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.
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 council member 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 All 9 seats on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board were up for election in 2021. This includes 6 district commissioners and 3 at-large commissioners. Park commissioners run as nonpartisan.
Results At-Large Minneapolis Park and Recreation Commissioner at-large seats, 2021AffiliationCandidateFPV (%) Votes per roundStatus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Non-partisan Meg Forney 29.64 31,612 31,629 26,663colspan=5 style="text-align:right;" Non-partisan Tom Olsen 19.41 20,702 20,710 21,094 21,935 23,456 27,77526,664colspan=1 style="text-align:right;" Non-partisan Alicia D. Smith 12.00 12,799 12,806 13,517 15,138 17,317 19,298 19,657colspan=2 style="text-align:right;" Non-partisan Mary McKelvey 11.32 12,074 12,079 13,441 14,936 16,869 18,298 18,458 Non-partisan Londel French 11.12 11,906 11,916 12,134 12,505 13,394colspan=3 style="text-align:right;" Non-partisan Charles Rucker 9.11 9,711 9,720 10,128 10,761colspan=4 style="text-align:right;" Non-partisan Katherine Kelly 6.82 7,270 7,272 7,575colspan=5 style="text-align:right;" Write-ins 0.54 578colspan=7 style="text-align:right;" Exhausted ballots5182,0994,7128,98214,61615,208Total votes106,650Threshold26,663Undervotes38,687Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services
District 1 Running unopposed, Commissioner Billy Menz from District 1 was elected in the first round.
District 2 Commissioner Becka Thompson was elected after the second round.
Candidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2% FinalStatusBecka Thompson 41.4%4,4795,28048.8%style="text-align:right;" Mike Shelton29.7%3,2124,13638.3%style="text-align:right;" Eric Moran28.2%3,047colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" Write-in0.7%73colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" Exhausted ballots1,395Total votes10,811Threshold5,406Undervotes4,534Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services
District 3 Commissioner Becky Alper was elected for the third district in the first round.
District 4 Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer was elected for the fourth district in the first round, unseating sitting MPRB president Jono Cowgill.
District 5 Steffanie Musich received enough votes after two rounds to be elected for District 5.
District 6 Commissioner Cathy Abene was elected to District 6 after the third round.
Candidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2Round 3% FinalStatusCathy Abene 26.3%6,4458,12611,62147.4%style="text-align:right;" Bob Fine25.3%6,2117,4088,22233.5%style="text-align:right;" Risa Hustad26.8%6,5607,239colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" Barb Schlaefer21.4%5,244colspan="4" style="text-align:right;" Write-in0.3%62colspan="4" style="text-align:right;" Exhausted ballots1,7494,679Total votes24,522Threshold12,262Undervotes5,955Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services
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.
Results PartyCandidate% 1stChoiceRound 1Round 2Round 3% FinalNon-partisanSteve Brandt 44.62%42,67244,34031,87633.33%Green Party Samantha Pree-Stinson26.77%25,59726,19429,49330.84%Non-partisanPine Salica21.74%20,78621,52124,13725.84%Non-partisan Kevin Nikiforakis6.08%5,815colspan=3 style="text-align:right;" Write-inN/A0.09%755colspan=3 style="text-align:right;" Exhausted ballots2,97310,11610.58%Valid votes95,625Threshold31,876Undervotes49,712Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services
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 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".
Question 3 Question 3 permitted the Minneapolis City Council to enact rent control on private residential property. It passed with 53% of the vote.
See also 2020 Minneapolis park encampments
References