Where Minneapolis mayoral candidates stand on key issues

Minneapolis voters will either pick a new mayor or rehire their current one for a four-year term Tuesday.

Out of 15 candidates, four have emerged as top contenders in the race: Mayor Jacob Frey, who is seeking a third term; state Sen. Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist; the Rev. DeWayne Davis, former lead minister at Plymouth Congregational Church; and Jazz Hampton, an attorney and business owner. All are members of the DFL Party, but their ideas for addressing the biggest challenges facing Minneapolis illustrate the divide between the party’s left and moderate wings.

Though it remains the city’s economic heart, downtown Minneapolis has a slowing pulse as it struggles with lower demand for its retail and office space post-pandemic. Workers are coming back, but downtown remains a shadow of its former self.

All four leading candidates support making downtown more of a mixed-use destination and bringing more housing and other attractions in to complement the offices.

They differ somewhat in how they say they would do that as mayor.

Davis wants to create smaller spaces for lease, convert commercial spaces into residential or entertainment spaces and offer tax incentives for small and medium-sized businesses to grow.

Fateh’s campaign has emphasized the city’s need to use tools like the Vibrant Storefronts initiative, which subsidizes rent for artist organizations leasing vacant storefronts. He says he would meet regularly with the Downtown Council and partner with owners of vacant and underused spaces.

In a recent debate, Hampton emphasized the need for walkable neighborhoods. He sees bureaucratic permitting and inspections processes as the biggest barriers to luring business downtown, and he has said he wants to see more connections among the city’s neighborhoods.

Tensions over public safety have been central to Minneapolis politics, especially since George Floyd’s murder in 2020. More recently, the city has faced several mass shootings, though overall, crime is down since a pandemic-era spike.

Frey has strongly supported Police Chief Brian O’Hara, saying he’s proud to have recruited him despite some controversies, including a botched response to a neighborhood dispute that culminated in a shooting and signing off on the hiring of a Virginia officer who had been involved in a use-of-force controversy.

Davis and Hampton have indicated willingness to reappoint O’Hara. But Fateh wouldn’t commit, saying it’d be irresponsible to decide before the election. He has denied supporting defunding police, though his 2020 campaign materials included an image of City Council members with a “defund police” sign. He supported dismantling the police department to create an overhauled public safety department. During his mayoral campaign, Fateh has softened his rhetoric on policing.

Davis, who co-chaired a citizen-led community safety group, has emphasized the need for culture change within the city’s police department. Hampton has said the city should hire more officers to meet the city’s charter-mandated minimum number, but also hire more staffers to handle nonemergency and mental health calls.

Fateh has said he would bring his work in building relationships as a state senator to City Hall. He has suggested Frey is responsible for a “toxic” work environment at City Hall, characterizing the mayor’s vetoes and posture toward the council as blocking creative solutions to the city’s problems.

Davis said he would hold town halls with each of the 13 council members and not allow policy disagreements to become personal. Hampton said he would include the council early in discussions in order to build policy together.

Unsheltered homelessness — people staying outside or in cars or encampments — has fallen since a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remains a visible problem.

Davis wants to beef up the city’s homelessness response team and move it out of regulatory services and into the health department to get people housed before the camps grow larger. He said the city needs more shelter beds and more partnerships with developers to build affordable housing.

Fateh advocates for safe outdoors spaces, which would legalize and regulate encampments. He is the only candidate among the four to fully support rent control, with some exemptions and incentives for landlords to keep rent low.

Hampton advocates for a larger Homelessness Response Team to address the issue and calls for a more proactive approach, coordinating with other local government agencies and partners to offer care for mental health and addiction issues.

Also on the ballot for mayor are: Kevin Dwire, Charlie McCloud, Xavier Pauke, Troy A. Peterson, Andrea Revel, Alejandro Richardson, Brenda Short, Adam Terzich, Laverne Turner, Jeffrey Alan Wagner and Kevin Ward. Minneapolis voters can rank up to three candidates.