Olson: Minnesota DFL was right to revoke Omar Fateh’s mayoral endorsement

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The Minnesota DFL Party finally made the fraught and correct decision this week to void the city DFL’s mayoral endorsement of democratic socialist state Sen. Omar Fateh.

Fateh had received the endorsement July 19 at a disorganized mess of a city convention that should be an embarrassment to all involved.

To those of us who live elsewhere in Minnesota, including St. Paul, the endorsement and ensuing nullification were yet another bizarre and inexplicable chapter in the weird leftist politics of Minneapolis.

Minneapolis is where we go for urban lakes, parks, arts and to see games with the Gophers, Minnesota Vikings, Timberwolves, Twins and Lynx. But at the State Capitol, the city’s not easy to love.

There’s a decades-long history of condescending leftist politicians from Minneapolis who don’t endear themselves to more moderate DFLers and Republican colleagues from the rest of the state.

The fight over the mayoral endorsement, however, wasn’t fair. It’s disappointing and, I would argue, disqualifying that Fateh’s camp is unwilling to admit the need for a correction.

In the hours after the state party’s announcement, Fateh supporters, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, willingly overlooked a raft of irregularities, inconsistencies and the inexcusable undercount of 176 votes on the first ballot that saw candidate DeWayne Davis dropped prematurely.

With 103 challenges filed to the state DFL about the city’s endorsing convention, including by longtime Minneapolis resident and former state party Chairman Mike Erlandson, the state party had no choice but to overturn the result.

In a DFL-run city like Minneapolis, the party endorsement is significant, because it gives the winner access to party lists and a clear advantage.

The state DFL’s Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee found the first ballot dropping of Davis to be fatal to the whole process.

That wasn’t the end of it.

Those in charge at the city convention couldn’t figure out the best way to count ballots and toggled between electronic and paper versions before settling on a late-in-the-day show of hands to decisively confer the endorsement on Fateh as the clock ran out on the rental contract at Target Center and Frey supporters had left the building.

Why aren’t Fateh supporters more upset about the treatment of Davis or curious about bizarre balloting switches? I assume it’s because their candidate prevailed and the ends overcome the means.

For nearly a decade now, we’ve watched in horror as the current Republican president and his enablers imperil and undermine faith in the integrity of elections throughout the country.

The DFLers who have loudly challenged and opposed the president cannot simply look away when an inept-at-best and corrupt-at-worst process in Minneapolis suits their needs.

This isn’t about personalities or factional control of the DFL; it’s about process and the integrity in the state’s largest city.

It’s stunning, but maybe not surprising, that Fateh wouldn’t want better for himself and supporters.

His short five-year political career has been replete with controversy dating to his DFL endorsement and election to the state Senate in 2020. A number of ethical questions have swirled around his public career and outweigh any accomplishments.

It’s disappointing that Fateh again refuses to acknowledge what is clear: He was willing to accept advantage through questionable means and unwilling to correct course.

Instead, he and his supporters are outraged and tearing down fellow DFLers, blaming monied interests.

Omar and other city, Hennepin County and state officials issued a statement of condemnation, saying the decision “will be a stain on our party for years to come.”

So, too, will this statement be a stain on Omar et al. for their unwillingness to stand up for a fair endorsement process.

In his statement, Frey said he’s eager to have a “full and honest debate” with Fateh about the city’s future, “with the outcome now resting squarely where it should — with all the people of Minneapolis.”

We’ve not heard anything similarly conciliatory from Fateh, and I wouldn’t bet on it happening. Regardless, that’s where the focus should now turn: to a debate about the future of Minneapolis.

Frey has an eight-year record to consider. Fateh’s record is slimmer and his intentions less clear.