Minneapolis’s Ward 5 race is shaping up to be one of the most consequential contests in the city’s 2025 municipal elections. With longtime City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison not seeking re-election, six new candidates: Ethrophic Burnett, Pearll Warren, Maurice L. Ward, Miles Wilson, Anndrea Young, and Jōvan Northington, have stepped into the spotlight, each offering distinct visions for safety, housing, and leadership in one of the city’s most underserved, yet resilient, communities.
At a recent public forum hosted at Lorraine B. Small Park by the League of Women Voters Minneapolis, voters heard firsthand from the candidates in a forum moderated by Vicky Olesen. With topics ranging from crime prevention and housing to mental health and city leadership, the tone was both urgent and introspective. The event opened with a moment of silence for lives lost to gun violence, setting a solemn tone and underlining the gravity of the issues at stake.
While each candidate acknowledged the weight of the ward’s challenges, particularly around gun violence, housing instability, and economic disinvestment and their strategies and lived experiences offered diverging paths forward.
Leadership & Accountability at the Forefront:
Pearll Warren, a longtime housing advocate and businesswoman, emphasized the need for consistent, visible leadership. “We can’t keep being reactive,” she said. “Our ward deserves someone who is visible, who answers the phone, and who doesn’t vanish when the headlines fade.” Warren, who has earned endorsements from the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters and Minneapolis Firefighters Local 82, has anchored her platform around wraparound services, arguing that “putting someone in a unit isn’t enough; you have to address the trauma, addiction, and unemployment that come with chronic housing instability.”
Ethrophic Burnett, drawing on her experience in the City Auditor’s office and community violence prevention, agreed, arguing that constituent services should not be an afterthought. “The community needs someone who is there, day in and day out. That’s half the job, and it’s been neglected.”
Maurice L. Ward, an education advocate and policy organizer, centered his platform on participatory governance. “You cannot lead people you don’t know or respect,” he said. “We need an office that meets people where they are, listens before legislating, and builds policy with, not for, our community.” Ward pledged to hold regular town halls and increase accessibility to council proceedings.
Public Safety: Diverging Visions for a Shared Crisis:
On the question of safety, candidates agreed on the urgency but split on the solutions.
Miles Wilson, a policy advisor with a background in public safety reform, proposed a “safe surrender” initiative to create legal alternatives for individuals caught in cycles of crime and incarceration. He called for greater accountability across the firearms supply chain, noting that many weapons enter communities through legal loopholes and ghost gun channels. “We need to stop being afraid to confront the full picture,” he said.
Anndrea Young, a nonprofit executive and longtime community organizer, took a healing-centered approach, linking public safety to systemic investment. “Safety isn’t just about what happens after the sirens,” Young said. “It’s about jobs. It’s about youth programs. It’s about whether people feel seen and invested in.”
Jōvan Northington, a youth advocate with a focus on restorative justice, emphasized community-based mentorship and reinvestment in culturally specific education. “Young people need role models they can touch,” he said. “We need to stop outsourcing their futures.”
Housing, Homelessness, and Economic Development:
On housing and homelessness, candidates acknowledged the incomplete rollout of housing-first models and the city’s deep structural gaps. Warren highlighted the need to combine housing with trauma-informed care, while Young spoke of a person-centered outreach strategy. Wilson emphasized developer accountability and stronger community-developer agreements, and Ward called for a trust-based, street-level presence to restore dignity in how the city engages with unhoused residents.
When asked about economic development and environmental justice, the candidates aligned around the need to revitalize Ward 5’s corridors, attract green investment, and center local ownership in economic decision-making.
DFL Vacuum and Grassroots Energy:
Notably, no candidate received the DFL endorsement at this year’s Ward 5 convention, a result of split delegate support and broader tensions within the local party. Both Warren and Burnett emerged as frontrunners during convention balloting, but neither secured the required 60% threshold. The absence of an official endorsement has turned the race into a true grassroots test of who can mobilize the community most effectively.
The city’s ranked-choice voting system further complicates the race. Voters can rank up to three candidates; if no candidate earns a majority, the system redistributes votes based on preferences until one emerges with over 50%. This structure rewards coalition-building and forces candidates to appeal beyond their base.
Ward 5’s Crossroads Moment:
Spanning neighborhoods from Jordan and Hawthorne to the North Loop arts district, Ward 5 is geographically and socially diverse, with deep cultural roots and a long memory of political disinvestment. With 15 parks, dozens of schools, and some of the highest rates of gun violence and housing insecurity in the city, the stakes in this race are high.
The delayed release of the Ward 5 forum video on the League of Women Voters website, though forums for other wards are already live, has frustrated residents eager to make informed choices. For now, the candidates continue their outreach in churches, block meetings, and neighborhood events.
Each candidate, in their own way, made clear that Ward 5 is not a blank slate. It is a ward with a long memory, deep wounds, and extraordinary potential. As Election Day approaches, residents are being urged to dig into the candidates’ platforms, engage with local forums, and recognize the power of their vote in shaping the future of North Minneapolis.
To watch the full candidate forum and hear directly from all six candidates, including their opening statements and responses to pressing community issues visit: https://youtu.be/4XkWlX_0m30?t=484
As November 4 draws near, residents are being urged to engage deeply, read candidate platforms, and understand the weight of their vote, not just for this election, but for the future of North Minneapolis. As of publication, no new updates have been issued by the candidates since the forum.
For more information on the updates or candidates:
Forum updates and recording: https://lwvmpls.org/event/ward-5-candidate-forum
Candidate campaign sites: https://www.warrenforward5.com/news
