Star Tribune touts DFL's endorsement of Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor, wonders if he's another Mamdani
By Rachel del Guidice
Published July 23, 2025
The Minnesota Star Tribune is highlighting Minnesota's Democratic Farmer-Labor party endorsement of state Sen. Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor over incumbent Jacob Frey, and asking if Fateh will become "The Mamdani of Minneapolis."
"Three years ago, Minnesota Sen. Omar Fateh was in the hot seat, sitting through a Senate ethics investigation into an alleged quid pro quo with a Somali news outlet," Minneapolis City Hall reporter Deena Winter wrote in a Tuesday article entitled, "The Mamdani of Minneapolis? Omar Fateh brings the left's insurgency to mayor's race."
"On Saturday, Fateh was riding high , as Minneapolis Democrats endorsed him to be the city's next mayor over incumbent two-term Mayor Jacob Frey," Winter wrote.
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"Now the race begins in earnest, reflecting a conflict that's been brewing for years," she continued. "A comparatively moderate Democratic mayor against a rising young progressive who's part of the ascendant Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) wing of the party — an election that is likely to draw national attention and money while potentially upending the power dynamic in City Hall."
Fateh, the son of Somali immigrants, says on his campaign biography page that he is the first Somali American and the first Muslim to be in the Minnesota Senate. He was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2020 and is running on raising the city's minimum wage, increasing the supply of affordable housing, and fighting to stop what he calls the "cycle of the MPD's violence and brutality."
Winter likened Fateh to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary in the city's race for mayor.
Mamdani, a self-avowed democratic socialist, espouses such policies as government-run grocery stores and widespread rent freezes.
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"Fateh has drawn national attention since Mamdani's win, with some calling him the 'Mamdani of Minneapolis,'" Winter wrote.
In her piece, Winter noted that Fateh "supports a ban on the police interacting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement," and highlighted that he "called a June federal drug raid in south Minneapolis 'blatant fascism,' accused MPD of cooperating with ICE, and said it would be 'unconscionable' for police to help with crowd control at an ICE raid."
Winter reported that Frey's campaign is challenging the results of the DFL endorsement, saying they are "questioning why only 578 votes were recorded on the first ballot, even though over 1,000 delegates and alternates were checked in."
Fox News Digital reached out to Fateh and Frey's campaign for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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From there, White said she had a choice: Either move her sleeping bag out of the park and onto the sidewalk, where it was raining, or remain where she was at and get a ticket. She chose the latter. A spokesperson with the Lansing Police Department confirmed the interaction, telling Bridge in a statement that an officer had been out to Maguire Park before the 3 am ticketing to tell those at the pavilion they 'needed to pack up and leave, as the park was closing.' 'I can tell you that we don't take these matters lightly and we do provide significant resources and assistance before the written notice and a final order to leave and clean-up is enacted,' Scott Bean, communications director for the city of Lansing, said in a statement to Bridge late Wednesday. 'These make-shift sites do not offer safe or sanitary conditions as there are no toilets, running water, trash collection… thereby posing a public health risk in our parks.' White said she doesn't know what to do next but doesn't plan to pay the ticket, noting that the city provides animal waste bags at dog parks but won't let homeless humans sleep nearby. 'I'm just out here trying to sleep and trying to find a place to go,' said White, who is due to deliver a baby girl this November. 'There's been no help, no matter how hard I try.' A delicate balance While 'everyone's well intended' in thinking of ways to keep people from living on the streets, Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness Director Ashley Halladay-Schmandt said a proven way already exists — housing first. The approach is simple: Put a person into some level of permanent, supportive housing as they work to address any mental or behavioral health problems, rather than offer housing as a conditional reward in the process. It's been a 'proven, effective way to address homelessness for a very long time,' said Halladay-Schmandt, noting it's overall cheaper for a community to house a person than incarcerate them. Which is why, she said, the president's order openly calling to end 'support for 'housing first' policies' concerns her. 'I'm just confused and baffled about what this means for us and the folks we serve,' said Halladay-Schmandt, whose organization works in five northern Michigan counties — including in Grand Traverse County, where The Pines encampment once stood. Michigan is making stridestoward addressing a lack of affordable, permanent housing, but the effort is a marathon, not a sprint. Many planned developments are focused on addressing housing stock for mid- to low-income earners, but not necessarily very low income earners like homeless individuals. As of May, the State Housing Development Authority estimated Michigan was short about 119,000 housing units. An official told Bridge the authority is awaiting further guidance from federal partners on 'how they plan to implement' Trump's July executive order for forced institutionalization of homeless individuals deemed 'a risk.' Pratt, Michigan HOPE's president, said it scares him to think about what it could mean if the state turns away from housing first and toward incarceration or institutionalization — even if it seems like some cities are reluctant to do so. In the meantime, he and Cook plan to keep delivering food to homeless people in Lansing. 'A lot of them are just trying to survive until the next day,' Cook said. 'Some of them know their demons and are trying to overcome them. … Any of us could be there someday.' ___ This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
