Incumbent Ward 6 City Council Member Abdi Warsame took over 50 percent of the first-choice votes on Tuesday night, narrowly beating opponent Mohamud Noor, who took 47 percent.
The Ward 6 race saw record early voter turnout, with 4,015 ballots cast in the early voting period in a race between two advocates for the Somali community.
“[Warsame] will benefit the future… he’s done a lot,” said Yasmin Abdullahi at Warsame’s election party on Tuesday. “He’s a very hard worker and I support him.”
Abdullahi Warsame called the incumbent a “hero” at Tuesday’s election party.
“The other guy who’s running, he has lost six times,” he said. “He’s someone that we don’t trust for our future. He doesn’t know. He’s like a copycat.”
Ramlo Mohamed said she hopes Warsame develops a mall in the Somali community, an idea he’s been working toward recently.
“Abdi Warsame did a lot of great things for us,” Mohamed said at the Ward 6 council member’s election party. “He’s there for us whenever we need him.”
The heavily populated ward encompasses parts of Cedar-Riverside and the neighborhoods of Phillips West, Ventura Village, Elliot Park, Seward and Loring Heights.
Warsame was elected in 2013 as the first Somali-American to serve in a municipal office.
The incumbent’s goals for a second term include improving environmental regulations and strengthening relations between communities and police.
As of Oct. 26, Warsame raised $39,906.60 for his campaign and holds the DFL endorsement and endorsements from U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota and state Sens. Kari Dziedzic, DFL- Minneapolis and Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis.
Mohamud Noor is currently the executive director of the Confederation for Somali Community in Minneapolis. The candidate’s goals included increased access to home ownership and transforming the prison system.
Noor served as a Minneapolis School Board director in 2013. He ran as the DFL candidate for the state senate’s District 59 and ran twice for the state House of Representatives for Senate District 60B.
Noor was endorsed by state Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minneapolis, and Mayor Betsy Hodges.
As of Oct. 26, Noor had raised $23,472.60 in campaign funds.
