Readers Write: Twin Cities mayoral elections

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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These are the qualities I’m looking for in a mayor, ranked. That he loves, obeys and is humble before God (whether he’s Jewish, Christian or Muslim). That he loves people, and has courtesy and kindness, is truthful, trustworthy and honest, and has integrity. That he listens to people who disagree with him and adopts their good ideas for the city. That he finds joy in selflessly serving others. Being brilliant and having experience would only be icing on the cake.

I worry that three candidates forming a voting bloc for ranked-choice voting will circumvent the will of the people, will be a form of cheating and will elect us a mayor the majority of us do not want. Just forming a voting bloc to give yourself an unfair advantage feels like dishonesty and a lack of integrity to me. In the past 10 years I’ve seen means to cheat an election put into practice in ways I could not possibly have imagined, so I value integrity and fair play a great deal. Let the will of the majority of the people prevail.

Susan Frenzel, Minneapolis

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The people living outside in Minneapolis are not the problem. They are the result of a city that has failed to connect people to housing or manage public health responsibly.

I saw it firsthand. When unhoused residents sought safety on my property near 28th Avenue S. and Lake Street, I asked the city for sanitation services. Officials refused, so I provided bathrooms and hand-washing stations myself. The city removed them, then later sued me for “lack of hygiene.” They eliminated the solution, then blamed me for the problem.

Since taking office for this term, Mayor Jacob Frey’s administration has spent between $5.5 and $7 million on enforcement and cleanups. That same amount could have housed nearly every person now sleeping outside.

Closing encampments should mean connecting people to housing, not chasing them from one block to the next. Minneapolis can do better for everyone: the unhoused and the business owners trying to keep this city alive. I urge Minneapolis voters to elect a new mayor.

Hamoudi Sabri, Edina

The writer is a Minneapolis investor and developer.

With the Minneapolis mayoral election next week, there needs to be a reminder that there will be more than four candidates on the ballot. In fact, there will be 15 candidates altogether on the ballot. What that means is who wins the election likely depends on how many voters vote for one of the other eleven candidates as their first choice, and who they choose for their second choice and third choice given the use of ranked-choice voting, as it could tilt the election to one candidate or another even if the voter chooses only minor candidates as their three choices. So for those who think only people who vote for the main four candidates as their picks will be the deciding votes in this election, I would say “think again.”

William Cory Labovitch, West St. Paul

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Given the coverage and discussion of the “Don’t Rank Frey” movement, I’d suggest that folks take time to learn about DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton, rather than assuming they are equivalent to Omar Fateh. I’ve spoken at length with both of them and they are collaborative, thoughtful and deeply invested in Minneapolis. Their approaches to and experiences in leadership are vastly different from the adversarial style we’ve seen from both Frey and Fateh. Davis was asked by Frey to co-chair the city’s Community Safety Working Group after George Floyd’s murder. The task force included 20-plus folks ranging from “defund the police” to public safety practitioners themselves to city staff and that group ended up with recommendations that all members agreed to. Imagine that!

It makes sense that those running against the incumbent Frey think he’s not the right person to continue leading our city and would encourage folks not to rank him. But that doesn’t mean that those candidates challenging Frey are interchangeable.

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Davis and Hampton may present themselves as a breath of fresh air, but their hard-bitten political tactic running aligned with Omar Fateh says otherwise. They both disagree with Fateh on key issues like rent control, which only he supports, and the importance of rebuilding the sworn strength of our police department, which they espouse but Fateh, as a past police-defunder does not. Despite these crucial differences they campaign and fundraise together, and urge Minneapolis voters to rank him along with themselves. As a longtime participant in political and civic affairs, in my view those are the actions of candidates who will say and do anything to be elected. They are misleading us and cheapening their own campaigns. Most importantly, Davis and Hampton demonstrate a naiveté about what voters will swallow, a leadership quality most definitely not needed in the mayor’s office. I will be ranking neither. Jacob Frey has my vote.

Steve Cramer, Minneapolis

The writer is a former Ward 11 Minneapolis City Council member.

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As the voters of Minneapolis are getting ready to cast their votes for members of the council, they may want to know that defunding the police is still on the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform. Will they consider this fact when voting for candidates that are endorsed by the DSA?

And, yes, crime in Minneapolis does affect the suburbs.

Hanna Hill, Plymouth

The Oct. 25 article about the St. Paul mayoral race (“St. Paul has a competitive mayoral election. Why has it been so sleepy?”) seems to imply we could benefit from some drama of the sort coming out Minneapolis. We don’t need drama over here. What we need is a leader who can get stuff done. That would be Kaohly Vang Her.

Melvin Carter has served two terms and has been an affable presence in city hall, but much of what St. Paul needs most urgently in the way of leadership has been lacking: The downtown is all but moribund, our neighborhood commercial districts are struggling with empty retail space and increased crime, rising property taxes have made our neighborhoods unaffordable to many families, and much wasted breath has been spent over a costly push for a major remake of Summit Avenue whereas simple improvement in paving could go a long way toward solving the hazards faced by bicyclists. Despite these problems and the city’s rising property tax bill, Carter has directed city dollars for social services that lie beyond the city’s charter and rightly fall to the county or state.

Her has the energy, professional background, passion and experience to be the highly effective leader for this moment in St. Paul. The time to pass the torch is now.

Peter C. Brown, St. Paul

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One can be a cheerleader and a proven leader for the community values of St. Paul. Protecting the city from federal attacks, decreasing violent crime — including gun violence, supporting youth programs and gaining downtown investment is what we have in our current mayor, Carter. Leaping forward is what this mayor is all about.