Divided We Fail
Divided We Fail Election Reveals Two Minneapolises November 3 was election eve. Minneapolis was wrapping up one of its most expensive and divisive campaign seasons in recent history. The city was on the cusp of possibly electing its first male Black mayor as Omar Fateh, DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton had all run credible campaigns. Many Southsiders were hoping for change in the leadership at city hall following sometimes intense and offensive campaigning, that included accusations of racism and xenophobia. The next day, however, a majority of voters chose the incumbent, Jacob Frey, to continue as the city’s 38 th White male mayor, out of the 40 mayors in the city’s history. Minneapolis voters picked the candidate who chose not to make racial justice a top priority. As a council member, he voted to cut funding from the racial equity division. When he was mayor, city staff issued statements outlining a “toxic, anti-Black work culture” under his leadership as mayor...