2017 Minneapolis mayoral election

The 2017 Minneapolis mayoral election was held on November 7, 2017, to elect the Mayor of Minneapolis. This was the third mayoral election in the city's history to use ranked-choice voting. Municipal elections in Minnesota are nonpartisan, although candidates were able to identify with a political party on the ballot.

2017 Minneapolis mayoral election

November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
 
Candidate Jacob Frey Raymond Dehn
Party Democratic (DFL) Democratic (DFL)
Popular vote 26,116 (1st round)
46,716 (5th round)
18,101 (1st round)
34,971 (5th round)
Percentage 25.0% (1st round)
57.2% (5th round)
17.3% (4th in 1st round)
42.8% (5th round)

 
Candidate Betsy Hodges Tom Hoch Nekima Levy-Pounds
Party Democratic (DFL) Democratic (DFL) Democratic (DFL)
Popular vote 18,915 (1st round)
26,875 (4th round)
20,125 (1st round)
22,754 (3rd round)
15,716 (1st round)
16,189 (2nd round)
Percentage 18.1% (3rd in 1st round)
28.7% (last in 4th round)
19.3% (2nd in 1st round)
22.8% (last in 3rd round)
15.0% (5th in 1st round)
15.9% (last in 2nd round)

Mayor before election

Betsy Hodges
Democratic (DFL)

Elected Mayor

Jacob Frey
Democratic (DFL)

No candidate achieved a majority in the first round of ballot counting on election night. Jacob Frey was declared the winner the next day after several rounds of vote tabulations.

Background

2013 election

Betsy Hodges was elected mayor of Minneapolis on November 5, 2013, out of a field of 35 candidates, with her term beginning on January 2, 2014. In response to the large candidate field, the Minneapolis Charter Commission approved a referendum increasing the filing fee from $20 to $500.[1] The proposal was approved by voters on November 4, 2014.[2]

Campaign

In a blog letter dated November 7, 2016, a housing activist and longtime Minneapolis resident known as Captain Jack Sparrow announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2017 election; this was his third election campaign for office in the past 6 years.[3] Nekima Levy-Pounds, an attorney, civil rights activist, and former president of the Minneapolis NAACP, was one of the first candidates to begin their campaign, with an announcement on November 14, 2016. Hodges announced her re-election campaign on December 15, 2016. City Council member Jacob Frey and filmmaker Aswar Rahman entered in early January, while State Representative Raymond Dehn and theatre executive Tom Hoch announced their campaigns in February.[4][5][6] David John Wilson, an active member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) party, entered the race during the candidate filing period in August 2017, but he declined to identify by party affiliation in favor of the stated principle "Rainbows Butterflies Unicorns".[7] Ian Simpson ran under the platform of the Idea Party, which asks the citizens of Minneapolis to pitch in their own creative solutions for change.[8][9]

Formal candidate filing began on August 1, 2017. Political parties held caucuses and conventions in the spring and summer, deciding whether to endorse a candidate for election. The DFL did not endorse a Minneapolis mayoral candidate at its July 2017 convention.[10]

On October 27, the Star Tribune editorial staff endorsed Jacob Frey for mayor.[11] This was followed by an endorsement of Frey by the Minnesota Daily on October 30.[12]

Candidates

Democratic-Farmer-Labor

  • Raymond Dehn, State Representative (District 59B)[13][14]
  • Al Flowers, community activist[15][16][17]
  • Jacob Frey, City Council member (Third Ward)[18]
  • Tom Hoch, former president of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, former deputy executive director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority[19][20]
  • Betsy Hodges, incumbent mayor[21][22]
  • Nekima Levy-Pounds, civil rights activist, former president of the Minneapolis NAACP, founding director of the Community Justice Project at the University of St. Thomas law school[23][24][25]
  • Jeffrey Sterling Olson[16]
  • Aswar Rahman, filmmaker, businessman[26][13]
    • Suspended campaign on November 2, 2017, and subsequently endorsed Jacob Frey.[27]
  • Gregg Iverson, retired employee of Minnesota Department of Transportation[28][29]

