Minneapolis & St. Paul 2021 Elections

Minneapolis voters decided: “yes,” “no,” “yes.”

“Yes” to Ballot Question 1: Government Structure: Executive Mayor-Legislative Council – Approved. Administrative and executive power over the departments, hiring and firing department heads, transfer away from the city council and to the mayor. 

• The Executive Committee will no longer exist.

• Why did the Charter Commission propose this in the first place? The Charter Commission’s proposal says the goal is “to centralize executive and administrative responsibilities through a single chain of command under the Mayor, and to distinguish the Mayor’s executive functions and responsibilities in contrast to the legislative functions and responsibilities of the Council.”

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“No” to Ballot Question 2: Department of Public Safety – Failed. The City will continue with the work of attempting to reform the Minneapolis Police Department.

• Many people erroneously believed the Council had 30 days to develop a plan for creating a full, newly functioning public safety department. Pro-police groups, the chief of police himself, and the media largely pushed this narrative. However, a City memo, initially circulated on social media last month by Council President Lisa Bender, clarified that the only major change required within 30 days was to appoint an interim Public Safety Commissioner to head the department. 

• Wards where the Public Safety charter amendment passed: Wards 2, 9 and 10 (by a margin of 1000+ votes); and more narrowly in Wards 1 and 8. 

• Wards where the Public Safety charter failed: Wards 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13. The margin of “no” votes is the widest in Wards 13, 11 and 7 – respectively, these are the first, third and fifth wards, out of thirteen total, with the highest voter turnout.