14-04-2025
Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski ends mayoral campaign
Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski announced Monday she's ended her campaign for mayor.
Koski, who represents Ward 11 in south central Minneapolis, is considered one of the council's more moderate Democratic members.
In a statement Monday, Koski said she made the "difficult decision" to end her challenge to Mayor Jacob Frey.
"I see a Minneapolis that is multigenerational, family-friendly and a city where residents feel they always come first," she wrote. "That vision still lives in me. It always will."
"But I've come to a hard truth: under the current political climate, I can't be my authentic self and be a candidate in this race the way it demands," she continued. "I tried to balance it all—be a mom, build a great team, serve as a Council Member, raise a million dollars, show up for my kids, show up for every event, all while being a person driven by honesty and integrity."
Koski has been an outspoken critic on what she describes as "toxicity" within Minneapolis politics — something she has often blamed, in part, on Frey's tenure.
In her statement Monday, Koski said the environment within city politics "punishes integrity, vilifies collaboration, and prioritizes power over people."
"It's a system where doing what's right isn't just difficult, it's discouraged at every turn," she wrote.
Koski said she hoped her campaign could begin to foster "real, systemic, courageous change."
"But instead of spending time with residents and talking about how to fix the real problems facing our neighborhoods, I found myself spending hours and hours fundraising just to stay afloat, working tirelessly to reject lies spread by anonymous donors and political action committees," she wrote. "That's not the city I want to lead—or the example I want to set for my children."
Frey said he is seeking reelection to a "final term" as mayor, promising "good thoughtful governance" in a time of political "extremism."
"I have stood up for what's best for our city even when it was not politically expedient to do so. It's time for us to love our city more than our ideology," he stated in a campaign message. "Together, we can make Minneapolis a national model for progressive governance that is laser-focused not on politics, but on delivering for residents."
He faces a challenge from DeWayne Davis, lead minister of Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis; Howard Dotson, a pastor at Urban Presbyterian; Sen. Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist who is the first Somali American to serve in the Minnesota Senate; Jazz Hampton, a community advocate, attorney and business owner; and Brenda Short, who became a Minneapolis homeowner and small business owner after experiencing homelessness.
