Today Sheila Nezhad and Kate Knuth solidified their commitment to an unaccountable, defund and abolish the police platform with a joint endorsement
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released the below statement following recent reports that candidates Sheila Nezhad, an outspoken police abolitionist, and defund candidate Kate Knuth have announced they are supporting one another:
“Minneapolis deserves leaders who are serious about good governance and the hard work it requires. By adopting, and often shifting, their positions on defunding the police, both Sheila Nezhad and Kate Knuth have made clear that they’re not interested in the serious work of good governance,” said Frey. “Our city has seen the limitations of cheap slogans and the reactionary politics of the defund push. But that’s exactly the path my opponents have continued to embrace.”
Nezhad has consistently and forcefully fought for the full abolition of police, as has been well-documented.
Knuth has changed her position repeatedly before and during the campaign. She entered the race with a clearcut commitment to defunding the police. She’s since scrubbed her website and public materials of reference to the movement. Knuth has held inconsistent positions on officer staffing levels, civilian oversight -- having backed the police union’s successful 2012 legislative push to eliminate civilian review authority in Minneapolis -- and police accountability.
Frey has prioritized a solutions-oriented, data-driven approach to both community safety and accountability. Throughout his term, Frey has invested in safety beyond policing initiatives at record levels, enacted over a dozen concrete policy reforms, and adopted new training to shift police culture. The mayor has also committed to helping rebuild and reform the police department alongside Chief Medaria Arradondo by hiring more community-oriented officers to fully rebuild staffing levels within the department.
“I’ve led with principle and told voters the truth -- regardless of what’s popular,” Frey continued. “Amid a field of candidates jockeying to speak for the Black community and those most impacted by crime and police misconduct, I’ve been listening. That is the fundamental difference between my approach and my opponents’.”
The joint-endorsement from the two candidates formalizes their agreement to coalesce around an unaccountable, defund platform, over the clear opposition from trusted community partners and Chief Arradondo.
Frey’s re-election campaign has earned the support of a host of federal, state, and local elected officials.
The mayor also has the backing of several local labor unions, including AFSCME Council 5, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Minnesota State Council, Minneapolis Firefighters Local 82, the Minneapolis Building Trades Council, IUPAT DC 82, and Teamsters Joint Council 32.