Minneapolis Sen. Jeff Hayden draws DFL challenger

State Sen. Jeff Hayden, who represents a large swath of south Minneapolis in the Legislature, is facing a challenge from a fellow DFLer.

Mohamoud Hassan filed as a candidate on Tuesday.

In a phone interview, Hassan said he has heard complaints that Hayden is not accessible to his constituents.

"I don't see a connection with the community. He doesn't go to community meetings," Hassan said. "You have to connect with the community, with the neighborhoods."

Hayden rejected that assertion, saying the whole thrust of his legislative career has been as an advocate for the large population of economically distressed residents of his district. He said he doesn't know Hassan, but he welcomed the debate. "I welcome the challenge and I'm ready for the conversation," Hayden said.

Hassan, a Somali immigrant, said he moved to Minnesota in 1995. He said that he spent several years as a co-host and producer of the KFAI-FM radio program "Somali Voices" and that he is most known around Minneapolis by the nickname he acquired during that period: "BBC Hassan."

Hassan also said he worked for a time for the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota and volunteered for other Somali-oriented local causes.

In December, Hayden and his wife agreed to repay $2,750 to settle claims alleging that they personally benefited from the defunct nonprofit Community Action of Minneapolis. Hayden was a board member and his wife was a proxy. A state audit last year found that the organization had misspent at least $800,000 between 2011 and 2013; its former chief executive is facing federal criminal charges.

Hayden has denied all wrongdoing, and said Wednesday that he and his wife had repaid the money to put the matter behind them.

Hayden was elected to the state House in 2008 and the Senate in 2011. He is the deputy majority leader. Senate Republicans filed an ethics complaint against Hayden over the Community Action matter, but the Senate ethics committee deadlocked on the issue along party lines.

Senate District 62 leans heavily DFL and includes the neighborhoods of Central, Kingfield, Phillips, Powderhorn and Whittier. The Senate District 62 DFL website describes it as "Minnesota's most racially and ethnically diverse Senate district."