Makeovers a week away for Minneapolis, St. Paul city halls
Minneapolis and St. Paul get new mayors next week, the first time both cities have seen a simultaneous change at the top since 2002.
Mayors-elect Jacob Frey in Minneapolis and Melvin Carter III in St. Paul will be sworn in Tuesday. Both were elected in November; Frey beat incumbent Betsy Hodges and several others while Carter stormed to victory in a multi-candidate race that didn't have an incumbent. Although both Frey and Carter take their oath on the same day, the cities are handling the changeovers differently.
St. Paul
Carter is headed to Central High School, a few miles from city hall and where he graduated, for his inaugural at noon Tuesday. Carter said the site has both personal and symbolic significance as he prepares to become his city's first African American mayor.
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"Central in many ways conveys and illustrates the overlap and intersection of cultures, of religions and of languages in our community. It's important for us to send a strong signal to all the folks in this city that this is a city hall that belongs to and is responsive to all of the people in our community," Carter told MPR News. "It's a space that I think a whole lot of people, a whole lot of communities a sense of ownership over."
Carter, 38, said he is excited to revisit an important place of his past.
"My track coach is going to be there," he said. "The last time he and I were in the gym together, I was running laps and he had a whistle."
Aside from the formal ceremony, there are other events tied to the inaugural. Carter said he'll host service projects, take part in a mural painting and hold meet-ups at restaurants and cafes to connect residents with one another throughout the week. It will be capped off Friday night with an inaugural ball at Union Depot.
The events are free and open to the public.
The city's convention and visitors bureau is facilitating fundraising to cover catering, entertainment and the venue, Carter advisers said. The goal is to raise $200,000; inaugural fundraising isn't restricted by the same limits as candidate campaign committees.
Minneapolis
The Minneapolis city charter requires Frey to assume office on Tuesday, too. But the plan is for him to take his oath during a private ceremony that day and then take part in a bigger event the following Monday, where city council members will also participate.
Officially, Frey will be mayor for a week before the public ceremony at city hall.
"We're going to be working. We're going to have some things we're announcing," said his incoming chief of staff, Joe Radinovich. "We're very much going to be fully in effect next week."
Frey, a 36-year-old who is presently a city council member, also plans events in various locations in his city where residents can meet their mayor and feast on food from the neighborhood. An inaugural party is set for Jan. 13 at First Avenue. Those events are free.
An adviser who worked on Frey's campaign has established an inaugural committee to raise funds. Radinovich said the committee hopes to raise at least $150,000, which would match the amount brought in during the Hodges' inauguration four years earlier. The committee is taking in money at various sponsorship levels, which begin at $1,000 and top out at $10,000.
Frey intends to attend Carter's swearing-in and Carter plans to reciprocate the following week at Frey's ceremony, aides to both say.