Patch Candidate Profile: AJ Awed For Minneapolis Mayor

MINNEAPOLIS — This fall, Minneapolis residents will vote in several important local elections. Among the offices on the ballot are the mayor and city council seats. Early voting in Minneapolis begins Friday.

AJ Awed is one of 17 candidates running for Minneapolis mayor in the Nov. 2 election.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

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Are you running for office in Minneapolis? Contact William Bornhoft at william.bornhoft@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

Age (as of Election Day): 30

Town of Residence: MARCY-HOLMES NEIGHBORHOOD

Position sought: Minneapolis Mayor

Party Affiliation: DFL

Family: Wife Salma and two beautiful sons - Layth and Hamza

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No

Education: A B.A. (UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA); JURIS DOCTORATE (MITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW - ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA)

Occupation: Executive Director at Cedar-Riverside Community Council (1 year) and Private Practice (4 years) as a Mediator.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: n/a

Campaign Website: WWW.AWED4MAYOR.ORG

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running for mayor because for too long we have been given broken promises by a leadership that has failed to uphold their campaign platforms, failed to provide safety, and failed to hold themselves accountable. This was not the ‘Fresh Start’ we were all promised. I want to be the mayor who leads, who brings the city and our communities together. Our city needs a strong mayor who will lead us forward and bring us the change we have been looking for - and the ‘Fresh Start’ we deserve.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The biggest issue facing our city is - public safety. Our law enforcement service must be founded in a comprehensive public safety approach and offer a form of law enforcement with policing services carried out by armed, licensed peace officers. The current Patrol and
Investigations Bureaus services must carry on even if the MPD is eliminated.

I have long advocated for the “koban” model of policing we see in Japan. In a neighborhood-centric “koban” model, officers are present in local neighborhood business centers and streets – much like the DID Ambassadors in downtown Minneapolis.

Unarmed “koban” officers would be more able to respond to minor emergencies, give directions, and otherwise interact with residents on a more intimate basis than would be the case for police services in Minneapolis – and could be responsible for homelessness, addiction, mental health, and neighborhood safety response.

Other services that must be offered in any new Public Safety agency must include Victim and Survivor services (to promote safety, healing, and justice for victims and survivors of crime by meeting their individualized needs, upholding victims’ rights, and enhancing community responses to harm); Violence Prevention services (using community-focused, public health approaches to help ensure that everyone can be free from violence to break the cycle of violence by preventing it before it begins; intervening at the first sign of risk, and championing healing after it happens).

As to how many police might be required, I would look to other cities the size of Minneapolis - like Kansas City (1,259 officers), Omaha (902), St. Louis (1,300) - and “right-size” the force.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Our current mayor is seen as the “safe candidate”. This perception is fueled by party and moderate establishments, business and development interests. These established interests have stated publicly and privately that the Mayor is the only candidate who will “not defund or abolish” the Minneapolis Police Department. However, this is not true. The efforts to defund the police have been met with voter backlash that this current Mayor has sustained, which provides little support to him actually upholding the promise to not defund or abolish the MPD.

I am the only candidate who has policies and a platform in place to uphold the statement that I will maintain the MPD. I am committed to increasing the public safety budget so more funding can be provided for the hiring and better training of socially conscious police officers, mental health services, and counselors to work alongside the police.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

The mayor failed our entire city, by not taking the bold steps necessary prior to the death of George Floyd to implement the necessary changes to the MPD. He absolutely failed in his duty to protect the city - his failure to request immediate emergency assistance from the Governor was inexcusable. His failure to be able to relieve the tensions in the city or to calm protestors is known to all. And his orders to relinquish control - and the subsequent destruction - of a Minneapolis Police Precinct is unforgivable. His failures cost residents and businesses of this city over half a billion dollars in damage. All of his outrageously poor decisions make him unfit to continue as the leader our city needs to heal and continue to meet this important civil rights moment in the city.

How do you think local officials are performing in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

In Minnesota over half a million residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, over 6,000 people have died and over 26,000 hospitalized.

The efforts of city staff, neighborhood organizations, and the collaboration of local health organizations has been amazing. I credit the leadership of the State and County - and our state legislator Rep. Noor - for working tirelessly! It was a remarkable experience to see what can happen when the City uses the great resources like the neighborhood - to get to those who need assistance and education.

As Executive Director at a neighborhood organization, we lead many of the vaccine outreach efforts to our neighbors - especially to our elderly and vulnerable. I was onsite for dozens of vaccination events in and around the community - encouraging everyone to get vaccinated.

It was amazing work for our great outreach teams, doing the hard-work on the ground to get our neighbors over to the community center for vaccination. But also for education. As an organization, we reached out to thousands over the course of this year to encourage them to mask-up, wash their hands frequently (which really is one of the best defenses against Covid), and socially distance themselves.

I would have built this capacity with the neighborhood organizations years before. It is clear that the city would have never been as successful as we all have been without the help and outreach of our local nonprofits and neighborhood organizations. Let's invest more in neighborhood infrastructure and their outreach capacities!

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

The current governing structure of the city will be on the ballot as “Question 1”. Our city’s government structure is a major issue facing the city. If adopted, it will ask voters if they want to define the role of the mayor as chief executive officer and define the role of the City Council as the legislative body.

This question was proposed after a series of interviews with city department heads and former elected officials. The “Government Structure Work Group” report summary (Dec. 15, 2020) explained in some detail that our city “lacks strong accountability, is overly complex, and highly inefficient”.

I cannot imagine any business being run the way our city government is - and I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a city employee or department head dealing with multiple “bosses”, all of whom could theoretically demand the exact opposite policy prescription.

When has “more cooks” or bosses ever made things “better”?
It is past time that the City Council agreed to a more purely legislative role in policymaking.

And it is well past time for the city to ban the City Council from purporting to direct or supervise any executive branch employee.

Let’s all support “Question 1” and the change to an “Executive Mayor” and a “Legislative Council”. We must have a single point of accountability within the city - and we can do this best through a strong, executive Mayoral office. Only then will residents of the city know exactly where the “buck stops”!

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My entire professional life is focused on service to the public. This campaign is fighting for a powerful set of policies that will reshape housing in our city, minimize inequality in city services, and reverse the negative impacts that growth has on our city neighborhoods. I was born in Somalia and came to this country when I was very young. I was taught at an early age the importance of hard work and self motivation. I am the product of parents who brought me and my siblings here for better opportunities, the product of public housing, public education, and a strong sense of community. I put myself through college and law school with a determination to do something more, be bigger than just one person. I have survived in this city as a Black man and in this country as an immigrant against systemic racial inequalities. I have seen what needs to be done and have been both harden and humbled by what this city has provided me with. When the odds were stacked against me, this city that I have had the privilege of calling home has given me safety opportunities to get to where I am today.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"Never get over learning. You should always be learning and keep learning."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

We can't just wait around for a 'Better Minneapolis'. It's time for us to bring everyone together - and act. Our campaign is fighting for a powerful set of policies that will reshape housing in our city, minimize inequality in city services, and reverse the negative impacts that growth has on our city neighborhoods. By advocating for new funding – we will lead in addressing our city’s housing and homeless needs – and do the hard work to ensure everyone can have a proper space to call ‘HOME’. AND WE’RE NOT STOPPING THERE. I have heard my neighbors and I will fight for: Renter protections – like putting limits on rental increases; A new model for public safety that embraces and prioritizes the well-being of everyone in the city; Local ‘Green New Deal’ incentives and small business support; A neighborhood supported and approved public park and memorial at ‘George Floyd Square’; and, (Re)Engagement with every Neighborhood in the city.