Teneshia Kragness wins Brooklyn Center mayoral race in landslide victory

Teneshia Kragness won a decisive victory Tuesday in Brooklyn Center’s mayoral election, defeating Alexander Koenig with more than 64% of the vote and ensuring that Black leadership will continue in the mayor’s office even as the election changes the racial composition of the City Council.

Kragness, a City Council member and the city’s mayor pro tem, received 6,068 votes, or 64.42%, compared with Koenig’s 3,294 votes, or 34.97%, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State. All six precincts reported, giving Kragness a 2,774-vote victory.

She will succeed Mayor April Graves, who did not seek reelection.

Check out: Mshale Black Ballot – Election results for Black candidates around Minnesota.

The election also brought a significant change in minority representation at City Hall. Nahid Khan won one of two available City Council seats, while Gretchen Enger secured the other. Mark Viste, who had campaigned alongside Kragness and Khan, narrowly missed election.

The results mean Kragness and Khan will be the only two people of color on the city’s five-member council, which includes the mayor.

The outcome follows questions raised in earlier Mshale reporting about whether the 2026 election could leave Brooklyn Center without Black representation among its elected leaders.

Graves and Kragness have been the two Black members of the current five-member council. With Graves leaving office and Kragness moving from a council member seat to the mayor’s office, Black representation will remain in the mayor’s seat but not among the four other council members.

Khan’s election, meanwhile, maintains broader racial and ethnic minority representation on the council of a city where residents of color make up a majority of the population.

Council members Kris Lawrence-Anderson and Laurie Ann Moore, whose terms continue through 2028, will serve alongside Kragness, Khan and Enger.

Celebration and disappointment at Election Night gathering

The election results were celebrated at Buansavanh Banquet Hall in neighboring Brooklyn Park, where supporters of Kragness, state Sen. Susan Pha and City Council candidates Khan and Viste gathered Tuesday night.

Kragness, dressed in white and wearing a pearl necklace, addressed supporters during the gathering. White has long been associated with the women’s suffrage movement and has become a symbol of women’s political empowerment, frequently worn by women political leaders to mark significant moments in American politics.

The joint watch party brought together four campaigns that had developed close political relationships during the election season.

Kragness, Khan and Viste had campaigned together, including joint door-knocking efforts to reach Brooklyn Center voters.

As the results became clear, Pha, who also won reelection Tuesday, called the municipal candidates forward to recognize their efforts.

“We have two winners here tonight,” Pha told the gathering before announcing the victories of Kragness and Khan.

But the celebration was bittersweet.

“I’ll be honest and say I am, even though I’m so excited about all of our wins, I’m also very sad that we could not get Mark across the line,” Pha said.

Viste received 3,462 votes, or 23.12% of votes cast for council candidates, finishing third in the four-candidate contest.

Enger led the field with 4,176 votes, or 27.88%, followed by Khan with 3,792 votes, or 25.32%. Incumbent Council member Dan Jerzak finished fourth with 3,434 votes, or 22.93%.

Viste finished just 330 votes behind Khan for the second available seat and 28 votes ahead of Jerzak.

Because voters could select two candidates, the council percentages represent shares of candidate votes rather than percentages of individual voters.

Pha praised Viste for his campaign, saying he had demonstrated a commitment to the city through extensive door-knocking and conversations with residents.

“He is one person who has worked so hard, really put his heart out there and shown the people what he stands for,” Pha said.

She told Viste she was proud of the campaign he had run, emphasizing his integrity, transparency and willingness to listen to residents.

“That is a campaign to be very proud of,” she said.

Candidates reflect on a closely fought council race

Viste, a first-time candidate, thanked his supporters and indicated that his political ambitions were not over.

“I’m a first-time candidate,” he told the gathering. “It would have been amazing to win the first time, but there’ll be a second time.”

Khan, also a first-time candidate, expressed surprise at her victory.

“I’m really surprised, as a first-time candidate, that I made it,” Khan said.

She thanked the community members who had supported her, Viste, Kragness and Pha throughout the campaign.

“I especially thank Susan for all her wise guidance in our campaigns,” Khan said.

