Two women run for mayor in the Twin Cities
By Mike Feinstein
Green Party of California

	Farheen Hakeem, Green Party candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, Minn.  Photo: www.hakeemformayor.com

In an unprecedented move, Greens, both women, ran for mayor at the same time in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Both campaigns caused quite a stir, and each finished a strong third out of eight candidates.

In Minneapolis, feminist Farheen Hakeem ran on a platform of affordable housing/living wages, addressing homelessness, public safety and bringing the voice of the people to elected officials. She also opposed using public funds to build a new sports stadium in downtown, saying scarce public resources should be directed to education and other critical needs and that the question should be decided by public referendum, not by a council vote.

The first-ever Muslim-American to run for office in the state of Minnesota, and the only woman in the race out of 12 candidates, Hakeem raised almost $8,000 and came in third with 13.8 percent of the vote, finishing behind only the incumbent mayor and a county commissioner. In some of the city's poorest precincts, she finished first.

Born and raised in Chicago, the 29-year-old Hakeem graduated from Oberlin College, taught math in Minneapolis public schools and now works as lead Muslim Initiative community coordinator for the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis. A highly visible and vocal leader in the Minneapolis peace movement for years, she joined the mayoral race soon after watching a debate between the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) frontrunners and being disappointed by their lack of focus on the city's traditionally under-represented communities.

Elizabeth Dickinson, Green Party candidate for mayor of St. Paul, Minn.  Photo: www.elizabethdickinson.org

Across the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Elizabeth Dickinson not only finished a strong third with 19.4 percent, but also came within striking distance of the incumbent mayor, who finished with 26.6 percent. "I think it's amazing how we did, campaigning for only two months and with only $20,000," said Dickinson on election night as she gathered with supporters.

Dickinson didn't enter the race until late June, when she decided to leave her job as a lobbyist for the Minnesota AIDS project to run for mayor. This gave her opponents a big head start on fundraising and endorsements, leaving Dickinson out-raised by the next-best finisher by over 40 to one.

Dickinson campaigned on protecting small businesses by seeking restrictions on big-box retailers and national chains along retail corridors, increasing the share of new affordable housing units from 20 percent to 30 percent, requiring tax-subsidized companies to offer a living wage, and promoting accountability in hiring minority and women-owned contractors for city projects. She also advocated increasing the city's renewable energy portfolio to 25 percent and giving neighborhoods a meaningful voice by opening the mayor's door to St. Paul's district councils so they could weigh in on proposed development.

Dickinson has been a public school teacher and an actress. She is distantly related to Emily Dickinson, the 19th-century poet, and to former Minnesota Governor Pillsbury, who served from 1876 to 1882. In 2003, she finished 123 votes short of advancing to the run-off in her Ward 2 city council bid.

The Minnesota Women's Political Caucus and Minnesota chapter of the National Organization of Women endorsed both Hakeem and Dickinson.

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