Who will replace Ellison? Ward 5 race has six vying for city council seat
Ward 5 candidates, top row, from left: Ethrophic Burnett, Pearll Warren, and Miles Wilson. Bottom row: Anndrea Young, Jōvanta Northington and Maurice Ward.
Ward 5 also covers parts of northern Minneapolis. Its neighborhoods include Harrison, Hawthorne, Jordan, Near-North, North Loop, Sumner- Glenwood and Willard-Hay.
By David Pierini, Editor
Minneapolis City Councilmember Jeremiah Elliison’s three terms in the Ward 5 seat was nothing short of historic.
There was the police murder of George Floyd and a campaign to reform a seemingly stubborn cop culture, new powers for the mayor, the push and pull of polarizing politics and constituents angry over the proposed Blue Line extension traveling down West Broadway Avenue.
These were only a fraction of the issues the retiring Ellison faced and will now pass on to one of six candidates running to assume his seat in the Nov. 4 city elections.
All six candidates have some level of experience working with organizations that touch some issue that comes up in the job, with one who is more versed in the language of local government as an employee of the city and a one-time aide to a former city councilmember.
Visibility, with plenty of door-knocking, More than experience will be key. Candidates will need plenty of visibility and door knocking. Ward 5, which covers the neighborhoods of Harrison, Hawthorne, Jordan, Sumner-Glenwood, Willard-Hay, Near North, and North Loop, historically has has historically had the lowest voter turnout (averaging 35 percent) of the city’s 13 wards.
Here is who’s the roster of candidates running for City Council in Ward 5:
Anndrea Young is the executive director of the Heritage Park Neighborhood Association and holds a degree in communications from Tennessee State University. She is part of the boards and organizations, including the Blue Line Coalition, Zero Burn Coalition, Bring Back 6th Coalition and the 394/I-94 Work Group.
Young She worked with the Blue Line Coalition to secure anti-displacement funds from the state and with the money will advocate for housing stability, renters and small business protections, and arts and culture. She said she would work to shut down the Hennepin County trash incinerator known as the HERC, promote local businesses interested in cannabis production, financial literacy, bridge repairs, improved snow plowing services and restorative justice programs.
“I personally want to bring investment into the ward,” she said. “I want to elevate the story of North Minneapolis as a beautiful place to live, work and play.”
Ethrophic Burnett has both grassroots and city government experience. She works in the Minneapolis City Auditor’s Office after previous stints in the Office of Violence Prevention and the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department. She was an aide to former Ward 4 Councilman Phillipe Cunningham.
Friends call her E, and in jobs she has served, she has learned the value of listening with empathy, strong constituent services and more accountability in government. If elected, she said she will advocate for rent stabilization, public housing that prioritizes families, expand support for local entrepreneurs and push for a commercial property development fund to revitalize business corridors.
She said she will also advocate for public safety that integrates traditional policing and community-based violence prevention programs and equitable funding to give Ward 5 the same resources as other wards.
“I represent 33,000-plus; you guys are my boss,” she said at the Ward 5 forum. “I believe fifth-ward residents deserve have someone who can go in day in and day out, taking our issues and concerns to every department. I am that person who knows. For the last eight years, I’ve been a city employee. I understand policy, I understand the current structure of the city council.”
Mpls for the Many endorsed Burnett.
Pearll Warren is the homeownership development manager for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and is well-known around the Twin Cities as Da’Black Pearll, an award-winning performer in spoken word. She has also served as a fellow for the Environmental Justice Coordinating Council and the Public Policy Project.
Her priorities include increasing affordable and equitable housing through mixed-income housing, supporting public safety through a mix of community policing and street outreach programs, and promoting employment with programs for job training, financial literacy and wealth building.
During a candidate forum in early September, Warren said she hoped the city could strengthen ties between police and community, putting some of the responsibility for public safety on residents.
“Our community members have to understand that we stop crimes. Officers enforce laws,” Warren said. “So, it’s our responsibility to speak up if we see something. We also need to make sure that our officers have a direct relationship with the neighborhoods.”
All for Mpls endorsed Warren and she leads all candidates in fundraising.
Miles Wilson calls himself a lifelong Ward 5 resident. He received a business management degree from Minnesota State University-Mankato. He is a contract analyst for a financial services firm. He is on the board of the Unity Community Mediation Team, which has worked with Minneapolis police to improve accountability and policing practices.
He lists constituency service as his top priority and vows to offer timely and transparent communication to Ward 5 residents. Wilson said he would hold regular community forums to listen to constituents’ concerns and provide solution updates.
Wilson favors the Blue Line light rail extension and said he’d advocate for transportation improvements that would include economic development and home ownership goals.
Maurice Ward was in prison for eight years and rebuilt his life upon release in 2018. He In 2010, he was convicted in 2010 on of two counts of promoting the prostitution of an individual under the age of 18.
“I’m not running from it,” Ward said of his conviction. “I don’t want to talk specifically about it because there are things that I’m doing now in the community that has shown growth.”
Ward used his incarceration experience to help others reenter society with the founding a nonprofit, Justice Impacted Individuals Voting Effectively (JIIVE). Part of this work includes the Just Us Gardens at 59 Queen Ave. N., where those returning to community create gardens in plots the size of a prison mattress to symbolize growth from incarceration. There is also a garden bed that represents solitary confinement and is designed to be a healing space.
He has also worked as a recovery peer specialist supervisor. Ward has two Master’s degrees. His campaign prioritizes community investment as one way to achieve public safety, affordable housing for all and “pro-labor” economic empowerment.
“The reason I’m running is because I am not supposed to be here,” he said. “I represent a voice that is voiceless. That’s why I’m running.”
Jovan Northington has filed to run, but has an inactive website and did not appear at the League of Women Voters Ward 5 candidate forum on Sept. 4. He has participated and helped create violence prevention programs and worked at the Leadership Lab nonprofit. He is active on Facebook.
Other races on the ballot
While selecting a mayor or city council candidate on Nov. 4, Minneapolis voters will be asked to select park board members and two at-large members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation.
Steve Brandt is seeking a second term on the board, which sets limits on annual property tax increases, monitors city finances, and authorizes borrowing. The city charter created the at-large seats to hold the full-time elected officials that serve on this board. Brandt is a retired reporter and is the only one of three non-partisan candidates with a campaign website, https:// www.brandtforbet.com/
Bob Fine formerly served on the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Fine also has sat on boards for the Children’s Theatre and Institute of Arts, Minneapolis Commission on Civil Rights and the Linden Hills Neighborhood Council. Voters can find information onf Fine at https://ballotpedia.org/Bob_Fine
Eric Harris Bernstein is a policy analyst focused on state tax and budget policy. He is the policy director for We Make Minnesota. He has also worked on policy issues, including taxes, labor, antitrust and financial sector regulation. More on Bernstein can be found on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/ in/eric-harris-bernstein-5926441a/
For the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Charles Rucker, a current at-large member of the board, is unopposed in running for District 2, which represents North Minneapolis. He seeks the seat after Becka Thompson chose not to run, who is, instead, seeking a city council seat in another part of the city.
Voters will be asked to select three at-large members from a list of nine. Two incumbents, Meg Forney and Tom Olsen, will compete with Matthew Dowgwillo, Amber Frederick, Mary McKelvey, Tim Petetrson, Adam Schneider, Averi Turner and Michael Wilson.