2017 Minneapolis City Council election

The 2017 Minneapolis City Council election was held on November 7, 2017, to elect the members of the Minneapolis City Council. The political composition remained unchanged, with the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) retaining 12 seats and the Green Party of Minnesota one seat. Three DFL incumbents were defeated by intraparty opponents. The new City Council convened on January 8, 2018.

Retiring members

DFL

Jacob Frey, Ward 3 (running for mayor)

Elizabeth Glidden, Ward 8

Electoral system The 13 members of the City Council were elected from single-member districts via instant-runoff voting, commonly known as ranked choice voting, for four-year terms. Voters had the option of ranking up to three candidates in order of preference. Municipal elections in Minnesota are officially nonpartisan, although candidates were able to identify with a political party on the ballot. Write-in candidates must have filed a request with the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services Division for votes for them to be counted.

Candidates WardIncumbentCandidatesNamePartyFirst electedNamePartyParty endorsement1Kevin ReichDFL2009John HaydenIndependentJillia PessendaDFLKevin ReichDFL2Cam GordonGreen2005Cam GordonGreenFifth District Green Party3Jacob FreyDFL2013Tim BildsoeDFLSteve FletcherDFLMinneapolis DFLGinger JentzenSocialist AlternativeSocialist AlternativeSamantha Pree-StinsonGreenFifth District Green Party4Barb JohnsonDFL1997Phillipe CunninghamDFLStephanie GascaDFLDana HansenLibertarianLibertarian Party of MinnesotaBarb JohnsonDFL5Blong YangDFL2013Jeremiah EllisonDFLMinneapolis DFLCathy SpannDFLRaeisha WilliamsDFLBlong YangDFL6Abdi WarsameDFL2013Mohamud NoorDFLAbdi WarsameDFLMinneapolis DFLFadumo YusufRepublicanMinneapolis City Republican Committee7Lisa GoodmanDFL1997Janne FlisrandDFLLisa GoodmanDFLJoe KovacsRepublicanMinneapolis City Republican CommitteeTeqen Zéa-AidaDFL8Elizabeth GliddenDFL2005David HolsingerLibertarianLibertarian Party of MinnesotaAndrea JenkinsDFLMinneapolis DFLApril KaneDFLTerry WhiteGreenFifth District Green Party9Alondra CanoDFL2013Alondra CanoDFLMinneapolis DFLMohamed FarahDFLRonald PetersonRepublicanGary SchiffDFL10Lisa BenderDFL2013Lisa BenderDFLMinneapolis DFLBruce LundeenRepublicanMinneapolis City Republican CommitteeSaralyn RomanishanDFLDavid SchornDFL11John QuincyDFL2009Erica MauterDFLJohn QuincyDFLJeremy SchroederDFL12Andrew JohnsonDFL2013Harrison BullardIndependentWill JaegerIndependentAndrew JohnsonDFLMinneapolis DFL13Linea PalmisanoDFL2013Linea PalmisanoDFLMinneapolis DFLBob ReuerIndependent

Results

There were clear winners in several wards on election night. Green Council Member Cam Gordon (Ward 2), who did not have an opponent, won re-election. Other council members who won on election night include DFLers Lisa Goodman (Ward 7), Lisa Bender (Ward 10), Andrew Johnson (Ward 12), and Linea Palmisano (Ward 13). Ward 8 DFL candidate Andrea Jenkins also won, replacing retiring DFL Council Member Elizabeth Glidden. Wards which did not have a clear winner underwent several rounds of vote transfers on November 8.

Three incumbents lost re-election. DFL Council President Barb Johnson (Ward 4) lost to DFL candidate Phillipe Cunningham, DFL Council Member Blong Yang (Ward 5) to DFL candidate Jeremiah Ellison, and DFL Council Member John Quincy (Ward 11) to DFL candidate Jeremy Schroeder. DFL Council Members Kevin Reich (Ward 1), Abdi Warsame (Ward 6), and Alondra Cano (Ward 9) retained their seats.

In Ward 3, DFL candidate Steve Fletcher won over Socialist Alternative candidate Ginger Jentzen, who won the most first-choice votes but did not gain sufficient transfer votes. This was the first occurrence of the initial leader not ending up the winner of an election in Minneapolis since it switched to ranked-choice voting in 2009. A similar situation subsequently occurred in Ward 4 in which Johnson lost to Cunningham.

Jenkins and Cunningham are the first transgender persons to be elected to the City Council.

PartyCandidates1st Choice VotesSeats%∆∆%Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party2984,20382.69+3.3812092.31Green Party of Minnesota37,9267.78+0.42107.69Socialist Alternative13,2973.24+1.16000.00Republican Party of Minnesota41,3651.34+0.68000.00Libertarian Party of Minnesota26070.60+0.34000.00Independent43,9583.89−4.14000.00Write-inN/A4720.46−0.38000.00Total101,828100.00±0.0013±0100.00Valid votes101,82896.13+1.97Overvotes70.01−0.03Undervotes4,0933.86−1.94Turnout (out of 249,512 registered voters)105,92842.45+9.07

Ward 1

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2% FinalMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyKevin Reich (incumbent)45.974,0154,29649.19Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyJillia Pessenda44.033,8464,11247.08IndependentJohn Hayden9.77853Write-inN/A0.2320Exhausted ballots3263.73Valid votes8,734Threshold4,368Undervotes130Turnout (out of 19,722 registered voters)44.948,864Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 2

