First candidate declares for southwest school seat

Former Chair Jill Davis likely will step down

By S Brandt

January 31, 2012 at 3:17PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Candidate Alex Phung
Candidate Alex Phung (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A week before precinct caucuses, Minneapolis school board elections are beginning to come into focus for the four seats to be filled in.2012 on what will become a nine-member board.

The first candidate has declared for a new southwest Minneapolis seat, and Alex Phung, 28, an attorney for Cargill, announced Monday that he's a candidate for the southwest seat. The district now covers most of the territory south of Lake Street and west of Interstate 35W, with redistricting pending.

Phung moved into the district in mid-2008. He is a Hopkins High School graduate and earned a degree in economics from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He's married to a Hopkins elementary school teacher.

His previous public involvement includes a two-year term on the city's Capital Long-range Improvement Committee and a shorter stint on the Minneapolis Arts Commission. He filed his campaign registration last Thursday, and said he's raised $5,000 through a network of acquaintances.

Three district seats will be filled this year, plus one city-wide seat, as the school board completes its transition from a body elected city-wide to one with three city-wide and six district seats. The three district seats to be filled all are on the city's west half.

Newly appointed board member Kim Ellison said she's still assessing whether to run for the North Side seat, or city-wide where incumbent Carla Bates is running. The last-name recognition Ellison gained through her husband Keith's successful runs for Congress would be an asset, and running city-wide potentially allows a second North Sider to sit on the board. But running for a district seat requires less shoe leather and money. The northern district lies north of Olson Hwy

Bates recently was endorsed by the Stonewall caucus of the DFL. The party's endorsing convention is schedule for May 19.

Meanwhile, Davis confirmed that she's "90 percent" certain that she'll not seek a second term. She chaired the board last year. Her father, longtime Minneapolis teacher and union activist Doug Davis, died Friday. The board post also poses time conflicts with her job as a social work supervisor.

There are no announced candidates in the district extending from the central riverfront to the Cedar-Isles area, although a city employee reportedly is considering a run.

Phung said he'd work collaboratively to rebuild trust in Minneapolis schools among young families, and will attempt to recruit outside partners to expand early childhood programs as a means of addressing the achievement gap.

about the writer

about the writer

S Brandt