Independent

Farmer Labor

  • Troy Benjegerdes[33]

Basic Income Guarantee

  • Captain Jack Sparrow, urban housing and Occupy movement activist[3][29]

Socialist Workers Party

Libertarian

Rainbow, Butterflies, Unicorns

The Idea Party[8]

  • Not pictured: Jeffrey Sterling Olson, David Rosenfeld L.A. Nik

Results

No candidate achieved a majority in the first round on election night. Several rounds of vote transfers were necessary to determine a winner, a process which did not start until the next day.[36]

Candidates whose total votes in all ranked positions are less than the highest votes in first rank are immediately eliminated. In 2017 five candidates remained for the sequential elimination process.

Votes by ranking of candidates above 2%[37]
Candidate/Votes by rank123Total
Jacob Frey24.97%19.90%14.39%59.26%
Tom Hoch19.27%18.67%13.22%51.16%
Betsy Hodges (incumbent)18.08%16.57%21.57%56.22%
Raymond Dehn17.34%16.51%14.04%47.89%
Nekima Levy-Pounds15.06%17.43%16.31%48.80%
Other or none5.28%10.92%20.47%

With four rounds of elimination, Jacob Frey was announced as the winner on Wednesday, November 8, at 2 pm, 18 hours after the polls closed.[38]

Runoff round tabulation[39]
CandidateRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5
votes
(% of active)
transfervotes
(% of active)
transfervotes
(% of active)
transfervotes
(% of active)
transfervotes
(% of active)
Jacob Frey (winner)26,11625.0%+63426,75026.3%+2,73029,48029.5%+9,88839,36842.1%+7,34846,71657.2%
Raymond Dehn18,10117.3%+47318,57418.2%+5,45424,02824.1%+3,33027,35829.2%+7,61334,97142.8%
Betsy Hodges (incumbent)18,91518.1%+55219,46719.1%+4,04423,51123.6%+3,36426,87528.7%26,875
Tom Hoch20,12519.3%+78720,91220.5%+1,84222,75422.8%22,754
Nekima Levy-Pounds15,71615.0%+47316,18915.9%16,189
Charlie Gers1,2331.2%1,233
Aswar Rahman7560.7%756
Al Flowers7110.7%711
L.A. Nik6120.6%612
David Rosenfeld4770.5%477
Captain Jack Sparrow4380.4%438
Gregg A. Iverson3350.3%335
Ronald Lischeid3250.3%325
David John Wilson2200.2%220
Troy Benjegerdes1840.2%184
Undeclared Write-ins1380.1%138
Ian Simpson1190.1%119
Christopher Robin Zimmerman10.0%1
Theron Preston Washington00.0%0
Active Ballots (% of Valid)104,522100%101,89297.5%99,77395.5%93,60189.6%81,68778.2%
Exhausted Ballots (% of Valid)00.0%+2,6302,6302.5%+2,1194,7494.5%+6,17210,92110.4%+11,91422,83521.8%
Total Valid Ballots104,522104,522104,522104,522104,522
  • Turnout: 105,928
  • Undervotes: 1,406 (1.3%)
  • Valid ballots: 104,522

Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services[40]

