in 2005, elected Mayor of Minneapolis in 2013
Primary issues: Reducing racial and economic disparities, affordable housing, police reform
Key debate quote: "Unlike the opponents of mine who are running at me from the right, I'm not willing to promise everybody everything."
Education: University of Minnesota
Work experience: Has worked for several design and architecture firms
Political experience: Past president of American Institute of Architecture Students, current Minnesota State Representative (District 59B)
Primary issues: Affordable housing, renters’ rights, climate change
Key debate quote: "I would propose that by 2030, all new buildings built in Minneapolis actually be net zero.”
Education: St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota, Hamline University School of Law
Work experience: Teacher, Minneapolis Public Schools
Political experience: Minneapolis Community Development Agency member, Deputy Executive Director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, Planned Parenthood board member, Board Chair of The Animal Humane Society
Primary issues: Economic vitality, education, public safety reform, affordable housing, property tax reform
Key debate quote: "I'll be the education mayor. Nothing's gonna get by me. I'll be focused on education every day, and every way, because it's just too important.”
What the entire debate below:
Helpful links
- For more information on the election, visit the city website.
- Moved recently? In Minnesota you, can register to vote online.
Image: Patch
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