Frey wins third term as Minneapolis mayor, says it will be his last
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was elected to a third term on Wednesday, according to unofficial results, fending off challengers who criticized his response to homeless encampments, the pace of police reform and what they described as a lack of collaboration with other elected officials like City Council members.
Frey’s main opponents were state Sen. Omar Fateh, minister DeWayne Davis and attorney Jazz Hampton. In ranked-choice voting, candidates with fewer votes are eliminated and their supporters’ votes are reallocated to their next choice.
In the end, the race came down to Frey and Fateh in a second round of tabulation in the ranked choice election.
“Whether you voted for me or not, whether you like me or not, we have an opportunity right now to put aside differences and do what is right for Minneapolis,” Frey said Wednesday afternoon following his victory. The city, he said, “is on the verge of a great comeback.”
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Frey told reporters that this new four-year term would be his last as Minneapolis mayor.
Frey’s previous two mayoral victories also went to multiple rounds of counting under ranked-choice voting — in 2017 and 2021.
The city said 55 percent of registered voters — more than 147,000 — cast ballots in this fall’s election, a record for a municipal election in Minneapolis. The previous record turnout was 54 percent, in 2021.
After the results of Wednesday’s tabulation were announced, Fateh posted a statement on social media stating that “while this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, I am incredibly grateful to every single person who supported our grassroots campaign. I’ll keep fighting alongside you to build the city we deserve. Onward.”
Recruiting new officers ‘as quickly as possible’
Frey won with the support of voters like Kathlyn Stewart, who cast her ballot Tuesday morning — alongside her granddaughter, who was voting for the first time. Stewart says she voted for Frey — saying she’s pleased with the efforts he’s made during his time in office.
“I’m seeking truth-speakers. And again, I think experience. As a senior, I go for experience,” she said.
The mayoral campaign revolved around bread-and-butter issues like affordable housing, homelessness and public safety.
During his two terms, Frey presided over a big increase in affordable housing in the city by supporting the building of both affordable and market-rate housing, which he said “has been proven to succeed and keep rents down so that more people can afford to live in our city.”
Frey dismissed the idea of “rent control,” which his opponent Fateh supported, saying that it’s failed in every city where it’s been tried.
Frey has also committed to the terms of a state court-enforced agreement, or consent decree, designed to reform the Minneapolis Police Department following George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis officer in 2020. His goal, he’s said, is to make sure that officers are held accountable when they fail and given support when they meet the city’s expectations.
Frey on Wednesday reiterated his commitment to Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, telling reporters that O’Hara “has my 100 percent support.”
He added that public safety remained a top priority in every neighborhood — and that will require “additional police officers, which we are going to be recruiting as quickly as possible.”
Some of his opponents had argued Frey hasn’t done enough to include provisions in the state agreement from the city’s federal consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice over policing, which was derailed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
‘Love our city more than our ideology’
During the campaign, Frey faced allegations that he failed at collaborating with other local leaders, including City Council members.
Fateh repeatedly banged Frey for his lack of endorsements at the state Legislature, to which Frey responded that he’d been endorsed by Gov. Tim Walz.
Frey and the progressive council have repeatedly clashed during his last term, with the mayor vetoing bills including a labor standards board and the 2025 budget, although council members overrode his budget veto. Only four of 13 council members had endorsed the mayor.
In his pitch for a third term, Frey argued that he’d provide a steady hand to “get the job done, and to lead Minneapolis in the right direction.”
Frey raised over $1 million for his reelection, according to city campaign records. He also benefited from the support of pro-business political action committees, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for races in Minneapolis, according to Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board filings.
Fateh raised about $565,000, Davis raised about $246,000 and Hampton raised about $127,000.
Much of that pro-business PAC spending benefited council members aligned with Frey. A couple upsets of incumbents in those council races could have overturned the progressive and democratic-socialist majority on the council, easing Frey’s efforts next term.
But it appears that the progressive majority still controls the council, even though council member Katie Cashman lost her race in in Ward 7. It’s not clear they’ll have enough support to overturn the mayor’s veto.
Frey on Wednesday turned aside questions around the ideological tug-of-war that sometimes grips city leadership.
“I do think the message that has been sent loud and clear is that we have to love our city more than our ideology,” he said.
Senior reporter Sarah Thamer contributed to this story.
