As Minneapolis nears the 2025 municipal election on November 4, the race for Ward 5 City Council has become one of the city\u2019s most closely watched contests; and for good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ward 5, which stretches across much of North Minneapolis, has long been seen as an indicator of the city\u2019s broader political and social shifts. The community, rich with history and resilience, has endured decades of disinvestment, redlining, and inequity. But as election season intensifies, the conversation is no longer just about what was lost but rather, it\u2019s about what can be rebuilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That theme came alive during a recent broadcast of Radio KFAI 90.3 FM\u2019s popular program, The Conversation With Al McFarlane<\/em>, where McFarlane hosted an in-depth discussion with three of the ward\u2019s City Council candidates: Ethrophic Burnett, Miles Wilson, and Andrea Young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, they spoke candidly about the future of the North Side, touching on public safety, affordable housing, economic revitalization, and the upcoming Blue Line light-rail extension, all while grounding their visions in lived experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethrophic Burnett: From City Hall to the streets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For Ethrophic Burnett, the campaign is about connecting City Hall to the realities on the ground. A longtime Minneapolis city employee and former council aide, Burnett said she\u2019s seen both the bureaucracy and the struggle, and she wants to close that gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI bring to this office an understanding of what it means to be a community member and a bridge to resources,\u201d she told McFarlane. \u201cMy job is to make sure residents are engaged before and after the mayor\u2019s budget comes out so I can advocate for what they\u2019ve been asking for all year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Burnett\u2019s view of leadership is rooted in direct service. When McFarlane mentioned a growing homeless encampment near his own newsroom Burnett recalled how she\u2019d recently done a ride-along with police officers to see the problem firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t fix what you don\u2019t face,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with addiction, homelessness, mental health, and yes, a fentanyl crisis. Some folks don\u2019t want help, some do. But we don\u2019t stop showing up. We keep offering services, because that\u2019s how you build trust and community safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Burnett described her candidacy as a bridge between community empathy and municipal action. \u201cIt\u2019s about bringing those conversations: from the neighborhoods to the council floor and making sure they translate into resources that actually meet people\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miles Wilson: Safety as the foundation of growth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Miles Wilson, a third-generation Northsider and policy analyst, grew up playing basketball and volunteering at local parks, and he\u2019s watched too many of them deteriorate. For him, rebuilding Ward 5 starts with public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen there\u2019s no safety, you don\u2019t see investment,\u201d Wilson said plainly. \u201cWe need honesty, transparency, and accountability across every level, from residents to the police to our community response teams. If we can restore safety, economic growth will follow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilson\u2019s campaign centers on relationships, with small businesses, local government, and residents. \u201cWe can\u2019t rebuild without talking to each other,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means everyone – from the county to the school board to the mayor, working together to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He described seeing the challenges firsthand: unhoused residents setting up near business corridors, families feeling unsafe, and small businesses struggling to stay afloat. \u201cWhen I see that, I don\u2019t walk away,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI connect them to resources like Turning Point, I clean the area, I call 311. We can support our businesses and care for our people at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anndrea Young: Investing without displacing:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For Anndrea Young, community investment must come with protection, especially for those who have stayed in North Minneapolis through decades of upheaval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Young, who serves as the executive director of the Heritage Park Neighborhood Association, has been on the frontlines of organizing around housing and environmental justice. She\u2019s worked with the Zero Burn Coalition and the Blue Line Coalition, helping secure $10 million in anti-displacement funding for residents living along the proposed light-rail route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to see North Minneapolis invested in,\u201d she told McFarlane. \u201cBut we also have to make sure that the people who\u2019ve lived here for generations can stay. Too many have already been priced out or pushed out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Young\u2019s advocacy also challenges how the city sees the North Side. \u201cThis area was redlined,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were put here and then called the problem. Even the highway that cut through our community was justified as \u2018cleaning up\u2019 the neighborhood. We\u2019re still living with that legacy. But it\u2019s time to write a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pearll Warren\u2019s vision for Ward 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For longtime Northsider Pearll Warren, this race is personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve watched my city change in its en\u00adtirety,\u201d she told Al McFarlane on The Conversa\u00adtion With Al McFarlane on Radio KFAI 90.3 FM. \u201cBeyond the pandemic and the civil uprising, so much has shifted. I had to ask myself, what can I do to help build something sustainable for our city?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warren, who\u2019s running for Minneapolis City Council Ward 5, manages financial coaching at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, where she leads the Advancing Black Homeownership pro\u00adgram. Her days are spent helping families prepare for home ownership, strengthen their credit, and stay in their homes. She said that work, and her decades of lived experience in North Minneapo\u00adlis, pushed her to run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSafe, suitable, and sustainable housing is very important to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI also believe in clear pathways to business ownership and busi\u00adness development so we can recycle our dollars throughout the community and balance out our tax burdens in Ward 5.