2025 may be an interesting year for Minneapolis city politics. Mayor Jacob Frey is running for a third term, and three current City Council members (Jeremiah Ellison, Andrea Jenkins and Emily Koski) are not seeking reelection.
There will be a rematch in Ward 3, with DFL City Council member Michael Rainville facing off against Marcus Mills (Progressive Unity Independent). Rainville defeated Mills for the seat in 2023.
On the evening of Thursday, September 18, the League of Women Voters held a forum at the River Hub in Graco Park. Around 50 people heard the two candidates express their visions and plans for the 3rd Ward.
This is the first Minneapolis City Council election since 2017 in which members are elected to the usual 4-year terms. In 2020, voters passed a ballot measure to elect council members to two separate, two-year terms in 2021 and 2023. This measure was meant to keep city council and mayoral terms concurrent, and to comply with a state law that requires city council elections in years ending in 2 or 3 after a census.
League of Women Voters moderator Kim McCoy noted, “Ward 3 is the birthplace of Minneapolis; the first church, the first flour mill and the first bridge across the Mississippi River are all right here. Indigenous people have called this riverfront home for millennia. Generations of immigrants from all over the world have made new lives for themselves right here, just as it has been the economically creative backbone of the city for centuries. It is also where the riverfront has been reborn and revitalized as a community asset.”
Questions for the candidates were based on community concerns and were developed by a League committee and submitted in advance from co-sponsor surveys and solicited from the community at large. Written questions from the audience were taken during the forum.
The first question was, “Why are you running, and what are your qualifications for this office?”
Mills said he wants to improve the lives of everyone in the city and work toward “the material well-being of everyone; I’ve worked for the past 15 years to ensure forward motion and progress in energy, the environment, housing and community safety.” He noted that he has been a Marcy-Holmes apartment resident for 24 years while working for renters’ rights.
Rainville said he’s running for reelection because, “I’ve lived, worked and played in the 3rd Ward all my life. I attended St. Anthony grade school right up the street, DeLaSalle High School and St. Thomas and Notre Dame University. For 35 years, I worked for the Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association. That’s the agency that builds a convention center (and) brings in things like the Super Bowl, the figure-skating finals. I was with the team that helped get the stadium get built downtown, the light rail, the public library and the 36,000 jobs that were created in hospitality.”
Asked about the Ward’s major needs, Rainville said getting the city’s property tax base under control was important. “Our fixed-income and low-income people are getting pushed out of the city and it’s not their fault; it’s because downtown is a mess. The property values of downtown have plummeted.”
Mills said one of the Ward’s biggest needs is to help residents age in place. “People chose this Ward because they liked living here. There are great amenities here. They want to be able to stay. So making sure that rents are affordable, making sure that housing is affordable, making sure that it is a safe place for people to live their lives. For renters, we need to make sure people can stay where they are. One (thing) happening around the city is buildings being purchased out from under their tenants and redeveloped. People get displaced by this process all the time.”
Rainville disagreed, saying, “Rent stabilization is a fancy word for rent control, and rent control does not work in any city,” pointing to St. Paul as an example.
Regarding encampments on private property, Rainville said, “Encampments are terrible; I’ve driven by all of them. What we need to do at the encampments is what we’re doing right now, which is to be there every day offering services to get people out of those situations and get help for addiction and mental illness.” He added that Hennepin County is the social-service provider in this area.
Mills mentioned creating encampments with harm-reduction stations, where people can use drugs in a monitored, hygienic environment to reduce harm from substance use while offering additional services as a start towards rehabilitation.
Both candidates addressed safety and security. Mills said, “The best way to make sure that people don’t feel that violence is their only response is to make sure that they are dealing with better circumstances. We need to improve people’s lives now.”
Rainville mentioned the June shootings in Boom Island Park and said that the 9 p.m. parking lot closing reduced the number of guns.
“The guns are in cars, and if there’s no cars in the lot, there’s no guns in the park. That worked quite well for the rest of the summer.” He also said that he organized “culturally-specific violence interrupters,” who are diverting 11% of calls away from the Police Department, with a goal of 20%.
McCoy asked about strategies for improving jobs and supporting local economies, especially with the pending loss of around 400 Graco employees.
Mills said he’s on the board and working with the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MCIFA) which he says has made housing partnerships, some of which have created more than 1500 jobs.
Rainville proposed that when business owners apply for licenses, there should be one person to walk them through that process, not passing from the department to department. “If I should get reelected I will institute that.”
McCoy mentioned the end of Graco and the nearby Star Tribune printing facility, and asked the candidates what their vision is for finding new uses for or redeveloping those sites and replacing their tax revenue.
Mills said developing light rail was one of a number of smart decisions, saying it “has increased people’s and businesses’ interest in our city going forward. And with those decisions and the understanding that our population is not stagnant, like many other cities in this country, we must make absolutely sure that businesses are enticed to come into this area.”
Rainville talked about housing, whether it’s affordable or market rate, saying there is still a need for senior housing. He suggested that Catholic Eldercare might think about coming to the Graco area for possible housing sites.
McCoy thanked the candidates for being part of the democratic process by running for office and being willing to serve the community. “We hope this forum has helped voters in Ward Three make an informed decision with regard to the November 4 election.”