Minnesota

POLITICAL HOMEPAGE

MINNESOTA 2025 MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS

WHY WE ENDORSE IN MUNICIPAL RACES

It is important that NCSRCC endorse in Minnesota municipal elections as many construction projects are approved or denied by our city councils. Job creation, work hours, and area standards are key to determining where we dedicate time, money, and other resources. We often overlay our political work with organizing priorities and Fall 2025 provided us with some opportunities.

Fall 2025 had NCSRCC Minnesota play in 9 of 18 municipalities. We endorsed 32 candidates of which 28 won election for a win rate of 87.5%.

MINNESOTA URBAN RACES

Saint Paul and Minneapolis use a Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) system to determine election outcomes. A candidate must get at least 50% plus 1 of the votes on the first ballot to win. Otherwise, the count proceeds to second-choice ballot.  Fall 2025 saw both incumbent mayors not reach the first ballot threshold which meant that 2^nd choice ballots were considered. Follow the links under each city to learn how RCV is determined in each city.

Minneapolis Mayor and City Council

NCSRCC played in 10  of 14 Minneapolis city council races and won 8 for a win rate of 80.0%.

NCSRCC field work for municipal candidates centered around re-election of Mayor Jacob Frey.  Mayor Frey had a well-organized slate of challengers working the RCV system. The most notable challenger being Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh. Frey was able to hold on through 2^nd choice ballot to win a historic, and what he has stated, will be his final term.

Two NCSRCC endorsed Minneapolis candidates were running in open seats. Pearll Warren in Ward 5 and Jamison Whiting in Ward 11 both won election. Pearll Warren had a tough challenger in Enthropic Burnett but held on to win on 2^nd ballot. 

Three endorsed candidates took on the difficult task of attempting to unseat incumbents. This means that they were challenging the people that already hold that office. These types of races are more difficult to win.  NCSRCC endorsed Shelley Madore in Ward 2; Elizabeth Shaffer in Ward 7; and Lydia Millard in Ward 10. Elizabeth Shaffer was able to win election.

Finally, NCSRCC endorsed four incumbent candidates that won re-election. Elliott Payne in Ward 1; Michael Rainville in Ward 3; LaTrisha Vetaw in Ward 4; and Linea Palmisano is Ward 13.

Click Here to learn how Minneapolis determines RCV.

Saint Paul Mayor

Mayor Melvin Carter did not win a historic third term. Carter had a formidable challenger in Minnesota Representative Kaohly Her who had previous experience working in Mayor Carter’s administration.  Her’s campaign was well-organized, had the support of Her’s State House colleagues, and had plenty of momentum leading to Mayor Carter not garnering the 50% plus 1 vote needed on first ballot.  Her was able to win on 2^nd choice ballots, making Her the first woman and Hmong American to be elected mayor. 

Click Here to learn how St. Paul determines RCV.

SUBURBS AND OUT-STATE COUNCILS

NCSRCC played in 7 cities and backed 21 candidates in the suburbs and out-state. Out of these races we protected 11 out of 12 incumbents and elected 9 new allies in open seats. Our win rate was 20 of 21 races for 95.8%.

MN Senate Special Election Results Have Party Dynamics Staying the Same

The November election had two Senate District vacancies needing to be filled in a narrowly divided Minnesota Senate where the DFL held a one seat majority. Senate District 29 elected Michael Holmstrom Jr. and remains a GOP district. The district is just west of the Twin Cities Metro area and south of I-94 representing communities such as Delano, South Haven, Montrose, Buffalo, Annandale, Silver Creek, and Monticello. Senate District 47 represents Maplewood and Woodbury and elected Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, keeping it in DFL hands. Neither district switched Party alliances and so the DFL maintains a one seat control of the Minnesota Senate. 

