Sharon El-Amin
Irene Fernando
Viviana Salazar
Makeda Zulu
On July 21, three candidates for Hennepin County District 2 Commissioner attended a public forum hosted by the League of Women Voters (LWV). The LWV invited all four candidates: Sharon El-Amin; Irene Fernando, the incumbent; Viviana Salazar; and Makeda Zulu. Salazar did not attend the event.
In Minneapolis, District 2 in Hennepin County includes North, Northeast and the North Loop. Outside of Minneapolis, it includes St. Anthony Village, Medicine Lake, Golden Valley and portions of Plymouth.
Communication and representation
Kim McCoy, of the LWV, moderated the forum. Each candidate was given one minute per question to reply to a prepared list.
To open, McCoy asked candidates about how they would “explain and communicate the county’s role and impact on residents’ daily lives.”
Zulu said she would participate in town hall meetings as an effort to communicate with her constituents. El-Amin stressed a focus on “listening… at community meetings, at the schools, in the neighborhood,” adding that she would “start a newsletter.” Fernando said it is important to look wider: “It’s important for the commissioner (to ensure their message) expands into all areas of the district… A single leader isn’t going to get us through the challenges that are ahead of us.”
Candidates were asked how they would combat disparities “related to race, ethnicity, LGBTQ+ populations (and) immigrants.”
Fernando said it’s important for Hennepin County to “defend what we already have” in court, adding that combating disparities should happen “through policies, through investment and through a fierce and uncompromising defense of our residents.” El-Amin said she would focus on “representation for all” by “making sure that families understand the power that they hold… You should be able to walk into the room and have representation.”
Zulu, who serves as executive director at the Birth Justice Collaborative (BJC), a group dedicated to “improving maternal health outcomes and advancing birth justice related issues in Hennepin County,” pointed towards her work with the BJC and said she’s working with students in North Minneapolis to study current levels of air pollution in the area.
Crime and federal funding
When asked about how they would address juvenile crime in Hennepin County, each candidate pointed towards preemptive approaches. Zulu said, “We need to come up with a solution that’s not just punishment,” adding that she believes the county needs “money for childcare, after-school programs” and affordable housing. El-Amin pointed towards the same programs, adding on that healthcare and mental-health services should be “culturally responsive.” Fernando said, “We should be expanding preventative interventions in domestic, intimate partner violence (and) gun violence.”
McCoy then asked the candidates how they would adjust to pending decreases in federal revenues while addressing rising taxes.
Fernando said she would prioritize essential services, adding that “we need to reduce residential burden” by increasing the commercial property tax burden. “We must be investing in expanding the commercial tax base in order to maintain services,” she said. Zulu pointed towards the lottery and marijuana, seeming to suggest they could be potential sources of funding. She also suggested a “pause or freeze” on seniors’ property taxes so they could stay in their homes. El-Amin said she would prioritize protecting “the whole family” by focusing on affordable housing, daycare and early childhood education. “When we have strong, stabilized families, the economy will grow.”
HERC, housing
The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC), a trash-burning facility north of downtown Minneapolis, burns about 45% of the county’s waste. McCoy pointed out that commissioners have voted to close it “sometime between 2028 and 2040,” asking candidates how they would ensure its closure.
Zulu, a cancer survivor, said she would “start a committee of folks who actually know how to shut it down.” El-Amin, who has asthma, said she “would step in wanting to close down HERC as soon as possible,” adding that “we have to get to zero waste before we can even think about closing it down.” Fernando said she supports converting HERC into a “pre-sort and recycling facility to ensure service continuity” for the community.
When asked about how they would ensure safe and affordable housing, Fernando said it is important for all cities to provide livable wages, saying that evicting encampments is possibly more expensive than providing housing, adding that she supported funding “housing as a human right.” Zulu said she would make a “transition plan for folks to move out of affordable housing” If they want. El-Amin said the county needs more affordable housing, agreed with the need for a transition plan and said there need to be more “choices of housing.”
Transit
The conversation then moved on to transit. Each candidate supported continuing with the Blue Line light rail project as planned — but two candidates had qualifiers. Fernando returned to her focus on the climate, adding that “commercial valuation through light rail investment is the only mathematical way that I have seen to generate the amount of money that our residents need and deserve.”
Zulu said the plan needs more money for a few reasons. First, she said the bridge between North and Northeast needs funding; second, she said she wanted to “replace three houses for every house that we have to get rid of”; and third, she said she wants transit to connect to surrounding cities because it could make North Minneapolis a destination.
El-Amin suggested doing bus rapid transit rather than light rail. “Business don’t know what’s happening,” she said, saying the project “is causing so much displacement.
“If we are in a situation where we are being stalled, we need to pivot.”
Data centers in Hennepin County
Lastly, the candidates were asked about their position on data centers in Hennepin County. Data centers — buildings that house computer systems, servers and data storage equipment — are popping up across the country, in part, to facilitate artificial intelligence.
El-Amin said she is “open to learning” about data centers, saying, “we need to understand the benefits and the harm that these data centers will bring into our community.” Fernando said she is “very skeptical of them,” saying she was “disconcerted” by their water usage and skeptical of how many jobs they would create. Zulu echoed Fernando’s concern about job creation and said she knew they were “harmful to the environment.”
Early voting for the Hennepin County Commissioner District 2 ends Aug.10. In person voting takes place Aug. 11. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the nonpartisan Aug.11 primary election will proceed to the general election on Nov. 3.