When the last of the ranked-choice votes were counted, Jacob Frey had won reelection as Minneapolis mayor, but not resoundingly. It was a victory drawn out by mathematical transfers and emotional fatigue. Some residents wondered whether the mayor remained engaged in the fight for them and for their families, or rather just to stay in power.
Two days after the election, on a gray November afternoon, Marsha Mays sat in her dented gray Jeep Patriot outside Wing Stop. A lifelong South Minneapolis resident and survivor of personal loss, Mays had watched the city rebuild unevenly since the fires of 2020. Despite widespread frustration, she had voted for Frey.
“I chose Frey because he stepped up for the homeless,” she said. “I’ve been in GRH [Group Residential Housing] since my son got killed. That program pays rent, keeps people inside. People can talk all they want, but at least he’s trying.”
According to Hennepin County records, more than 147,000 ballots were cast in the mayoral race, with turnout around 55% of registered voters, a record for a Minneapolis municipal election and the first time Frey exceeded 50% under ranked-choice voting.
But numbers, Mays said, can’t capture what residents actually see. “People blame him for everything,” she said, “but he’s out here putting up housing. Nobody should be homeless if those programs are working.”
Her support is tempered by frustration over gaps in the city’s response to the Lake Street corridor. “You see that mall they built? And folks still say it’s just Black people on fentanyl,” she said. “It’s everybody. But they let new people come in and do what they want, while we’re still waiting on help.”
Frey’s reelection map reflected these divides. Affluent and racially mixed neighborhoods leaned toward him, while working-class Black areas fractured. North Minneapolis precincts had the lowest participation, and Lake Street renter corridors split between hope for stability and hunger for change.
“I voted for Omar [Fateh] because he’s trying to change stuff,” said Jaton Finley, 26. “Frey acts like he cares, he was at my church, but nothing’s moving.” For Finley, the city feels stalled.
Lisa Rainer echoed that sentiment. “When he first ran, he was in the fight. Now he’s tired. We need someone hungry.”
Urban sociologists call this “participation fatigue,”when residents remain engaged enough to criticize but are too weary to believe their votes make a difference.
“Everybody says Minneapolis is coming back. But until it comes back for the ones at the bottom, it ain’t all the way back.”
Mays repeatedly returned to GRH, which subsidizes rent for low-income Minnesotans. “It follows you until you die,” she said. “That’s the only reason I’m still inside. They pay their part, I pay mine.” She insists Frey deserves credit for protecting the program during budget fights.
“I’ve been through it,” she said. “Lost my son, seen too much violence, and I’m telling you, those programs save lives.”
But her praise is tempered with frustration over safety and city services. “People are too scared to even say something,” she said, recalling a moment when she intervened to protect a baby until police arrived. “That’s what the city needs, people who care right there in the mess.”
Analysts say Frey’s victory stems more from consistency than charisma. His support held in Southwest neighborhoods and downtown business districts, where property values rose and crime complaints eased. Meanwhile, his opponents failed to consolidate reform-minded voters on the North Side.
For many residents, that gap is both geographic and emotional. “They build the city, but not the people,” Mays said. She rattled off community groups like Mother Flow, Rev. McAfee’s outreach team, Jeremiah Ellison, citizens who “actually show up.” She wants City Hall to work more like them.
“People don’t see the work behind the programs,” she said. “They just see the problems left on the sidewalk.”
Tensions along Lake Street remain high with criticism over safety, redevelopment, and cultural divides. “You see all these new businesses and Somali centers, but not the help for us,” Mays said.
Ultimately, the election numbers show a city still divided by race, class and geography. Frey’s reelection rested less on broad approval than on fragmented opposition and steady turnout in higher-income wards.
Mays stared into the distance, tugging at her dark green sweatshirt. “Everybody says Minneapolis is coming back,” she said. “Maybe. But until it comes back for the ones at the bottom, it ain’t all the way back.”
Her words reveal the city’s contradictions: a place rebuilding in some areas while still leaving others behind.
Scott Selmer welcomes reader responses at sselmer@spokesman-recorder.com.
“I voted for Omar [Fateh] because he’s trying to change stuff,” said Jaton Finley, 26. “Frey acts like he cares, he was at my church, but nothing’s moving.” For Finley, the city feels stalled.
Lisa Rainer echoed that sentiment. “When he first ran, he was in the fight. Now he’s tired. We need someone hungry.”
My take on this idea is the DSA faction of the city council, who had a veto proof majority, was the one stalling good progress. Thankfully, Mayor Frey was re elected. Many of us hoped we could give him a more reasonable less ideologically extreme CC to help progress along. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of DSA on the CC. But they have lost the veto proof majority–so that’s something.