State Sen. Omar Fateh hosted his mayoral campaign kick-off event at the Brian Coyle community center on Saturday, less than two weeks after he announced he is running. Enthusiastic local residents packed the center’s gym along with community elders and local politicians to show their support for Fateh’s run to challenge incumbent mayor Jacob Frey.
If elected in November, he will be the first Black man to be mayor of Minneapolis.
Mayor Jacob Frey, and all 13 council members, are up for reelection in 2025. There is no primary for mayor ahead of the November election as the city uses Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) to elect its mayor and council members. The last race for mayor in 2021 attracted 17 candidates. The Minneapolis City Council is a full-time council with elected members earning $109,846 a year and the mayor $140,814.
At Saturday’s kickoff, speeches from notable elected officials, including Parks and Recreation Commissioner Becky Alper, Minneapolis School District board member Adriana Cerrillo, Councilmembers Robin Wonsley, Jamal Osman, Jason Chavez and Fateh himself, focused heavily on the demonstrated leadership qualities they believe Fateh has shown during his time in the state Senate and his approach of putting people ahead of corporate interests.
The kickoff event also served as a fundraiser with those in the audience pledging amounts ranging from $5 to $250. Multiple hands went up as the emcee solicited for pledges from the stage emphasizing this was going to be a “people powered” campaign. $250 is the maximum an individual can give to a mayoral campaign in a non-election year like 2024, but in 2025 which will be an election year, individuals can give a maximum of $1,000.
Councilman Chavez began his remarks in Spanish before switching to English and explained, amid cheers, why he chose to do so.
“I wanted to speak in Spanish to show the big, broad and diverse coalition Sen. Omar Fateh is bringing to Minneapolis,” he said.
Chavez said the city needs a mayor like Fateh who has demonstrated during his time at the Capitol that he can fight for those marginalized by society and gave examples of how Ward 9, which the councilman represents, has benefited during the senator’s two terms.
“He has the led the fight at the Capitol during the time the city has been struggling with homelessness,” Chavez said.
Councilman Osman who represents Ward 6, where the kickoff took place, called the current council-mayor relationship as “super divided” and told the crowd it has been challenging to work with Mayor Frye.
“I had a conversation with Jacob and I told him that ‘the city of Minneapolis and my community has elected you twice, but today we have Omar Fateh who has my full support and my community and the East African community, and Ward 6 will vote to put him over the edge’ and come November the city will have better leadership than it has right now,” Osman said.
Councilwoman Wonsley who described herself as the “only independent Democratic Socialist” supporting Fateh, echoed his council colleagues’ sentiments, but also praised Fateh for what she called the “fearless” way he goes about using his office to serve those that are marginalized.
“I had the opportunity to work with him in winning one of the strongest rideshare bill in U.S. history for Uber and Lyft drivers and seeing Omar Fateh not be afraid to use his power with so many people in his own party wanting to cave to the wealthiest corporations in the United States,” Wonsley said. “But I saw time and time again how Fateh stood up, fought tooth and nail and said no.”
“Right now, in the mayor’s office we have someone who runs the city by fear and we have seen the dark shadow that has placed over our city for almost 10 years,” said Wonsley, adding that the city needs a leader in charge and not a fearmonger.
In his address that lasted a little over five minutes, Fateh said along with being the son of Somali immigrants and a husband, he is an advocate for working people that is running to make Minneapolis “a welcoming and prosperous city that we know it can be.”
To start off his speech, he acknowledged the presence of Mr. Mahamoud Wardere, the first Somali American to run for Mayor of Minneapolis in 2001.
As he did at the official announcement of his candidacy on December 2, Fateh said Mayor Frey and the “status quo” are failing the city, and criticized his veto of the latest city budget – which the council was able to override. The crowd booed at the mention of the veto. If elected, he promised to put forward a budget that “puts your interests above those of corporate interests,” drawing loud applause from the crowd. He said the city deserves a mayor that works with the residents “instead of against us,” and one that makes people want to live and start businesses in the city.
The first to announce that they will be challenging Mayor Frey was Rev. DeWayne Davis. Others that have also announced their candidacy include former Minneapolis Councilmember Brenda Short and current Councilmember Brenda Koski who represents Ward 11.
The candidate filing period for the city’s 2025 mayoral and council elections will begin on July 25 and run through August 12.
Ms. Zahra Farah, a 12-year special education teacher in the city, is putting her faith in Fateh’s candidacy and believe the city is ready for a change.
“I have been following his career and he is one of the few politicians I see that are 100 percent committed to the community, he doesn’t hide behind a publicist and not afraid to talk to us directly, in these times the city needs someone like him,” Farah said.
Jack Neely of Falcon Heights graduated two years ago from Hamline University. He interned at the Capitol with Sen. Fateh’s office in the last Legislative session and came out impressed with the senator’s commitment to working people, and above all his integrity. Though he can’t vote in the city, he plans to volunteer and canvass for his former boss.
“What stood out for me about Sen. Fateh when I interned with him was the fact that he was willing to stand up for working people, more than any other politician that I have seen at the Legislature,” Neely said.
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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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