Prevailing wage

Minnesota is experiencing push back on local prevailing wage ordinances in two key cities. This is happening in two Minnesota cities that have a history of being leaders in labor protections and standards, West Saint Paul and Bloomington.  Both cities are looking at changes in policy to accommodate specific construction proposals rather than focusing on good public policy following a review and discussion of their community values.

The Bloomington City Council will hold a hearing next week on August 4, 2025, to discuss several changes. The most notable change is an exemption to existing prevailing wage for developers that can demonstrate their project may not otherwise be financially infeasible. The NCSRCC and stakeholders are doing the groundwork necessary to be prepared to fight back.

West Saint Paul has had a prevailing wage ordinance on the books since 1989. It is a city that claims they want to enforce labor standards at the local level. However, at the prompting from a potential developer planning a project in the city, the city manager proposed new language that passed on Monday evening, July 28^th. The language suggested using “basic cost of living”  rather than prevailing wage. It also created “skilled wage” and “unskilled wage” categories. In the end, a harmful section remained which allowed for a “city council modification” to prevailing wage if a project was deemed to be for the “exceptional public good”. This would essentially allow the city council to review projects that are for the “exceptional good” on a project-by-project basis. If a project is determined to otherwise be financially infeasible, the city council could also determine other parameters. This is an exception to prevailing wage and a reduction in labor standards for West Saint Paul.  The only positive outcome of the change is that requests for exceptions must take place at city council meetings where the public can testify rather than through city staff/administrative methods.

The NCSRCC staff worked with city council and other stakeholders to kill most of the harmful language. NCSRCC Political Action Leaders and labor partners packed the council chambers for the meeting. They provided testimony on why the current prevailing wage ordinance should not be changed. However, the vote to change the ordinance resulted in a 3-3 tie with a strong prevailing wage advocate changing his position. That meant that the mayor would get to make the deciding vote. It is clear that the West Saint Paul City Council and all its projects will need to be closely monitored and more proactive work will need to be done to ensure that prevailing wage occurs on all projects.

NCSRCC Minneapolis Endorsements for November 4, 2025

• MAYOR: Jacob Frey
• CITY COUNCIL:
  • Ward 1: Elliott Payne (incumbent)
  • Ward 2: Shelley Madore
  • Ward 3: Michael Rainville (incumbent)
  • Ward 4: LaTrisha Vetaw (incumbent)
  • Ward 5: Pearll Warren
  • Ward 6: No endorsement
  • Ward 7: Elizabeth Shaffer
  • Ward 8: No endorsement
  • Ward 9: No endorsement
  • Ward 10: Lydia Millard
  • Ward 11: Jamison Whiting
  • Ward 12: No endorsement
  • Ward 13: Linea Palmisano (incumbent)

National

Job Corps: Federal cuts have halted Quentin N Burdick Jobs Corps in Minot, North Dakota and the Hubert H. Humphry Job Corps in St. Paul. Job Corps centers under the U.S. DOL budget are halting all services to students by June 30^th.

Minnesota Legislature

After a delay in the 2025 legislature getting started, they finally finished this past Tuesday morning. In fact, there were 46 states whose fiscal year starts on July 1, 2025. Of those 46 states, just 16 had a budget signed by their governor by June making it the most difficult budget year that states have faced since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. North Dakota is one of the states that has finished their budget on time for the start of the year.

• State Government Finance Bill Provision: 
  This bill repealed the state’s statute establishing and funding of the Advisory Council on Infrastructure. The purpose of the council was to define and maintain a vision for the future of Minnesota’s infrastructure that provides for its proper management, coordination, and investment.
   
• Transportation Bill Provisions:
  The tax on auto parts designated for roads and bridges is being reduced and added to the general fund. The amount increases to over $83 million in the 28’-29’ biennium.
  
  Trunk Highway funds were designated for construction of the State Patrol Headquarters.
   
• Public Utilities Commission Appointments:
  We successfully pushed for the appointments and confirmations of two Public Utility Commissioners we endorsed, Audrey Partridge and Hwikwon Ham. Both were confirmed by the Minnesota Senate.
   