Khan later returned to the microphone to praise Viste, saying she had looked forward to serving alongside him.

“He has so much knowledge and understanding of the political process,” Khan said, also recognizing his experience in community outreach and communicating with residents.

She urged supporters not to forget his contribution to the campaign.

“Everyone, keep the name of Mark Viste alive in your political imagination,” Khan said.

Kragness, addressing the gathering after the results were announced, thanked volunteers who had worked on behalf of the candidates.

“I’m so excited to be sharing this with you,” she said. “I just want to say thank you again for the people who came out to help door-knock, who supported, who were always there to encourage all of us.”

“This is for all of us tonight,” she added.

Outside political spending draws scrutiny

The mayoral campaign unfolded against the backdrop of outside political spending that Mshale documented ahead of the August primary election.

In an Aug. 8 investigation, Mshale reported that Citizens for Safer Cities, a political committee funded primarily by companies owning apartment properties, had spent $5,589.60 on independent print advertising supporting Koenig.

The committee also reported spending approximately $2,824 each supporting Enger and Jerzak in the City Council contest.

Koenig denied soliciting or coordinating the spending, emphasizing that the expenditures were not direct contributions to his campaign. Independent expenditures are made without coordination with the candidates they support.

Kragness had herself benefited from support by the same committee during her successful 2022 City Council campaign.

The issue added another dimension to a mayoral contest in which housing affordability, tenant protections and the influence of outside political interests were among the subjects of public discussion.

Tuesday’s results produced mixed outcomes for candidates supported by the committee. Koenig lost the mayoral election, Jerzak lost his council seat, and Enger won election.

The spending figures documented by Mshale in August do not necessarily represent the committee’s total expenditures through Election Day.

Policing, housing and government accountability

The election followed months of debate over policing, surveillance, housing affordability and the relationship between Brooklyn Center’s elected officials and residents.

At an Oct. 20 forum organized by Black Votes Matter Minnesota, Kragness questioned how the city introduced Flock automated license plate readers, criticizing the lack of prior City Council approval and public discussion.

She argued that the city had missed an opportunity to explain the technology and its use to residents.

Housing protections also featured prominently in the campaign.

Kragness defended the city’s existing tenant protections, while Khan and Viste voiced support for protecting renters during an Oct. 15 community candidate forum organized by nonprofit groups serving immigrant communities.

The forum also included discussion of immigrant rights and proposals to strengthen communication between City Hall and the city’s immigrant and refugee communities.

Koenig did not attend three candidate forums covered by Mshale between September and October, leaving voters at those events without an opportunity to hear the mayoral candidates debate one another directly.

His absences did not establish why he chose not to participate or whether he engaged voters through other campaign activities.

Although Brooklyn Center’s municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, political alliances were visible throughout the campaign.

Kragness, Khan and Viste conducted joint campaign activities, while Pha and outgoing Mayor Graves supported Kragness.

The election also illustrated the different outcomes possible within those alliances, as voters elected Kragness and Khan but chose Enger over Viste for the second council seat.

Pha wins reelection to Minnesota Senate

Pha’s prominent role at the Election Night gathering came as she secured another term representing Minnesota Senate District 38.

The DFL senator received 21,015 votes, or 76.16%, compared with 6,511 votes, or 23.60%, for Republican Brad Olson, according to unofficial results. All 21 precincts reported.

Before announcing the Brooklyn Center results, Pha thanked voters for returning her to office.

“I’m incredibly honored and privileged to serve the people in my district again,” she said.

Pha told supporters that she regarded the trust placed in her by residents as a responsibility she would continue to honor.

“I will never forget that it is them who I work for,” she said.

Her role in announcing the municipal results highlighted the political relationships among the campaigns, despite the officially nonpartisan designation of Brooklyn Center’s local elections.

For Kragness, Tuesday’s victory marked the culmination of a campaign that will move her from the council member seat she won in 2022 to the mayor’s office.

She will take office alongside a council that includes two newly elected members and faces continuing questions about public safety, housing, redevelopment, government transparency and the representation of Brooklyn Center’s diverse communities.

The results remain unofficial until canvassed.

Tom Gitaa contributed to this report.

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