It was an eventful first term for Mayor Jacob Frey who has seen Minneapolis through some of the most significant unrest in any American city since the Rodney King riots in the early 90’s, and the worst in Minnesota since the civil rights riots of the late 1960’s.
The Democratic Frey dealt with the killing of George Floyd, and the trial of the officer who was charged with his murder, Derek Chauvin, was beset by police accountability issues, including the 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark, a Black man, in a struggle with white officers, and the 2017 shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a white woman, by a Black officer.
There was also the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges to his authority by the City Council, especially president Lisa Bender, and significant criticism from state GOP leaders. In addition, Frey’s first child was born last September.
“Before the Election began, there were definitive points where I was thinking to myself, do I want to run again and is this the right decision for my family,” Frey told WCCO. “It’s grueling. The job of mayor has dramatically changed since my first two years in office. It’s totally changed. The end conclusion is I feel a very deep-seated responsibility to get the city through this.”
Despite the challenges, Frey won a second term fairly easily over several challengers. Seventeen candidates ran in the race, including many who took issue with the way Frey has handled changes to the police department.
Frey ended up winning 49% of the vote in Minneapolis over Kate Knuth who won 48% using the city’s ranked choice system.
“I was always confident we’d get to the finish line and win,” Frey says. “At the same time, it was grueling. You’re getting beat up from every single angle, the jabs are flying. I’m just hoping that right now, after this Election, it marks a turning point. Let’s put down the politics, let’s unite, let’s work together.”
Frey somewhat risked his political future and drew the ire of the city’s most liberal voices by opposing a ballot question asking voters to eliminate the police department.
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Now, facing a second term with many questions around police accountability and reform, Frey knows it is time to show leadership and a change in culture from a system that has come under fire and become a focal point for police reform.
Frey, who spoke to News Talk 830 WCCO’s Chad Hartman on Thursday, says there will be areas and issues where there is disagreement but is also confident there is a lot of common ground to get things done.
“Let’s first tackle the issues where we all agree,” Frey says. “The vast majority of our city believes we need safety beyond policing. They believe that not every 911 response requires an officer with a gun and that we need deep-seated reform and change. Let’s embrace those things. We’re all in agreement, quit arguing and just do it. But in order to do that, it requires all parties to engage in good faith.”
While the city’s voters decided not to pass Question 2 on the ballot, which would have removed the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a Department of Public safety, the fact that the issue was even up for a vote shows that citizens are ready for change in Minnesota’s largest city.
Frey also says the police union needs to change, and city leaders to come together in order for the city to advance police reform.
“Are there issues with the union, of course there are,” Frey says. “Nationwide, in terms of the culture shift we need to see in our departments, cops need to get paid more and fired more. We need to incentivize the best possible people to enter what is, yes, a very difficult profession. We want people that are of community, for community, have deep-seated relationships with the community. And simultaneously, if they don’t live up to the standards we set out and the values that we hold, you’re gone. Both of those things need to be true.”
There has been speculation that Police Chief Medaria Arradondo will step-down, but Mayor Frey said the chief is taking time to discuss it with his family before making a decision.
“I’m 100% committed to him, and moving forward assuming he is willing to do so himself,” Frey told Hartman. “I’m not going to set a deadline right around the corner. I want him to go through a deliberate process.”
Mayor Frey did say the number of officers in the city right now is too low, saying the data he has seen shows that they cannot keep up with 911 calls or investigations currently.
“We were already quite low in our capacity,” Frey said. “We need to bring officers back in. That is a clear step that needs to happen. As far as the final number we will arrive at, I’m not going to weigh in and be the expert on that.”
Frey, a lawyer by training and a Virginia transplant, first won a City Council seat in 2013 before ascending to mayor where he succeeded Betsy Hodges in 2017.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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