BY ED FELIEN
The city DFL will be holding precinct caucuses on April 4. Anyone who cares about this city and their community should attend. The caucuses will elect delegates who will endorse a candidate to represent their community on the City Council at a ward endorsing convention on either Saturday, April 29, or Saturday, May 6.
In the Phillips/Powderhorn area, only the 8th Ward will be holding its convention on April 29. It’s a crowded field contesting for Elizabeth Glidden’s open seat. Glidden was a steady and very serious progressive voice on the City Council. Four years ago she ran for Council president and was supported by other progressive South Minneapolis City Council members, but she was defeated by Barbara Johnson from the Northside Machine with help from John Quincy from the 11th Ward.
Andrea Jenkins has to be considered the early favorite in this race. She’s a nationally recognized transgender spokesperson and writer. She was the aide to Glidden and spent 12 years working for the City Council, so she clearly goes into this race knowing the job requirements.
Ward 6 endorsing convention will be May 6. This looks like a sleeper. Incumbent City Council Member Abdi Warsame doesn’t have an opponent at this point. Three years ago, newly elected Representative Ilhan Omar was attacked at a DFL convention by Warsame’s aide, in a very public political fight, when Omar was an aide to Council Member Andrew Johnson. Last year Warsame supported Omar’s opponent in the race she won. Warsame wrote an op-ed piece for the Star Tribune after the election saying he supported Omar. Maybe peace between the two factions has finally broken out. Warsame has great political strength in the Somali community because he was a resident manager for the Cedar Riverside housing complex. That’s commonly the first thing people in Somalia learn about America. It’s their Ellis Island. Omar has strength in the Bernie/progressive wing of the DFL. Warsame voted for Barb Johnson for president of the Council and has generally supported her conservative agenda. Warsame voted to block the referendums on police accountability and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The 9th Ward convention on May 6 could be very exciting. Incumbent Alondra Cano is being challenged by Mohamed Farah. We asked both candidates to write a short biography for Southside Pride. Farah did not return our email.
Alondra Cano wrote:
“I’m the daughter of undocumented immigrants and meatpacking factory workers. I have lived and worked on the southside since 2002. All three of my boys were born at home in the Phillips neighborhood. I’m a renter, a single mother, and a proud social justice fighter. I have stood up against the forces of gentrification and uplifted artists in our community to make sure that dance is always a part of our revolution. In 2017, I want to keep working with you to ensure that Minneapolis always has a powerful voice for justice.”
Delegates to the ward conventions will automatically be delegates to the city convention on June 24. Delegates will endorse candidates for mayor, park board and the Board of Estimate and Taxation.
There was a brief flurry of excitement when Steve Brandt, the newly retired popular local columnist for the Star Tribune, announced he would be running for the seat on BET that Wheeler was vacating, but then Wheeler decided not to vacate, and Brandt’s many fans wept in sorrow.
Scott Vreeland has not announced yet whether he’ll seek re-election to his seat on the park board from District 3. Scott is perhaps the most dedicated public servant I’ve dealt with in 20 years. He listens. He cares. He acts.
The race for mayor is getting interesting.
Hodges is getting a late start. She’s running way behind Jacob Frey in fundraising, and Frey won’t even announce he’s running until Jan. 3 (too late for our publication). Southside Pride has been very critical of police conduct in the homicides of Terrance Franklin and Jamar Clark. We believe the police acted in a racist and irresponsible way that resulted in the deaths of two young black men, and the mayor and the chief of police have not held those officers accountable.
Hodges is being challenged by Nekima Levy-Pounds, the former president of NAACP, former law professor at St. Thomas and a leader in Black Lives Matter in Minneapolis.
Hodges is also being challenged by Raymond Dehn, a state representative from North Minneapolis. We asked all three candidates if they wanted to write something for this edition. Dehn was the only one who responded:
“I grew up with little opportunity, experienced the justice system from the inside, struggled to find my way—and received an opportunity to chart a new direction for my life. You deserve a mayor who listens and looks you in the eye when it’s not easy or comfortable to do so. This is the mayor I will be for you. Our best days are ahead of us, so long as we work together to build the brighter future that we all deserve. Visit raymonddehn.org to learn more about my values and vision for building a city that works for everyone.”
People who go to their precinct caucuses April 4 and get elected delegates will have the power to shape the direction of their communities and their city for the next four years.
The more people who show up, the louder the voice, the stronger we all are.
