2021 Minneapolis municipal election

A general election was held in Minneapolis on November 2, 2021. Minneapolis's mayor was up for election as well as all the seats on the City Council, the two elected seats on the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and all the seats on the Park and Recreation Board. Voters were able to rank up to three candidates for each office in order of preference. Additionally, there were three ballot measures on the ballot related to government structure, public safety, and rent control.^[1]

Mayor

Incumbent Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Mayor Jacob Frey sought re-election to a second term among a field of 16 candidates. He won with 56% of the vote in the second round of the rank-choice ballot.

City Council

All 13 seats on the Minneapolis City Council were up for election. Each resident of Minneapolis could elect one city councilor in a single-member district. Because of re-districting, members were only elected for a two-year term instead of the usual four-year term. The DFL retained their supermajority, winning 12 of the 13 wards and over 85% of total votes cast. Cam Gordon, the council's sole Green Party member, lost to newcomer Robin Wonsley Worlobah. She became the DSA's first representative elected to the Minneapolis City Council.

Park and Recreation Board

Affiliation		Candidate	FPV (%)	Votes per round							Status
Affiliation		Candidate	FPV (%)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Status
	Non-partisan	Meg Forney	29.64	31,612	31,629	Elected
	Non-partisan	Tom Olsen	19.41	20,702	20,710	21,094	21,935	23,456	Elected
	Non-partisan	Alicia D. Smith	12.00	12,799	12,806	13,517	15,138	17,317	19,298	Elected
	Non-partisan	Mary McKelvey	11.32	12,074	12,079	13,441	14,936	16,869	18,298	18,458	Lost
	Non-partisan	Londel French	11.12	11,906	11,916	12,134	12,505	13,394	Eliminated
	Non-partisan	Charles Rucker	9.11	9,711	9,720	10,128	10,761	Eliminated
	Non-partisan	Katherine Kelly	6.82	7,270	7,272	7,575	Eliminated
	Write-ins	—	0.54	578	Eliminated
Exhausted ballots					518	2,099	4,712	8,982	14,616	15,208
Undervotes				38,687
Total votes				106,650
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services^[2]

Board of Estimate and Taxation

The two elected seats on the Board of Estimate and Taxation were up for election. Steve Brandt and Samantha Pree-Stinson were elected from one citywide, at-large district via the single transferable vote.

Candidates

Candidates
Steve Brandt
Pine Salica
Kevin Nikiforakis
Samantha "Sam" Pree-Stinson

Results

Party		Candidate	% 1st Choice	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	% Final
	Non-partisan	Steve Brandt	44.62%	42,672	44,340	31,876^[3]	33.33%
	Non-partisan	Samantha Pree-Stinson	26.77%	25,597	26,194	29,493	30.84%
	Non-partisan	Pine Salica	21.74%	20,786	21,521	24,137	25.84%
	Non-partisan	Kevin Nikiforakis	6.08%	5,815
	Write-in	N/A	0.09%	755
Exhausted ballots					2,973	10,116	10.58%
Valid votes				95,625
Threshold				31,876
Undervotes				49,712
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services^[4]

Ballot measures

Question 1

Question 1 would change the form of government of Minneapolis to an Executive Mayor-Legislative Council. It passed with 52% of the vote.

Question 1: Government structure^[5]
Choice	Votes	%
Yes	74,037	52.41
No	67,228	47.59
Total votes	141,265	100.00

Question 2

On November 2, 2021, voters in Minneapolis rejected the ballot measure with 80,506 or 56.2 percent of votes cast for "no" versus 62,813 or 43.8% of votes for "yes".^[6]

Question 2: Public safety^[5]
Choice	Votes	%
No	80,506	56.2
Yes	62,813	43.8
Total votes	143,319	100.00

Question 3

Question 3 permitted the Minneapolis City Council to enact rent control on private residential property. It passed with 53% of the vote.

Question 3: Rent control^[5]
Choice	Votes	%
Yes	75,598	53.21
No	66,468	46.79
Total votes	142,066	100.00

References

^ Minneapolis, City of. "What's on the ballot". vote.minneapolismn.gov.
^ Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 Parks & Recreation Commissioner At Large results". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
^ Elected in round 2; reduction in votes is distributed surplus.
^ Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) results". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 Ballot Questions". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
^ "Minneapolis voters reject plan to overhaul city policing". Minnesota Public Radio. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.

[1] Minneapolis, City of. "What's on the ballot". vote.minneapolismn.gov.

[Minneapolis_2021_d024-2] Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 Parks & Recreation Commissioner At Large results". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 16, 2024.

[surplus-3] Elected in round 2; reduction in votes is distributed surplus.

[Board_of_Estimate_and_Taxation_2021-4] Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) results". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved August 29, 2022.

[Minneapolis_2021-5] Minneapolis, City of (November 2, 2021). "2021 Ballot Questions". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 9, 2021.

[:19-6] "Minneapolis voters reject plan to overhaul city policing". Minnesota Public Radio. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.

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