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warren came to Minneapolis in 1980 with her family and has lived most of her life on the Northside. \u201cI bring a lot of lived experience to the table,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen thriving business\u00ades and strong neighborhoods, which are places where people felt safe walking, shopping, work\u00ading, and raising their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recalling her childhood, she also add\u00aded: \u201cI performed at Family Day on Plymouth Avenue when McDonald\u2019s was right there on the corner. Broadway was full of shops and caf\u00e9s. We\u2019d stop by the Butter Bakery. You could sit down, talk, eat, and feel connected. Those places were part of who we were.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then she paused. \u201cWe don\u2019t have those things anymore. We\u2019re at a deficit. We need more amenities that let our seniors age in place, that give young people pride and connec\u00adtion, that make families want to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Warren, revital\u00adization isn\u2019t just about buildings or budgets; it\u2019s about belonging. \u201cNorth Minneapolis is a beauti\u00adful place,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of love and legacy here, and it deserves to be magnified. This is a great mosaic gateway for the city, and it should be treated as such.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She calls her cam\u00adpaign \u201clegacy work.\u201d It\u2019s how she sees public service: listen\u00ading, showing up, and helping people feel seen. \u201cConstituent services matter because this job is about servitude,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating authentic relationships and making sure community voices are heard in rooms we don\u2019t often get invit\u00aded into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her r\u00e9sum\u00e9 backs that up. She\u2019s taught in Minneapo\u00adlis Public Schools, held multi\u00adple financial licenses, and even worked in youth outreach and foster care. \u201cEvery step of my career has been about people,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with stu\u00addents, families, and businesses. I know how systems work and where they break down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If elected, she wants to focus on public safety, small-business support, and youth opportunity. \u201cWhen peo\u00adple have jobs and feel safe in their neighborhood, everything else follows,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople should be able to live, work, and play right here, without leaving our community for the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before wrapping the interview, McFarlane asked what keeps her hopeful. War\u00adren smiled. \u201cOur spirit,\u201d she said. \u201cThis community has heart. We\u2019ve weathered storms, but the people here are strong. North Minneapolis deserves in\u00advestment, but even more, it de\u00adserves belief. We already have what it takes. We just need to build on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Blue Line and the battle for inclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the conversation turned to the Blue Line light-rail expansion, the candidates shared a cautious optimism. For many residents, the promise of connection, to jobs, schools, and opportunity is tempered by the fear of displacement and rising costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilson acknowledged both sides. \u201cThere\u2019s excitement and fear,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople remember what happened to Rondo in St. Paul? Whole communities uprooted for a highway. But if we get ahead of it, this can bring jobs and opportunity here instead of taking them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Young, who has attended years of planning meetings, said community voices have already shaped the project. \u201cThe Met Council is listening,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have more than one stop in North Minneapolis, platforms with accessibility features, and even a land bridge to reconnect parts of our neighborhood. These are things residents demanded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Burnett agreed but also focused on who gets hired. \u201cWe want jobs at every level, from design to construction,\u201d he said. \u201cOur young people should be the ones planning and building the infrastructure they\u2019ll use. That\u2019s how you build ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A history of neglect, a future of possibility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n McFarlane asked the candidates why so many Northsiders still feel forgotten. The answer, they said, lies in the city\u2019s history, and the policies that sidelined Black and working-class neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s no secret about the racial inequities in Minneapolis,\u201d Burnett said. \u201cThe disparities we see today didn\u2019t happen by accident; they were designed that way. But we have the power now to rewrite that plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All three candidates agreed that the solution begins with the basics: safe neighborhoods, small business investment, youth opportunity, and stable housing. \u201cWe deserve restaurants, coffee shops, pharmacies and all the things that make a community whole,\u201d Bernett said. \u201cThese aren\u2019t luxuries. They\u2019re essentials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many Minneapolis residents, this year\u2019s municipal election feels pivotal. Beyond the mayor\u2019s office, City Council seats like Ward 5\u2019s will determine how the city balances safety, equity, and development in the years ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minneapolis voters will use ranked-choice voting, allowing them to rank up to three candidates in each race. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, 2025, with early voting still open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Residents can learn how to register, find their polling places, and understand ranked-choice voting at the City of Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services website: https:\/\/vote.minneapolismn.gov\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For statewide resources, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State site at https:\/\/sos.mn.gov\/elections-voting<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For McFarlane, the takeaway from the Ward 5 conversation was simple but urgent: \u201cThis is the heart of the city. What happens here reflects what happens to Minneapolis as a whole. The question is: will we show up for it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch the full Ward 5 conversation on YouTube:<\/p>\n\n\n\n