BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — An apartment-owner-funded political committee has spent nearly $5,600 to support Alexander Koenig’s campaign for Brooklyn Center mayor, an amount that dwarfs the fundraising reported so far by two of his rivals ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
Citizens for Safer Cities reported raising $23,600 between Jan. 1 and July 20 and making $12,635 in independent expenditures supporting candidates in Brooklyn Center and Hennepin County, according to a campaign finance report filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. The committee entered the reporting period with another $12,494.09 already on hand and ended it with $16,635.41.
The largest expenditure benefiting a Brooklyn Center candidate was $5,589.60 for print advertising supporting Koenig’s mayoral candidacy. The expenditure, dated May 15, lists ECM Publishers as the vendor.
The committee also reported spending $2,824 each supporting Brooklyn Center City Council candidates Gretchen Enger and Dan Jerzak and $1,397.40 supporting Hao Nguyen in the Hennepin County attorney race. Altogether, the committee reported $12,635 in independent expenditures for local candidates.
The spending comes as the mayoral candidates themselves appear to be running comparatively modest campaigns.
Teneshia Kragness reported raising $1,249.83, including $300 she loaned her campaign, while Laurie Ann Moore reported raising $100. Campaign finance reports for the other two mayoral candidates, Alexander Koenig and Latrecia Mayo, had not been posted by the city when Mshale reviewed the filings. Koenig told Mshale he had requested an extension and described his campaign as largely self-funded.
“I don’t really have much of a campaign finance report. I’m self-funded,” Koenig told Mshale, saying he had received contributions from only three people.
Koenig strongly rejected any suggestion that Citizens for Safer Cities had contributed money directly to his campaign.
“I have received zero cash from them,” he said.
The committee’s own filing supports that distinction. Citizens for Safer Cities reported no direct contributions or approved expenditures to local candidate committees during the reporting period. Instead, the $5,589.60 attributed to Koenig is reported as an independent expenditure made by the committee in support of his candidacy.
Independent expenditures are made without coordination with the candidate or campaign they are intended to benefit.
Koenig said he did not solicit the committee’s support and had no involvement in its spending.
“Their independent expenditures are apart from me,” he said. “They don’t check with me and they’re not supposed to check with me.”
Koenig questions reported amount
Koenig said he became aware that Citizens for Safer Cities had placed two newspaper advertisements supporting his candidacy but questioned how those advertisements could account for the $5,589.60 reported to the state.
He described the advertisements as small banners at the bottom of pages in the Sun Post and said he believed similar advertisements supporting Enger and Jerzak had appeared more frequently.
“If mine is almost $6,000 and it only ran twice, and theirs has run eight times, and each one is only $2,000-some or $4,000 combined, is it logical that the expenditure on me would be listed as more?” Koenig said.
The Campaign Finance Board filing lists $5,589.60 paid to ECM Publishers for print advertising supporting Koenig. It does not provide further detail about how that amount was calculated.
Mshale contacted Citizens for Safer Cities Treasurer Erik Falkman by voicemail and email seeking comment about the committee’s reported independent expenditures, including how it calculated the reported amount supporting Koenig’s candidacy. He did not respond before publication.
Apartment companies provide committee funding
Citizens for Safer Cities’ contributors are dominated by limited liability companies bearing the names of apartment properties.
The largest contributor during the reporting period was Lake Pointe Apartments LLC, which gave $5,273.04. Other contributors included Melrose Gates Apartments LLC, $3,703.06; Second Street Station LLC, $2,542.67; Riverwood LLC, $2,520; Park Trails Apartments LLC, $2,064.84; and Garden Gates Apartments LLC, $1,638.23.
Additional contributions came from Uptown Square Apartments LLC and West End Apartments LLC, among others. The committee reported that all $23,600 it raised during the period came from itemized contributors.
The committee also reported spending $6,614 on legal services with Minneapolis law firm Winthrop & Weinstine during the reporting period.
Kragness: ‘Ultimately, the people decide’
Kragness, a current City Council member who is backed in the mayoral race by outgoing Mayor April Graves, said outside spending can increase a candidate’s visibility but does not determine who voters ultimately choose.
“Money may buy mailers and advertisements, but it cannot buy the trust or the votes of the people of Brooklyn Center,” Kragness told Mshale. “Ultimately, the people decide who represents them.”
Kragness has herself benefited from support by Citizens for Safer Cities in the past.
The committee’s involvement this year marks at least its second Brooklyn Center municipal election cycle. During Brooklyn Center’s 2022 elections, Mshale reported that the newly formed committee sent glossy mailers supporting Graves for mayor and Kragness and Jerzak for City Council. Falkman was also the committee’s treasurer at the time.
Kragness acknowledged that history while saying outside support has not controlled her decisions in office.
“I’ve received support from outside organizations in the past, and I’ve always been clear that outside support does not dictate my votes, my values, or my decisions,” she said. “My integrity remains at the center of how I serve.”
“My commitment remains the same: I will continue making decisions based on what’s best for our residents, not based on who supports my campaign financially,” Kragness added.
Tuesday’s Aug. 11 primary will determine which two mayoral candidates advance to the November general election. Early in-person voting continues through Monday, Aug. 10.
You can find your early voting location and hours at this Secretary of State link.
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About Tom 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 board of 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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