Jacob Frey is running for mayor of Minneapolis for a third and final term this year. He was first elected mayor in 2017 and was reelected in 2021.

Frey was previously the Ward 3 councilmember for one term from 2014 to 2018.  He moved to Minneapolis from Virginia in 2009 and worked as a lawyer before being elected to office.

Frey and the City of Minneapolis have been recently criticised for not offering support and housing to people being cleared from encampments. He made a campaign pledge in 2017 to end homelessness in Minneapolis in five years and worked to find housing solutions for an encampment on Hiawatha Avenue in 2018.

The mayor is also a familiar face at small business openings, often celebrating grant programs offered by the City or its partners. At the same time, small businesses have been struggling due to decreases in foot traffic and increases in street construction projects.

When Frey announced last week that he was running for one last term, he said wanted to finish the job. He reiterated the sentiment during a Jan. 29 interview with Melody Hoffman via Zoom.

This conversation with Frey kicks off Minneapolis Voices’ series of Q&As with major mayoral candidates. All of  our interviews will include questions based on responses from an internal reader survey.

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Southwest Voices:  You've had a very full seven years as mayor. You mentioned wanting to “finish the job.” Could you expand a little bit on what job you want to finish?

Mayor Jacob Frey: We've obviously come through adversity together in this city, and Minneapolis is coming back. But like I said, the job isn't done yet. When we talk about ‘the job,’ we're talking about our city is in rebound right now. It's recovery from COVID-19, it's not just getting back to the old normal, but blowing by the old normal to see true transformation in the city.

And that's everything from race equity to housing stability to small business and development to workers’ rights, you name it. I could go on for 45 minutes about this.

It's also completing the work of government structure change. There's still work to be done in finishing that change off that the voters approved in 2021. That'll be some of the most lasting change that we're able to work through. We want to make sure that we're setting the next mayor and the city up for success in a big way.

SWV:  Thanks for clarifying that. So on to the small businesses. When small business owners are airing their frustrations at you, what do you say to them as the mayor? When they're really frustrated and feel like the City isn't supporting them?

JF: Well, first, you gotta listen to them, hear them out, and not put them in a place where their voices are denied or eliminated entirely. And yes, there are times when I've seen people and elected officials undermine the importance of small local business–business generally. There needs to be a balanced approach, and, yes, I'm specifically talking about the last year here.

One example, obviously, is the Labor Standards Board. I have long supported a Labor Standards Board and laid out very explicitly what needed to be in it to garner my support. I have said clearly that I will support a balanced Labor Standards Board that has an even split between labor and business, that has an even split of appointments between council and mayor, and that has some form of super majority that would enable consensus. Here's the reality. I was willing to compromise and still am, but they had the votes to pass the initial plan. Of course I vetoed it.

There still is an opportunity to do this right. I believe that a Labor Standards Board is a forum where both business and labor can come together, can generate consensus, find common ground, and then pass thoughtful policy onto the City Council. That makes a ton of sense to me. The Council passed a plan for a board that business quite literally pulled out of almost entirely. (Fact check: Restaurant and retail groups and a coalition of restaurant owners of color publicly opposed the board) They don't need to love it, they don't need to like it, but the whole point is that it requires their participation, and if they're not participating at all, it kind of eliminates the point of having it.

But you know, it's not just that. We're doing work to streamline processes at City Hall, to have a one-stop shop where you come in to get a permit or a license, where you can get all the information that you need in one fell swoop. We've got a 311 service desk that's right in the front of the City office building, on the skyway level. You walk right up, you can get what you need all in one place. There are still regulations to ensure the health and safety of residents, of course, but we're working to make sure that we're streamlining things as much as possible.

The city is always evolving. I'm very optimistic, especially for 2025, where the city is going. It'll be where you got the duck that has been working like crazy. But below the surface, you can't quite see how hard it's paddling. I think in 2025 you'll see a lot of this work come to fruition.

A big thing that we also need to do for small business is create a foundation from which they can rise. A lot of times when I talk to these business owners, they're not asking for anything out of the ordinary. They're not asking for anything incredible. They're saying, ‘Hey, we need a foundation of safety that's got to be front and center. We want to be able to run with a great idea and to become an entrepreneur. We want to be able to partner with the City at times.’ And we've got all sorts of small business grants, facade improvement assistance. And we've also got monies through our Vibrant Storefronts Task Force, where we're animating storefronts with art, which empowers local artists. They have a space to display their amazing talents and it gets a beautiful use in a formally-vacant retail spot. So those are just a few examples, but can elaborate even further.

SWV: I don't think it's a shock to you that people have been really critical about the way encampments have been dealt with, especially over the last two years, and especially I'm thinking about what you said when you first ran for office wanting to end homelessness in five years. I'm wondering how the encampment sweeps that have been happening fit in with your earlier statements and work. What has changed and how does that fit in with your earlier goals?

JF: So first, you're equating homelessness to unsheltered homelessness.

SWV: I am, yeah, so let's just say unsheltered.

JF: So, it is not the same. And I do take issue with that, because it is not the same.

SWV: So can I rephrase? My general question to you, Mayor Frey, is that people seem really frustrated with what's going on with the encampment sweeps. They seem to want more from you as the mayor, and, Mayor, I am asking you–

JF: Why don’t we take a step back? So, first look, I believe that housing is a right. Everybody deserves a safe place to go home to at the end of the night, to rest their head on the pillow, and to rejuvenate for the next day. So let's start there.

