Stephanie Woodruff, a software executive and member of the city's audit committee, is running for mayor.
Woodruff, a DFLer who is not seeking the party's endorsement, announced her bid for City Hall's top spot in a postcard to supporters. She is is hosting a "Woodruff for Minneapolis Mayor" kickoff party on June 21, weeks after the DFL convention.
The 48-year-old is currently the chief revenue officer at AverQ, Inc., a California-based company that provides auditing technology for companies and government entities. She has held several other jobs in an auditing capacity.
She will be the seventh DFL candidate in the race, but the only one not seeking the party endorsement.
Woodruff's website, according to the postcard, is woodruffmplsmayor.com. It is not yet up and running, however.
"People get started very early because they feel the need to court the special interests that control the DFL process," Woodruff said in an e-mail. "We are talking about spending hundreds of hours and thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to influence self-appointed special interest folks who number in the twenties."
Mayor R.T. Rybak appointed her to the city's audit committee, a citizens-politician panel that sets the agenda of the city's auditor. She has been critical of the city's lack of investment in the office, which now has only one full-time employee.
"We are one of the lowest in terms of comparable cities. And … that puts us at risk," Woodruff said last month.
