Elections Matter: Where Do the City Council Candidates Stand on Rent Control?

There’s an election tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7. And while it doesn’t have anything enormously controversial on the ballot like defunding the police and rent control, it’s important that our government representatives reflect where voters, including housing providers, stand on the issues.

So here’s a quick, basic guide to which city council candidates in each ward in Minneapolis and St Paul oppose the issue most important to landlords – rent control:

Minneapolis

Ward 1 – None.

Ward 2 – None.

Ward 3 – Micheal Rainville (incumbent). Has consistently voted against rent control.

Ward 4- LaTrisha Vetaw (incumbent). Has consistently voted against rent control. Her husband is a housing provider.

Ward 5 – Victor Martinez. Strongly opposes rent control and is a housing provider himself.

Ward 6 – Guy Gaskin.

Ward 7 – Scott Graham, opposes rent control and has been a landlord, property manager, and Realtor.

Katie Cashman. Opposes rent control.

Kenneth Foxworth also opposes rent control.

Ward 8 – Andrea Jenkins (incumbent). While Jenkins believes rent control could be part of a solution, she has stated she believes the council should focus on increasing affordable housing inventory as a long-term solution.

Robert Sullentrop opposes rent control.

Ward 9 – Dan Orban opposes rent control.

Ward 10 – Bruce Dachisopposes rent control.

Greg Kline opposes rent control as well.

Ward 11 – Emily Koski (incumbent) opposes rent control and has voted against it.

Ward 12 – Luther Ranheim opposes rent control.

Nancy Ford opposes rent control.

Ward 13 – Linea Palmisano (incumbent) has consistently voted against rent control and backed that with votes against it.

Kate Mortenson – opposes rent control.

For a breakdown of where the candidates stand on other issues, here’s a link to the  StarTribune’s election guide.

St Paul

Ward 1 – James Lo – Realtor who opposes rent control.

Travis Helcamp – opposes rent control.

Ward 2 – Rebecca Noecker (incumbent). Recognizes city’s initial strict rent control policy stopped development and worked to pass amendments.

Peter Butler – opposes rent stabilization.

Ward 3 – Isaac Russell – strongly opposes rent control.

Ward 4 – None of the candidates.

Ward 5 – Nate Nins. While he doesn’t directly state his opposition to rent control, he believes it’s important to give the amended, more livable ordinance time to prove itself before making further changes.

Ward 6 – None.

Ward 7 – Dino Guerin opposes rent control.

Here’s a link to where the St Paul city council candidates stand on other issues.