Jeremiah Ellison, a Northside-raised Minneapolis City Council member who has represented Ward 5 for nearly a decade, will not run for reelection next year.
“It has been the honor of my life to represent Ward 5 on the Minneapolis City Council, and I look forward to continuing my urgent and rigorous fight for the Northside for the remaining year of my current term,” Ellison wrote in a statement on X.
“After prevailing in three elections, championing innovative policy, fighting through a pandemic and some of our toughest years as a city, and doing my part to improve the Northside, it is with tremendous pride and satisfaction that I announce I will not be seeking reelection in 2025,” added Ellison, a self-described artist, muralist and organizer in addition to councilmember.
Located in the north-central part of Minneapolis, Ward 5 is composed mainly of residential neighborhoods: Harrison, Hawthorne, Jordan, Near-North, North Loop, Sumner-Glenwood, and Willard-Hay. All 13 city council seats and the position of mayor will be on the ballot next November.
Ellison became one of the most outspoken members of the movement to defund Minneapolis police following the murder of George Floyd. Ellison and two other council members — Steve Fletcher and Jeremy Schroeder — were not endorsed by the DFL in 2021 following this work.
The city’s police charter amendment championed by Ellison and the others was struck down by voters in November 2021, and five council members were voted out of office, including Fletcher and Schroeder. In July, Ellison was among four votes against the city’s new police contract, which provided substantial raises to officers.
As one of the council’s most progressive members, Ellison’s also been a vocal advocate of rent control, affordable housing, access to healthy foods, workers’ rights, and efforts to reduce the number of vacant buildings throughout the city, particularly on the Northside.
Ellison, 35, is the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Public Schools Board member Kim Ellison.
He serves as vice chair of the Business, Housing & Zoning Committee and serves on several others, including the Public Health & Safety and Budget committees.
“Serving you has been the honor of my life. I thank you for your near decade of confidence,” Ellison continued in his statement. “Please continue to reach out, bring forward your constituent cases, and engage me in projects you need support or guidance on — I still have a year left, and I plan to serve diligently until my last day in office.”