We are the leader, the leader in affordable housing policies, absolutely, nationally. We've been able to keep rents down more than virtually any other city in the country. We were number one because we are producing eight-and-a-half times the amount of deeply affordable housing since before I took office. That's not a number to scoff at.

Traditionally speaking, the City has done two main things in the area of homelessness. We provide housing, which, again, we've done at record amounts, and we do law enforcement. Social services are now and have traditionally been provided by the county. They're doing a great job, and we're partnering with them through some really difficult circumstances.

You mentioned COVID-19 and that was certainly an intervening factor here that has impacted the entire country. I don't shy away from setting ambitious goals. I don't apologize for setting ambitious goals. You set them, you do everything possible to hit them.

If you look at the trajectory and where the numbers are going, homelessness is on the decline. You don't need to take my word for it, that's objectively where things are at. We're seeing some positive results as it applies specifically to unsheltered homelessness, which accounts for about 3% of the total homeless community in Minneapolis (Fact check: Hennepin County’s data show the unsheltered homeless population makes up 15% of homeless people living in transitional housing, emergency shelter, and unsheltered).

Last year there was a 25% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, and I think we're on track to see a steeper decline in homelessness, generally. Outsized attention, but unsheltered homelessness accounts for about 3% of the total homeless community in Minneapolis, and that's what I was differentiating. I'm not saying that unsheltered people aren't homeless. I'm saying that they are a subset of the homeless.

These large-scale homeless encampments are not safe. They are not safe for the people living at them. The human trafficking that we get informed about, specifically of women, sometimes young women, is abhorrent. The gun violence that we've seen associated with these homeless encampments–you can look right at the data. The uptick in gun violence in these certain areas, a huge percentage of the time, is within 500 feet of an encampment.

The drug trade, and specifically fentanyl, it's problematic, both to the people living at the encampment and the surrounding neighborhood. We have gone out. The county has gone out, repeatedly. When you have gone out repeatedly and you've offered shelter and housing and care and it is not accepted. Yes, there are times when you have to clear homeless encampments.

I’ll tell you what. Some of these mayoral candidates that are claiming that they don't (need to clear encampments), will immediately flip their position upon hearing and seeing what is actually happening. Mark my words.

Come after me all you want. But look, this is the reality of what we're dealing with right now and it's not safe. The reality is it is not safe. Not to mention it's against the law, they are at times on private property.

Now, here's an issue where I think we all need to be doing a much better job: Addiction and care and healing. A primary cause of these homeless encampments is addiction,and to a number of drugs, but mainly fentanyl. We need prevention before someone gets addicted. We need harm reduction so people aren't dying of overdoses. We're providing that, we’ve got those vending machines that you've seen. Our police, our firefighters, our outreach workers are equipped with Narcan to help. And so there is harm reduction work taking place, and we can always do more, and then healing and treatment.

The goal here is to get someone in permanent housing and to enable them to live a brilliant life free of addiction. And in getting there, it's most beneficial to get them to make the connection, when they're at a place where they will accept the care. There's a sweet spot. You got someone who's going through serious withdrawal on one side, and then you've got someone who is extremely intoxicated on the other. Neither one of those works. You got to get them in the middle. There is a drug given as a once-a-month dose that helps people stay in that middle zone, helps you fight the cravings of addiction so that people can get better. That's got to be the goal in helping people to get better.

If you take somebody to the hospital or the healing center, the treatment facility, and they say, ‘Okay, well, we got an appointment with you in a week.’ That’s not good enough. It's got to be right now. They walk in the door, we're ready to go right now, because they're addicted. They're going to go back to addiction. I think it's really unfortunate. We need to have a better system. This is going to require a regional, statewide approach here, where we are truly providing treatment and care. We're working towards that. There is a multi-jurisdictional team that we've set up to help us get there. It ain't easy,and anybody who tells you otherwise is lying.

SWV: I wanted to know what your leadership style is, if you could describe it for me.

JF: I have learned a lot over these last several years. My values have not changed. My experience has. The form of government has changed. There are lessons that I've learned that have made me a better mayor and hopefully a better person, and I use those lessons every single day. My skin has gotten thicker over the years. There are issues now that I can handle in a matter of minutes that would have taken much longer when I first took office. I've been here before. I know what the right thing is to do, and doing the right thing will often subject you to a pummeling, oftentimes from both sides.

People often say to me, ‘Hey, you must have to make a lot of impossible decisions,’and the truth is, the vast majority of these decisions are pretty straightforward. You've got all the experts around you, and you've got the data there, and you're getting recommendations from the city attorney or the chief of police or the director of economic development. The vast majority of the time, there's a clear right decision and clear wrong ones. But oftentimes, no matter what you do, you're gonna subject yourself, you're gonna get beat up.

I'm much more confident. You communicate, you bring people together, and you generate consensus. And still, as mayor, you got to make a call.

It did not tickle telling a group of 2,000 people outside my home that I wasn't going to defund the police and get spit on and have food thrown at me. But it was the right thing to do.

It wasn't easy when I was advocating for the 2040 plan and everybody seemingly hated it initially. But it's the preeminent housing policy in the country.

You asked what my leadership style is. I go hand-in-hand facing some of the most difficult issues that the world could offer with our communities. I have the courage to do what's right, even when it's not politically beneficial in the moment.