Mayoral candidates Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis), Jazz Hampton and Rev. DeWayne Davis joined the Minneapolis mayoral forum on small businesses at the Mosaic Venue.
They focused on stronger support for minority and women-owned businesses.
Current Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey did not attend.
Fateh, representing Southside Minneapolis and state senate Higher Education Committee chair, said Minneapolis has issues related to racial disparity.
“Our city is not doing too good,” Fateh said. “We’re one of the worst in the nation when it comes to racial disparities in business and education.”
Fateh pointed to the city’s disparity study, showing that while 35% of qualified firms were minority or woman-owned, only 13% received city contracts.
“Think about that, 13%. That’s heartbreaking,” Fateh said. “We’re hearing consistently that there are persistent barriers to access to capital, to insurance and delays in payments.”
Attorney and tech entrepreneur Jazz Hampton said the goal should be to create laws that protect businesses while supporting the underprivileged and underrepresented.
“It is lack of opportunity, not lack of experience or good ideas, that are the barrier in this moment,” Hampton said. “When we were trying to build our business, finding capital was incredibly difficult.”
Fateh said creating a fully-funded and staffed office dedicated to small business success could streamline how entrepreneurs access resources, funding and city support.
“We need a one-stop shop,” Fateh said.
Fateh’s proposed “real-time procurement equity dashboard” would make contract data available throughout the year, allowing the city and the public to track progress.
“Transparency isn’t something that’s just for the end of the year,” Fateh said. “If it’s March and we’re only a quarter of the way there, we need to ask what’s happening, and how can we change direction?”
Davis, a lead minister at the Plymouth Congregational Church, said small business owners struggle to reach the city for guidance and support.
“I just spoke to a business owner from the Longfellow neighborhood last night,” Davis said. “Her business is doing pretty well, but she cannot reach the city to talk about specific things.”
Despite court rulings and executive changes requiring neutrality, Davis said the city must still pursue clear goals around economic equity.
“Even if it isn’t explicitly a race or a quota, we still have to lean into our objectives,” Davis said.
Davis said Minneapolis must be very aggressive and proactive in its recruitment and outreach.
“There is nothing stopping the city from being aggressive in its recruitment of small businesses to participate in contracting and bid opportunities,” Davis said.
He said the city must engage with businesses to understand their needs.
“We should talk with businesses about what specific issues they’re facing and what the city should address,” Davis said. “I thought restaurant owners would mention safety, but the top concern was inspections [and] finding someone to talk to in the city.”
Hampton said the city attorney should ensure the contracting process is fair and transparent.
“The city’s attorney’s job is to ensure that we’re doing things by the book, and I believe we should trust and empower our city attorney to do the work,” Hampton said. “That includes our contracting process and what we ask general contractors to do with their subcontractors.”
He said tracking participation by underrepresented businesses is critical.
“I want to ensure we’re asking not only how many people and underrepresented businesses are being selected, but how many were interviewed and went through the process,” Hampton said.
Hampton said accountability and fair rotation in contracting are important for ensuring everyone has a chance to succeed.
“We want to understand the rotation of contractors, who they select time and time again,” Hampton said. “Nepotism and existing connections don’t make results better. Rotating and giving more organizations opportunities should be the expectation in the city.”