See also

References

  1. Rao, Maya (July 3, 2014). "Minneapolis residents to vote on $500 fee to run for mayor". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. Golden, Erin (November 4, 2014). "Minneapolis voters scrap alcohol ratios, raise filing fees". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  3. "Letter to Residents of Minneapolis Regarding My Campaign for Mayor of Minneapolis in 2017". Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  4. "Council Member Jacob Frey Announces Bid for Mayor of Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  5. "With an Eye on the Budget, Young Filmmaker Joins Mayor's Race". Southwest Journal. 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  6. "Tom Hoch Enters Race for Minneapolis Mayor". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  7. Wilson, David John (October 3, 2017). "Why is David John Wilson Running for Minneapolis Mayor". Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  8. "HOME". ideaparty.org. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  9. TEGNA. "Ian Simpson". KARE. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  10. "Minneapolis DFLers fail to endorse mayoral candidate". startribune.com.
  11. "Editorial endorsement: Jacob Frey for Minneapolis mayor". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  12. "Editorial: The Minnesota Daily's Endorsement for Minneapolis Mayor". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  13. Belz, Adam (December 21, 2016). "State Rep. Raymond Dehn to Run for Mayor of Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  14. "Home". Raymond Dehn for Minneapolis. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  15. "July 27: Arrest of Minneapolis community activist Al Flowers stirs anger". startribune.com.
  16. "Minneapolis DFL". mpls.dfl.org. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  17. "Al Flowers for Minneapolis Mayor | Bringing Truth to the People". truthtothepeople.com. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  18. Belz, Adam (January 3, 2017). "Council Member Jacob Frey Announces Bid for Mayor of Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  19. "Tom Hoch Joins Mayor's Race". Southwest Journal. 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  20. Belz, Adam (February 21, 2017). "Tom Hoch Enters Race for Minneapolis Mayor". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  21. Nelson, Emma (December 15, 2016). "Hodges Announces Re-election Bid as Mayor of Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  22. "Mayor Betsy Hodges for Minneapolis | Deliberate, Intentional Leadership". Mayor Betsy Hodges for Minneapolis. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  23. Furst, Randy (November 16, 2016). "Civil rights Activist Nekima Levy-Pounds to Run for Mayor of Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  24. "NAACP Head Nekima Levy-Pounds to Leave St. Thomas Law School". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  25. "Nekima Levy-Pounds for Mayor of Minneapolis". Nekima Levy-Pounds For Mayor of Minneapolis. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  26. Rahman, Aswar (2017-10-03). "Aswar Rahman". linkedin.com.
  27. Belz, Adam (November 2, 2017). "Aswar Rahman Suspends Campaign for Minneapolis Mayor, Endorses Jacob Frey". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  28. "Gregg A. Iverson". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  29. Belz, Adam; Jessie, Van Berkel (August 15, 2017). "23 Candidates File to Run for Mayor in Minneapolis, St. Paul". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  30. Zurowski, Cory (August 17, 2017). "L.A. Nik, 'Mayor of Minneapolis After Dark' Seeks Day Job as Actual Mayor". City Pages. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  31. Horgan, Tom (November 24, 2011). "Nightlife: LA Nik at night". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  32. "KQRS' Tom Barnard enters National Radio Hall of Fame, praised for 'no B.S. swagger'". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  33. Kritzer, Naomi (September 12, 2017). "Mpls Mayoral Race: Benjegerdes, Dehn, Fry, Flowers". Naomi Kritzer's Blog. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  34. "Socialist Workers Party Steps Up Campaigning Across the Country". The Militant. www.themilitant.com. July 24, 2017. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  35. Unicorns, David John Wilson for Minneapolis Mayor 2017 - Rainbow Butterflies. "Candidate for Mayor Election 2017 Rainbows Butterflies Unicorns, 2017 Election - Rainbows, Butterflies and Unicorns - Minneapolis, Minnesota | David John Wilson for Minneapolis Mayor 2017 - Rainbow Butterflies Unicorns". David John Wilson for Minneapolis Mayor 2017 - Rainbow Butterflies Unicorns. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  36. Smith, Mary Lynn (November 8, 2017). "Melvin Carter is St. Paul's New Mayor; Jacob Frey Leads in Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  37. http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/Results/MunicipalRaces/107?districtid=43000
  38. "Jacob Frey wins mayor election in Minneapolis". startribune.com.
  39. "2017 Mayor Election Results Tabulation - Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services". vote.minneapolismn.gov.
  40. "2017 Minneapolis Election Results: Mayor Ranked-Choice Voting Tabulation Summary". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
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