The candidates all live in the Windom Park Neighborhood, as does incumbent council member Paul Ostrow, who announced last December that he would not run again.

Two others who were considered possible candidates, Craig Pederson and Tom Deegan, said that they decided not to run. Pederson, co-pastor of the newly formed Northeast Community Lutheran Church at 13th Avenue and Monroe Street NE, said he is too busy with family and church commitments. Deegan, a City of Minneapolis employee who heads the problem properties unit, cited work-related reasons.

"What I didn’t know when I announced my candidacy," Deegan said, "is that we are getting $1.7 million in federal money for the demolitions we are doing. It is neighborhood stabilization money, coming to my unit." He said the city attorney referred him to the federal government agency that manages the grants. "I was told that if the city accepts grant money and I manage it, I can’t run in an election like this unless I quit my job." Taking a leave of absence, they added, was not an option.

Deegan said he was disappointed about having to pull out of the race, but was not ready to quit his job.

The candidates

Doron Clark

Clark has worked at Target headquarters for nine years as a job skills developer and also worked at the Minnesota Senate for four years. He has been Windom Park Citizens in Action president for four and a half years, a job which he said has "resulted in successes like building the first LEED certified home in Northeast and planting and preserving hundreds of trees." He worked on school board member Jill Davis’ campaign, has been a Big Brother/Big Sisters Program mentor for eight years, and is a member of Grace Church in Northeast. He said his work experience has given him management and policy skills that will apply to city governance.

Clark said, "Northeast needs strong responsive leadership in all parts of our city government. By listening and interacting directly with Northeasters over the years, I have identified issues and goals for every neighborhood in our ward. I received early support from local unions, advocacy groups and local neighborhood leaders because they believe in my efforts to build local civic participation. My campaign has had over 40 events, including meeting with seniors, students, Somali leaders and small business owners." Clark said he intends to support the DFL-endorsed candidate.

Susan Howitz Hanna

Howitz Hanna has worked in the telecommunications industry for 30 years. She served on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the athletic field on Nicollet Island, as a commissioner on Minneapolis’ Civil Rights Commission, and is a volunteer at the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. She grew up in Northeast and graduated from Edison High School (along with her four siblings and husband, Paul Hanna). She graduated from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn.

If elected to office, Howitz Hanna said she would work to "maintain police and fire departments at full funding levels, entice first time homebuyers to our neighborhoods, promote existing businesses and encourage new business development, and support our schools by allowing teachers to focus on teaching our kids."

She said she wants to "restore Central Avenue back into an attractive, clean, thriving corridor," and "squeeze every last penny from our hard-earned tax dollars." Howitz Hanna also said that she does not approve of negative campaigning, and believes it is time to create "positive change." She said she has "the utmost respect for the DFL and all of the delegates and the time that they spent. This race is too important to let it be done the first weekend in April. After much soul searching I have decided that I would run without the endorsement."

Kevin Reich

Reich has been projects director of the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association for eight years, and is a former co-chair of the Windom Park Citizens in Action neighborhood organization. He is a founding board member of the East Side Food Co-op, a co-founder of the Peace Foundation, and serves on the Edison Community and Sports Foundation board of directors.

"Progress isn’t made by singular gestures or grand statements but by people working together, forging consensus and utilizing a community’s collective knowledge," he said. "Not only is this the best way to actually get things done, it is the best way to make policy that serves all and creates the most effective environment to use limited resources."

Reich said he has been active in efforts to enhance public safety, develop local businesses, increase green space and improve streetscapes. He worked on the 18th Avenue bike path and has experience in pollution remediation, promoting energy efficient and senior housing construction and working on problem property initiatives. He said he plans to abide by the endorsement.

Jose Velez

Velez has worked as the policy aide to 5th Ward City Council Member Don Samuels for four years, a job that he says has given him "an understanding of how things get done," and helped him develop strong relationships "to help deliver for our community." Prior to that, he was a neighborhood organizer, a former union president and a community activist; jobs which he said gave him the skills necessary to "bring community values to the City Council."

He and his family chose to live in Northeast, he said, "because we wanted to raise our children in a family-friendly, safe and vibrant urban area. We have never regretted that decision."

As a city council member, Velez said, he would prioritize jobs and economic development, and work to ensure that Northeast remains an economic hub, providing green, living wage jobs. "I will also focus on healthy and vibrant schools for our children, making schools a draw for Northeast, bringing families with children into the neighborhood, and keeping them here." He said he will work to see that police, fire, and regulatory services have the resources "they need to do their jobs and protect our families." He said he will support whomever is endorsed.