Jazz Hampton: In a Minneapolis with deep divides, I can be a bridge-builder as mayor

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I still carry a coin from the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. It’s a Presidential Award of Excellence token I received for my work with the Army Corps of Engineers on the bridge project. The token reminds me daily of what’s possible when we choose to rebuild instead of remaining divided.

On Aug. 1, 2007, leaders, first responders and neighbors came together in response to tragedy. Together, we restored not just a bridge, but trust in the power of collaboration.

That experience taught me something lasting: Leadership isn’t about standing on the sidelines. It’s about stepping in, listening deeply and finding common ground when it feels impossible.

True leadership builds bridges between communities, between ideologies, between the urgent and the possible.

Eighteen years later, Minneapolis faces a different kind of fracture. The divides between neighbors, between residents and city government, between communities and police — these are the gaps we must close if we want a city that truly works for everyone.

TurnSignl was born out of bridge-building. To make it truly effective, we needed to bring communities of color and police to the same table. I met with police chiefs across the country, trained a national network of attorneys in de-escalation and built trust on both sides of the windshield. The goal remains simple: to help everyone, drivers and officers alike, get home safely. The result has been remarkable: more than 200,000 covered lives and a sustainable model built on accountability, with calls being answered across the country every day.

Through my work I’ve learned real progress means investing in people as much as in ideas. That principle guides my work at the University of St. Thomas teaching entrepreneurial finance: How to make smart, values-driven decisions with limited resources. I started teaching because I wanted more Black students to see themselves at the front of the classroom, leading and shaping the future of business and law. Bridge-building also means bench-building and creating pathways for the next generation of leaders to guide Minneapolis forward.

The same commitment to collaboration and impact has defined my work with Catholic Charities. As the housing crisis deepened and homelessness became an emergency, I didn’t just talk about solutions, I partnered with an organization with a long track record of compassionate, effective service. Together, we brought different parties to the table to address emergency homelessness through housing-first approaches with wraparound services.

Minneapolis stands at a crossroads. While our communities face urgent challenges — affordable housing, immigrant families torn apart, small businesses paralyzed with fear for their workforces — a deep divide exists between the mayor’s office and City Council that threatens any progress. Property taxes have risen as the City Auditor’s Office is defunded, unchecked police overtime has spurned wage theft investigations and our homelessness response team operates with just four employees.

I’m not part of the established political structure, and I see that as a strength. We need a mayor who has spent his career actually building bridges and finding solutions to create a city that will stand strong in the face of federal overreach and fiscal challenges.

This is our moment to rebuild Minneapolis — not as a city of divisions, but as a city of bridges strong enough to support everyone. On Nov. 4, we’ll choose the architect of that future together.