• Judiciary, Public Safety and Corrections Policy and Finance Bill Provisions: 
  This bill includes language requiring the BCA’s Financial Crimes and Fraud Section to initiate inquiries and conduct investigations when they have reason to believe that “wage theft and other related crimes” have been or are being committed.
  
  Legislation passed that amended Minnesota statute to allow county attorneys to use administrative subpoenas to obtain records of an employer or business entity who is the subject of or has information related to a wage theft investigation. The information includes accounting and financial records such as books, payrolls, banking records, credit card records, securities records, records of money transfers, records of payments to contractors, and records of workers’ compensation insurance.
   
• Housing Finance Bill:
  Legislation passed and has been signed into law changing prevailing wages on wood frame housing projects receiving low-income housing tax credits to the Carpenters wood frame rate. It will also allow the Department of Labor and Industry to do rule making to potentially make this change permanently in code. 
   
• Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council Recommendations:
  This legislation provides attestation for zero estimated exposure worker’s compensation policies to better assist with enforcement and prosecution of companies electing to cheat the system and gain an unfair advantage over honest contractors. This requires insurers to obtain a statement signed by an applicant attesting to the accuracy of the information on the application, including the absence of employees thus having zero estimated exposure. The attestation will include the following language: “I attest that all information provided on this application is current, true, correct, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. I further attest that I have no employees and an estimated exposure of zero. If I employ any employees during the policy period, I must provide within 60 days of the employment written notification to my workers' compensation insurer of the employment, including estimated payroll and classification codes of my employees. I understand that omissions or misrepresentations with intent to defraud on this application are a crime under Minnesota Statutes, section 609.611."
  
  This law treats worker’s compensation data for employers with a zero estimated exposure policy along with the employer’s construction classification codes as public data. Employers with such policies must provide written notification to all entities the employer directly contracts with to provide or perform building construction or improvement services of their total estimated exposure of zero and provide a copy of the policy. 
   
• Labor Bill Inclusions:
  • An additional 2.5 employees have been funded for misclassification enforcement. 
  • A misclassification impact report is funded in the Labor bill, which should provide technical expertise to the level of misclassification problem we have in Minnesota. 
  • Funding for the Helmets to Hard Hats program in Minnesota. 
  • $1 million in funding for building trades mental health initiatives awarded to the Department of Labor and Industr
     
• Bonding Bill:
  The Capital investment bill that passed consists of $700 million in bonds. The legislation consists of infrastructure and asset preservation only. There is also additional funding for the construction of the BCA headquarters in Mankato.
   
• Data Center Bill Passage:
  This legislation that passed on the final night of special session includes a repeal of the energy tax exemption in Minnesota for large-scale data centers. In return, to make the state more attractive for development, these data centers will receive tax rebates on information technology equipment and software purchases as well as tax breaks on building materials. An agreement on environmental measures was reached between business, environment advocates and labor which should jump start the construction on several of these projects.
   
• TaxBill Notables:
  • A tax increment financing (TIF) district is approved for the BioTech district in Brooklyn Center.
  • A TIF district is extended in Bloomington for development (waterpark) near the Mall of America.

NCSRCC Works to Put Members Back to Work in SAINT Paul

The NCSRCC Political Department was successful in assisting with the passage of an amendment to the Saint Paul Rent Stabilization, a.k.a. rent control,  ordinance that would exempt new construction built after 2004. We anticipate passing this amendment will help a lethargic Saint Paul construction environment. The residents of Saint Paul passed a rent control ordinance in Fall 2023 leading to some very real consequences for our members as multiunit housing permits in the city saw an immediate 80% decrease after its passage. Developers were having a difficult time finding financing for their projects and either stopped or scaled back construction.  Now that the amendment has passed, with an exemption for newer projects, we look forward to putting our members back to work in Saint Paul.