Stand aside, Frey: Our multiracial, working-class community drives commonsense progress in Minneapolis

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America is at a reckoning, and mainstream politicians of all stripes are tripping over themselves to show their belly to Donald Trump’s totalitarian presidential administration that is attempting to throw us back into the dark ages. In stark contrast, the multiracial, working-class people of Minneapolis are fighting for a better future through commonsense policies that Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America is proud to support.

While much of the Democratic Party has made only empty gestures of resistance to Trump, Elon Musk and their billionaire buddies wrecking the federal government, the people of Minneapolis empowered our City Council to take real action to stand up for us and for our rights.

In 2023, Minneapolis voters elected a progressive City Council majority, including Twin Cities DSA-endorsed City Council Members Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai and Aurin Chowdhury. They won their elections because they championed a vision for Minneapolis that actually listened and responded to the needs of our communities. In the last 15 months, they have collaborated with their constituents to bring long-ignored issues to the forefront:

• Investing in the East Phillips neighborhood’s vision for the Roof Depot site.

• Working toward tangible solutions to shelter people experiencing homelessness, like Avivo Village, Emergency Housing Vouchers and the Agate shelter, in addition to raising the fees the city can impose on owners of vacant and hazardous buildings.

• Supporting Uber and Lyft drivers organizing for fair wages, resulting in statewide raises for 10,000 drivers just a year after Gov. Tim Walz vetoed the original bill.

• Passing a ceasefire resolution in January 2024 calling for an end to the genocide in Palestine.

• Reining in corporate landlords who are evicting our neighbors at record levels and who are pricing us out of our homes.

• Amplifying the voices of residents to other levels of government, carrying on the fight against the pollution of the air we breathe by the Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center (HERC) and other reckless industries, and supporting a reimagining of Interstate 94 through the proposed Twin Cities Boulevard, acknowledging the reality of climate change and the negative health impacts highways have on nearby communities. These issues concern some of the most densely populated parts of Minneapolis, while Hennepin County delays and the Minnesota Department of Transportation seems uninterested in seriously addressing climate change.

It’s thanks to the efforts of multiracial, working-class coalitions of everyday Minneapolitans that any of this happened, organizing for years to build broad support across the city. From door-knocks to town halls to uncounted meetings, Twin Cities DSA is proud to have been part of that organizing. All of these victories passed with supermajority or unanimous support by the City Council, demonstrating that the City Council can and does work together.

The same cannot be said of Mayor Jacob Frey.

He has attacked the City Council with a flurry of vetoes, racking up the most vetoes of any Minneapolis mayor in an attempt to crush community-building and the democratic process. He has vetoed popular resolutions such as fees for big polluters, and, in 2022, analysis of the impacts of removing encampments. He vetoed the 2025 city budget, putting basic city services and thousands of city employees’ jobs at risk.

The City Council has overridden Frey’s out-of-touch vetoes in each of those instances — no mean feat in Minneapolis’ strong-mayor system, which requires nine votes to override a veto.

Instead of encouraging progress, Frey blocks it. Instead of expressing compassion for unsheltered residents, he wields the Police Department as a hammer, violently destroying the only equipment they have to stay warm. For context, 119 people died while homeless in Minnesota in 2024.

From skyrocketing rents pricing families out of their homes to the ballooning MPD misconduct settlements bankrupting the city, Frey has zero solutions.

We need a city that will stand with residents against what is essentially a Trump-Musk administration. Frey, like the out-of-touch Democratic establishment he represents, has proven himself unwilling and unable to do the job. DSA-endorsed council members have taken their lead from the people of Minneapolis, not the big-money donors and corporate lobbyists funding Frey’s re-election campaign. Our community and Twin Cities DSA is laying a foundation for a strong Minneapolis that will withstand the reckless and catastrophic decisions made at the federal level.

If our vision for Minneapolis sounds like common sense to you, join Twin Cities DSA. We are your neighbors. Like you, we care deeply about improving the lives of everyone in our communities, and we are determined to build a better future for all of us.

Brooke Bartholomew and Revmira Beeby are co-chairs of Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America.