A voter marks his ballot during the April 13 2021 special primary election for Mayor of Brooklyn Park. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
A voter marks his ballot during the April 13 2021 special primary election for Mayor of Brooklyn Park. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale

Lisa Jacobson, one of two candidates in the Brooklyn Park mayoral race, said Tuesday she will not be participating in the candidates’ forum slated for August 3, one week before the special election.

The forum, organized by Hmong TV, Insight News and Mshale, will be held at CCX Studios and streamed live on the Facebook pages of the three respective media houses. Al McFarlane, the editor-in-chief at Insight News will be the moderator.

Jacobson cited unfavorable coverage by Mshale towards her candidacy as her reason for refusing to participate. She previously accused Mshale of practicing what she called “bad journalism” in its coverage of the race.

Lisa Jacobson, one of two candidates in the August 10, 2021 special election for Mayor of Brooklyn Park has declined an invitation to participate in a August 3 candidates forum hosted by a consortium of minority owned and operated media.

More than 55 percent of the residents of Brooklyn Park are people of color, according to the U. S. Census Bureau.

This will be the second time since she entered the race that she is opting out of a forum organized by media owned and operated by people of color. She was one of two candidates that declined to participate in a primary candidates’ forum on March 23 that was hosted by Mshale and Beyond Media Solutions.

Jacobson came in second in the April 13 special primary election, booking herself a ticket to the August 10 special election as one of the two top vote getters behind the DFL endorsed Hollies Winston.

Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan made a rare visit to Brooklyn Park on Saturday to campaign for Winston during a fundraiser at the home of a local Democratic volunteer Jerry Gale.

The three media houses have confirmed the forum will proceed and will only feature Winston following the Jacobson decline.

How to watch

What: Brooklyn Park Mayoral Forum featuring Candidate Hollies Winston

When: Tuesday, August 3 @ 6:30 p.m.

Where: Live on Facebook on Hmong TV, Insight News and Mshale.

About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief

Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.

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