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Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski 

She joins Minnesota DFL Sen. Omar Fateh and the Rev. DeWayne Davis of Plymouth Congregational Church in challenging Mayor Jacob Frey, who’s running for reelection. In their announcements this week, both Koski and Fateh alluded to frequent division between the Democratic mayor and the city’s more progressive council.

says Frey is ‘failing’ residents

“The city I love is at a crossroads. While we face many challenges and opportunities, we’re up against efforts to drive wedges between us and pit us against one another,” Koski said in a statement on her campaign website. “We need a strong, unifying leader to move us forward.”

Minneapolis’ south central neighborhoods

 including Diamond Lake and Tangletown, is considered one of the council’s more moderate members. She ousted incumbent Jeremy Schroeder after he 

 for appearing with a majority of his council colleagues at a 2020 rally to defund the police. She also sided with Frey in opposing a 

 that would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a new department and public safety model.    

But Koski has also frequently found herself aligned with the council’s more 

, with many of their policy priorities volleying between council chambers and the mayor’s office in a series of vetoes and overrides.

 that the mayor went on to veto. A month prior, she went toe to toe with the mayor’s office when she 

 calling for an inquiry into the administration’s financial reporting process. It stemmed from a dispute over the council earmarking funds for a homeless shelter that weren’t actually available; Frey said they were looking at budget projections that didn’t capture the full financial picture.

 Monday, Frey made the case for his moderate check on city council.

“I’ve watched the City Council veer further left, often dismissing expert advice, ignoring the law, and disregarding facts and data,” he wrote. “The results mirror what we’re seeing play out on the federal level: legislation focused more on messaging than results and an erosion of trust in our institutions. Minneapolis should be a beacon for practical, effective and equitable governance.”

The piece came out on the heels of Fateh’s mayoral bid, offering a foil to the state senator’s progressive brand. With Koski, Frey may have to take a different tack.

The daughter of former Minneapolis Mayor Al Hofstede, Koski says she wants to foster ongoing police reform; address police retention; increase shelter capacity and transitional housing to address homelessness; and boost downtown, uptown and the city’s cultural corridors.

Megan Burks

Author

She joins Minnesota DFL Sen. Omar Fateh and the Rev. DeWayne Davis of Plymouth Congregational Church in challenging Mayor Jacob Frey, who’s running for reelection.

Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski joins mayor’s race

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