Ilhan Omar endorses Omar Fateh in Minneapolis Mayor’s race

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Tom Gitaa
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U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has endorsed Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor, becoming the first key backer for the state senator as he seeks to unseat incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey.

At a Monday morning press conference announcing her endorsement, Rep. Omar pointed specifically to Fateh’s work as a state senator, where he fought “tooth and nail” to pass legislation providing raises for Uber and Lyft drivers. Governor Walz ‘s first ever veto in his two terms was against Sen. Fateh’s Uber/Lyft bill. Walz, who has endorsed Frey, eventually signed a different iteration of the bill.

“His platform calls for raising the minimum wage, stabilizing the skyrocketing cost of housing, standing up to ICE’s violent and un-American crackdowns, and tackling public safety challenges with effective approaches rather than failed “tough on crime” policies and authoritarian National Guard interventions,” Omar said.

Minneapolis uses ranked choice voting to elect its mayor and city council, and the 35-year-old Fateh is in an alliance with the other two leading candidates, Rev. DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton, in a ranked choice voting (RCV) strategy they are calling a “Slate for Progress.” The three have asked their respective supporters to rank them as their first choice – and then rank the other two in order of their preference – but to not rank incumbent Jacob Frey.

Fateh on July 19 received the required 60 percent of delegates at the Minneapolis DFL convention to secure the party’s backing, the first time in 16 years that a candidate was able to garner enough votes to receive the coveted endorsement. However, barely a month after the historic endorsement, the state DFL, acting on a complaint from Jacob Frey, vacated the endorsement citing “substantial failures in the Minneapolis Convention’s voting process.”

While Rep. Omar’s endorsement is the most high-profile for Fateh to date, at least eight of his Senate colleagues have already endorsed him, including a host of Minnesota House representatives. At least half of the ten Minnesota House members that represent Minneapolis at the state Capitol have endorsed his candidacy. Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley who represents South Minneapolis at the county board has also endorsed him as have six of the 13-members on the city council including City Council president Elliott Payne.

“I’m so excited to have my Congresswoman and friend, Ilhan Omar, on board with my candidacy for Mayor! She fights hard for the working people of Minneapolis. As Mayor, I’ll partner with leaders like her, to build an affordable city that’s accountable to us,” Fateh said in a post on X following the endorsement.

The election is on November 4 and early voting is already underway. If you live in Minneapolis, you will be voting for Mayor, City Council, Board of Estimate & Taxation and the Park Board.

Minneapolis voters can link to the city’s voter services website for more information.

Author

  • Tom Gitaa

    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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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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