Mayoral candidates clash over leading city issues

At a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on Sept. 9, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey revealed that the city is in the early stages of a legal challenge against the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, following sharp criticism from mayoral challengers State Sen. Omar Fateh, Dr. DeWayne Davis and attorney Jazz Hampton.

“We are preemptively suing at this moment,” Frey said, responding to accusations that his administration has failed to protect immigrant communities. All four leading candidates — Frey, Fateh, Davis and Hampton — agreed that Minneapolis police should not cooperate with ICE.

“Another thing I would be doing is asking the city attorney and the whole city to be guarding itself for battle,” said Davis, former pastor at All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church and Plymouth Congregational Church.

Fateh criticized the Frey administration for failing to notify the City Council about a reported federal drug raid on Lake Street in June. “The failure occurred when the administration did not alert the City Council in a timely manner,” Fateh said.

Housing

Housing policy became a central point of contention. Frey defended the city’s current approach, emphasizing the work of the city’s Regulatory Services Division in inspecting properties and preventing overcrowding.

“We have inspectors that can work directly with those in homes to make sure that the conditions are not only habitable, they are up to par,” Frey said.

Fateh and Davis, however, pushed for a more aggressive response to corporate landlords and vacant properties. Both candidates support a “Land Use Tax” targeting absentee landlords who allow properties to sit empty or deteriorate.

“For too many properties, there are out-of-state entities buying up large swaths just for the intensity of profits, from Atlanta to Los Angeles to New York,” said Fateh. “We shouldn’t be allowing folks from out of state to buy such large amounts of property just for their own profit.”

Davis added: “Even the state was debating a land use tax to go after those absentee landlords who are letting properties lie waste.”

Fateh also proposed a commercial vacancy tax to incentivize the use of idle commercial spaces. “It was a bipartisan bill at the Capitol, and I’m confident that, as mayor, we can get it done,” he said.

George Floyd Square

The future of George Floyd Square, the memorial site at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, highlighted key philosophical differences among the candidates.

Frey, Davis and Hampton support a “flex option” that would allow traffic access during most hours, with restrictions during community events and memorials.

Fateh, however, supports a permanent pedestrian plaza, calling for a dedicated memorial space closed to all vehicle traffic.

Climate

On climate action, Frey pointed to recent reductions in emissions and investments in infrastructure.

“We have done more over the last year than in the previous 10 combined to drive down our per capita carbon output,” Frey said. “A few years ago, Minneapolis was the second-most impacted city in the country when it comes to climate change.”

But challengers said the city is falling short, particularly for communities most harmed by environmental racism.

“We’ve got to support local projects like the East Phillips Urban Farm, projects that reverse decades of systemic environmental racism,” said Fateh. “I hear time and time again from people suffering from higher asthma, cancer, and heart disease rates.”

Davis pointed to the planned closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC), the city’s waste incinerator, as a key opportunity for environmental justice. “We have to be far more aggressive than we’ve been in deciding where that waste will go,” he said.

Hampton emphasized that climate policy must be centered in equity. “The people most deeply affected are often in marginalized communities,” he said. “The work has to start there and grow outward to the rest of the city.”

What’s next

The 2025 Minneapolis mayoral election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Voters can register at mnvotes.sos.mn.gov.

The city uses ranked choice voting, allowing residents to rank up to three candidates. If no candidate earns a majority in the first round, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated and votes are redistributed until a winner is declared.

Clint Combs welcomes reader responses at ccombs0284@gmail.com.