In times of crisis and fascism in politics at the national level, it becomes more and more important to engage with politics at the local level. Even for people cynical about electoral politics in general, it should be clear that local government is, at the very least, one piece of the puzzle when it comes to defending our communities and showing up for one another.
Here in Minneapolis, we have a big election coming up this November, and early voting is already open. For any friends or followers who are just tuning in, a few resources:
The Basics: When and How to Vote
TakeAction MN’s Busy Voter Guide is a step-by-step guide for stuff like figuring out where your polling place is, updating your registration, reviewing a sample ballot, etc.
My personal take: I always vote early in-person. It’s just a matter of finding a date/time to spend 10 minutes or so at the early vote center on E Hennepin (and other early vote locations open up later in October). It’s always been a smooth process; even when there is a line (and there usually isn’t), the staff are friendly and good at keeping things moving. Find info on all that here.
Disconnected from Local Politics and Don’t Know Who to Vote For?
First, I think it’s important to affirm that that’s okay. Most people aren’t super in-the-know when it comes to local government; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. A few good resources:
1. If you want to do your own research, there are candidate forums and questionnaires you can check out. Here’s one from MPR, and here’s one from the Star Tribune. And here’s a full video of a debate held by the Citizens League. (EDIT: Here’s an even more recent MPR debate, from 10/27/25).
Those ones focus on the mayoral race, but some online searching (like in neighborhood newspapers) can turn up others for city council races too. For example, I’m in Ward 1, and the League of Women Voters shared the livestream/recording of their recent candidate forum here. Another example: Parks & Power holds candidate forums for the Park Board.
2. Don’t have the time or energy to do all that research? Endorsements can be a shortcut. In a perfect world, we all do a bunch of research to see where every candidate stands on every issue. When life gets in the way, though, just seeing who is endorsing whom can give us a quick snapshot of how candidates line up with our values.
For example, the current mayor is endorsed by Amy Klobuchar and all the most conservative members of the current city council. If that’s your thing… fine. But for most of the people who are connected with me and likely to be reading this, we’re interested in moving beyond the status quo. I won’t take up a ton of space here talking about Frey’s failures on police violence, homelessness, and beyond (though here’s an informational handout that some Minneapolis residents put together, and here’s a link to even more commentary on why it’s time to turn the page on Frey); I just encourage everyone to check out these links:
- Here are the endorsement pages of mayoral candidates Omar Fateh, DeWayne Davis, and Jazz Hampton.
- TakeAction MN’s 2025 endorsements
- Twin Cities DSA’s 2025 endorsements
- MPLS for the Many’s 2025 endorsements
- Inquilinxs para la Transformacion Politica (Renters for Political Transformation)’s endorsements
- CTUL Action Fund’s endorsements
- OutFront Action’s endorsements
- I generally hesitate to recommend individual (as opposed to organizational) endorsers, BUT if you’re newer to Twin Cities politics, it’s at least good to know about Naomi Kritzer. She’s a writer, and also shares some of the most in-depth candidate profiles (and endorsements) you’ll find anywhere—mayor stuff, but also city council, parks board, and beyond. Here’s her blog’s “election 2025” section, and here’s her specific post on the MPLS mayoral race.
- Similarly, another individual with a good race-by-race breakdown is Taylor Dahlin.
3. Remember that we have ranked choice voting in Minneapolis. You may have noticed that some of the endorsements in the previous point aren’t just for one mayoral candidate. That’s because, for municipal elections, we don’t have to just choose one. Basically, you get to vote for your first choice, second choice, and third choice for local races. Here’s an FAQ from MPR with more info.
My current plan for the mayoral race is Fateh #1, Davis #2, and Hampton #3. The tactical idea behind this is that, for progressives who want a new mayor, ranking all three (and NOT ranking Frey) is the move. I also think it’s cool that this format allows the challengers to form more of a slate rather than attack each other; here’s a great video of Fateh, Davis, and Hampton speaking together about why it’s important to rank all three of them.
Beyond Voting
As always, the best way to get your preferred candidate into office is to volunteer; maybe that’s some door-knocking, or phone-banking, or fundraising. For some examples of what that can look like, here are links to volunteer opportunities for the Fateh, Davis, and Hampton campaigns. You can also volunteer through groups MPLS for the Many, and/or via your preferred city council candidate’s campaign (here’s mine: Elliot Payne for Ward 1).
There are obviously a lot of very bad things happening in the US right now, and voting isn’t going to ever be the one-and-only solution. If electoral politics are worth anything right now, they’re about getting fighters into positions of power and influence: candidates with real vision and connection to community, leaders who will actively resist the fascist status quo—not so they can “save” us, but so they can create more space, energy, and invitation for the organizing that happens outside of the ballot box. You are free to be as cynical as you want about how that plays out in national politics; at the local level, though, the possibilities are real, as are the impacts on our neighbors’—and our—lives.