2022 Saint Anthony mayoral election

  

2022 Saint Anthony mayoral election

June 10, 2022 (first round) June 20, 2022 (run-off)

Candidate John Whitmore Katherine Davidson Sheila Waller Party Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrat New Labor First round 61,488 42.8% 26,468 18.4% 30,368 21.1% Final round 70,669 56.2% 55,007 43.8% Eliminated

Mayor before election John Whitmore Liberal Democratic Elected Mayor John Whitmore Liberal Democratic

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The 2022 Saint Anthony mayoral election took place from June 10 to 20, 2022, to elect who will be the next Mayor of Saint Anthony. The city of Saint Anthony uses instant run-off voting, also known as ranked-choice voting, for all city-wide elections in accordance with election law in all of Minnesota since 2014. Incumbent mayor John Whitmore ran for a second term in office and was first elected in 2018 by 55.1% of the popular vote on the second round.

Due to the current electoral system, primary elections will be forgoed while June 1 is the last date for candidates to register and enter into the race. The election will be held on June 10 with a run-off being held on June 20 if required. The mayoral election will coincide with concurrent elections to the Saint Anthony City Council and other local offices.

Background

2018 mayoral election

Main article: 2018 Saint Anthony mayoral election

In the previous election of 2018, educator and Liberal Democrat John Whitmore won the election, securing 57% of the popular vote in a contested five-way race. He was sworn in July 1, 2018. During the election, he campaigned on supporting affordable housing, raising wages in particular the wages of teachers in the city, improving education in terms of quality and access, and supporting unions. Whitmore was 66 when he was elected, making him the oldest politician to have been elected mayor of Saint Anthony in recent history as well as the city's second Jewish mayor in its history as well.

Political upheavel and protests

Main articles: Police abolition movement in Superior and Protests against Jennifer Granholm (2021–2022)

On May 25, 2020, in the city of Saint Anthony, 46-year old African Superian man George Floyd came into an encounter with officers of the Saint Anthony Police Department who arrived after being told that he attempted to make a purchase with a forged $20 bill. In the encounter, Floyd was handcuffed, pinned to the ground, and SAPD officer Dereck Chauvin put his leg on Floyd's neck and refused to let go even as he stated he couldn't breath and eventually died. His murder would kickstart a series of protests across the city, then Superior following by several other countries worldwide, mainly in Anglo-America and Europe against police brutality, racial profiling, and a lack of police accountability. Whitmore and the city government condemned Floyd's killing and launched an investigation into the incident with Chauvin being arrested sometime after the event and would be later tried and found guilty of murder at a trial in 2021.

Admist the protests in June 2020, the Saint Anthony City Council passed a resolution to formally disband the Saint Anthony Police Department and repalce it with a public safety department, a demand that was made by several supporters of Black Lives Matter Superior and other similar/affiliated organizations as part of the police abolition movement. The resolution narrowly passed the City Council 8–5, but would generate controversy in both the city and nationwide with Whitmore stating his opposition towards abolishing the SAPD on grounds of the move being viewed by him as ineffective and could contribute to a rise in crime. Internal issues among members and city officials combined with controversy caused the council to fail its commitment towards abolishing the SAPD, but successfully pushed it into a ballot initiative for the 2022 municipal elections. Officially called Question 2, the initiative proposed the abolition of the SAPD and its replacement by a public safety department, however Whitmore, several city government officials along with state officials publically opposed the initiative with Whitmore stating he would veto any bill to abolish the SAPD.

Candidates

Declared

• Bobby Anderson (Independent), public speaker and newspaper columnist
• Katherine Davidson (Liberal Democratic, former Minnesota State Assembly member and political activist
• Michael Savage (Farmer Labor), community organizer and trade unionist
• Sheila Waller (New Labor), community organizer and union leader
• John Whitmore (Liberal Democratic), incumbent mayor

See also

• 2022 Saint Anthony municipal election
• 2022 Saint Anthony Question 2