Though this year’s election process appeared disoriented, Election Day clearly revealed a new Minneapolis with new faces. Now that the campaigns are over, we should take a moment to realize where Minneapolis is going.
The new face of Ward 3
Ward 3 has a new City Council representative. With 61 percent of the vote, Jacob Frey unseated eight-year incumbent Diane Hofstede, the Minnesota Daily reported last Wednesday.
Frey is just one of seven new city council members unseating incumbents in their wards this election. Minneapolis voters have chosen new blood to represent them this election season, as increasing differences in ideas about development and how to move Minneapolis forward have emerged.
This election had a definite generational divide. Minneapolis voters looked to a future of new challenges and innovative development; so too is the new generation of leadership.
Though Frey lacks political experience, the Editorial Board endorsed him in part because of the energy he would bring to the council. Frey shows enthusiasm for actively engaging University students and innovating city processes for the benefit of Ward 3. We look forward to Frey’s continued involvement with the University community, perhaps by further strengthening the University District Alliance that Councilwoman Hofstede developed. To incite growth by rooting University students to Minneapolis, Frey should follow through with a plan to create an income-subsidization program for college graduates.
We hope Frey continues to support smart, sustainable development in Dinkytown and surrounding areas. Ward 3 needs to increase density but also maintain a strong local atmosphere in order to foster both profitable and responsible business. A moratorium on development in the business sector of Dinkytown, as Hofstede introduced, is neither necessary nor economically beneficial in preserving the area’s legacy. In looking to the future of Dinkytown, Frey should welcome developers who are interested in adding to the neighborhood rather than replacing successful infrastructure.
With such a broad array of constituents in Ward 3, we encourage Frey to seek greater student involvement in community development and projects as he works to foster lasting relationships with the ward’s diverse neighborhoods.
Issues in the DFL party
After Frey won the DFL endorsement, Hofstede still ran despite a promise during her campaign to do the contrary. This also happened in Ward 10, where incumbent Meg Tuthill kept running after the DFL endorsed challenger Lisa Bender. Tuthill had made a similar promise to Hofstede’s.
Clearly, there were disagreements between candidates of the same party as to the direction the DFL should take in Minneapolis and across the state. With ranked-choice voting still fairly new in Minneapolis, it is best that DFL candidates keep their promises and abide by endorsements for both ethical and practical reasons. Voters were overwhelmed by the number of choices in some races this year.
In the future, all candidates should make a greater effort to reach out to students and create a presence on campus. The Minnesota Student Association and the Minnesota Public Interested Research Group brought candidates on campus, though fairly late in the race. Student voter turnout is typically low, as was the case this year, but candidates could help influence this by addressing student issues and holding events on campus.
The new leader of Minneapolis
We now look to mayor-elect Hodges — Minneapolis’ second female mayor — as well as newly elected Council members to revitalize and foster diversity in the DFL and throughout the city.
Hodges was out-fundraised and didn’t get the huge endorsements her peers did, but Minneapolis found something else in the newly elected mayor. With a party facing a generational divide and problems even endorsing candidates, Hodges must form coalitions in the city and foster cooperation across diverse groups.
