Departure of longtime Minneapolis council member brings opportunity for political newcomers
Updated: 8:21 a.m.
The retirement of longtime Council Member Lisa Goodman means that for the first time in 25 years, the seat spanning part of downtown and some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods is up for grabs.
On a recent day, more than a dozen volunteers for Katie Cashman gathered around a picnic table in Kenwood Park then fanned out in pairs to knock on doors. This grassroots outreach is Cashman’s strategy to win the election, in which she’s struggled to keep up with the fundraising of her main opponent, Scott Graham.
“The government is how we take care of people, it provides public housing, it provides public health care, it provides public services,” Cashman said. “Those all need to be quality so all residents can enjoy a top quality of life in our city.”
Cashman was raised in Minneapolis and worked as an environmental sustainability advocate for a local nonprofit and at the U.N. as an urban planning consultant. She says her experience in the public sector gives her an advantage over Graham, her main opponent for the seat. Kenneth Foxworth is also on the ballot, but doesn’t list any endorsements on his website and reported little fundraising.
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Graham, 62, is a longtime realtor who’s lived in the city since 1991 and been involved in DFL politics for a quarter century. He said the Minneapolis City Council has made some good efforts over the last few years to recover from George Floyd’s 2020 killing by a Minneapolis police officer and the COVID-19 pandemic that he wants to see continue.
“Our progress is precarious, and I really feel like we need a steady hand on the tiller of our city council to carry through some of the good work that’s been started,” Graham said, “to continue to work on reforming our police department, to increase public safety in our city, and to build the housing we need so we have a just and equitable city for everyone who lives in it.”
Both candidates believe public safety needs to be a continued focus of the council as the city meets the conditions of both a state court-enforced agreement and an expected federal consent decree. Graham and Cashman support alternatives to traditional policing like violence interrupters and more diverse hiring in the police department.
Cashman said more diverse hiring at the police department would help the city meet the minimum staffing required by the city’s charter and ensure they have the staff to show up when needed.
“My number one priority when it comes to public safety is making sure when you call 911 that you get a response in an efficient, quick manner,” Cashman said. “That’s what everyone in the city deserves.”
Graham said as a council member he’ll tell police leadership that budgets for the department will be tied to high expectations about police reforms.
Neither candidate in Ward 7 supports rent control or rent stabilization policies, which voters gave the council the authority to explore.
Cashman said homelessness needs to be addressed through collaborations with state and county partners, who typically oversee social services. Cashman wants the city to spend its time and resources to enforce policies that are already on the books.
“I’m interested in fully funding the renter protections that we do have including just cause eviction, right to counsel and anti-discrimination laws that we do have for renters,” Cashman said.
Graham said that he wants the city to continue to build deeply affordable housing using state and federal dollars to minimize the impact on city taxpayers. He wants wraparound social services and access to drug treatment included in new deeply affordable housing developments.
“The last thing we want to do is prop somebody up on their feet then push them out the door. What we’re looking for is the actual transformation of the humans, the individuals, to make sure that they’re fortified with the services so they can thrive,” Graham said.
Both Graham and Cashman are Democrats, although neither had enough support to clinch the DFL Party’s endorsement.
Like in many Minneapolis races this year, dark money groups have funneled their support to their preferred candidates. Candidates are banned from coordinating with the groups and have no control over endorsements.
Graham is endorsed by the group All of Mpls, which is associated with the more moderate members of the council and allies of Mayor Jacob Frey. Graham said he’s worried that Cashman is endorsed by a group, Minneapolis for the Many, which also endorsed some other candidates endorsed by the Twin Cities chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
“There’s an extreme left-leaning minority that’s attempting to become a majority,” Graham said.
Cashman said some misinformation has circulated during the race, but that she never sought and did not receive the endorsement of the DSA.
“I’m not here to divide our community, I’m not here to scare our community. I’m not here to try to get us back to an old model of downtown,” Cashman said. “I’m here to provide an opportunity for us to move forward with a positive leader.”
Graham is endorsed by departing council member Lisa Goodman, the union representing Minneapolis firefighters and the Realtors Political Action Committee. He’s also got the support of Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Meg Forney and commissioner Cathy Abene, as well as former officials including ex-DFL State Party Chair Mike Erlandson and ex-Minneapolis Public Schools Board Chair Tom Madden.
Cashman is endorsed by groups like Faith in Minnesota, Outfront Minnesota and Women Winning. She’s also got the support of Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando, State Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura and a host of former elected officials including state Rep. Jim Davnie, U.S. Sen. Ted Mondale and State Sens. Ellen Anderson and Patricia Torres Ray, among others.
Graham faced criticism after local media reported that he had hundreds of housing citations reported under his name. Graham said the violations stem from his role in his company’s property management division, and are a usual part of the process for obtaining a new rental license.
Both Graham and Cashman agree that the new strong mayor system in Minneapolis requires the council to take a new role, and both support the creation of a nonpartisan research arm of the council.
Early voting has already started in Minneapolis. Election day is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Correction (Oct. 31, 2023): An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura’s elected office. The post has been updated.