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Green Party of MinnesotaCam Gordon (incumbent)97.275,912Write-inN/A2.73166Valid votes6,078Maximum possible threshold3,518Overvotes1Undervotes955Turnout (out of 17,702 registered voters)39.747,034Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 3

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2Round 3% FinalMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartySteve Fletcher28.242,7093,1034,86150.68Socialist AlternativeGinger Jentzen34.373,2973,5983,84440.08Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyTim Bildsoe26.612,5522,734Green Party of MinnesotaSamantha Pree-Stinson 10.501,007Write-inN/A0.2827Exhausted ballots1578879.25Valid votes9,592Threshold4,797Undervotes285Turnout (out of 24,522 registered voters)40.289,877Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 4

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2% FinalMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyPhillipe Cunningham40.662,1402,60549.50Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyBarb Johnson (incumbent)42.902,2582,43046.17Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyStephanie Gasca12.05634Libertarian Party of MinnesotaDana Hansen4.18220Write-inN/A0.2111Exhausted ballots2284.33Valid votes5,263Threshold2,632Undervotes86Turnout (out of 17,156 registered voters)31.185,349Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 5

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2% FinalMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyJeremiah Ellison (incumbent)47.131,9872,31354.86Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyBlong Yang 38.351,6171,76941.96Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyRaeisha Williams 10.56445Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyCathy Spann 3.77159Write-inN/A0.198Exhausted ballots1343.18Valid votes4,216Threshold2,109Undervotes62Turnout (out of 15,302 registered voters)27.964,278Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 6

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyAbdi Warsame (incumbent)50.173,629Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyMohamud Noor 46.863,390Republican Party of MinnesotaFadumo Yusuf 2.53183Write-inTiffini Forslund 0.086Write-inN/A0.3626Valid votes7,234Threshold3,618Undervotes163Turnout (out of 15,725 registered voters)47.047,397Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 7

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyLisa Goodman (incumbent)52.264,742Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyJanne Flisrand31.212,832Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyTeqen Zéa-Aida 9.79888Republican Party of MinnesotaJoe Kovacs 6.60599Write-inN/A0.1413Valid votes9,074Maximum possible threshold4,628Overvotes3Undervotes178Turnout (out of 20,789 registered voters)44.529,255Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 8

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyAndrea Jenkins73.095,762Green Party of MinnesotaTerry White12.771,007Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyApril Kane9.01710Libertarian Party of MinnesotaDavid Holsinger 4.91387Write-inN/A0.2217Valid votes7,883Maximum possible threshold4,138Overvotes1Undervotes391Turnout (out of 18,090 registered voters)45.748,275Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 9

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2% FinalMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyAlondra Cano (incumbent)47.532,6232,98254.03Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyGary Schiff 29.431,6241,93435.04Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyMohamed Farah 19.641,084Republican Party of MinnesotaRonald Peterson3.03167Write-inN/A0.3821Exhausted ballots60310.93Valid votes5,519Threshold2,760Undervotes131Turnout (out of 13,111 registered voters)43.095,650Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 10

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyLisa Bender (incumbent)64.344,883Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartySaralyn Romanishan 20.571,561Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyDavid Schorn 9.34709Republican Party of MinnesotaBruce Lundeen5.48416Write-inN/A0.2620Valid votes7,589Maximum possible threshold3,956Undervotes322Turnout (out of 20,942 registered voters)37.787,911Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 11

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2% FinalMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyJeremy Schroeder35.263,2304,75751.93Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyJohn Quincy (incumbent)34.933,2003,98143.46Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyErica Mauter 29.432,696Write-inN/A0.3734Exhausted ballots4224.61Valid votes9,160Threshold4,581Undervotes432Turnout (out of 20,264 registered voters)47.349,592Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 12

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyAndrew Johnson (incumbent)87.158,874IndependentWill Jaeger 9.40957IndependentHarrison Bullard 3.10316Write-inN/A0.3435Valid votes10,182Maximum possible threshold5,353Undervotes522Turnout (out of 22,735 registered voters)47.0810,704Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

Ward 13

PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyLinea Palmisano (incumbent)83.199,404IndependentBob Reuer 16.211,832Write-inN/A0.6068Valid votes11,304Maximum possible threshold5,872Overvotes2Undervotes436Turnout (out of 23,452 registered voters)50.0711,742Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

President of the City Council election After the election, which resulted in the defeat of Council President Barb Johnson, it was reported that DFL Council Members Lisa Bender, Linea Palmisano, and Council Member-elect Andrea Jenkins were seeking to replace her. When the new City Council convened on January 8, 2018, it unanimously elected Bender to be president.

Following Bender's election, it was revealed that Jenkins and Palmisano were respectively seeking to be elected president and vice-president as a ticket. Bender said that while she had the votes to defeat them and install her supporters as chairs of choice committees, she wanted to avoid the Council splitting into factions that had sometimes characterized the previous City Council. As part of a deal to get her unanimous support and to present a united front, Bender agreed that Jenkins would be vice-president, who was also elected unanimously. A new committee structure was agreed to and council members that did not nominally support her would be given choice committee chairs. Bender said that all council members had to compromise. A final deal was not reached until January 7.

See also Minneapolis mayoral election, 2017 Minneapolis municipal election, 2017

Notes

References

External links Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services