Political endorsements can be dicey. It often means putting a little bit of your reputation on the line for someone whose name you didn’t know until a few months ago. But not this one. My endorsement of Katie Jones for Minnesota House of Representatives in District 61A is strongly felt and easy to write.
I’ve gotten to know Katie over the last ten years because we both show up to the places where local politics happens: public meeting rooms, neighborhood events, in the street, and sometimes on her front porch. I’ve watched her sacrifice a precious chunk of her life to make this community a better, safer, more equitable and livable place.
She’s put that time to good use. She’s fought successfully for more park space, better streets and transit, abundant housing, and a more inclusive neighborhood organization. When she’s not serving on a city advisory board, or at the state capitol pushing policy change, she’s gathering neighbors at her home to plan the next thing.
Katie has devoted the equivalent of a second full-time job to our community, making a difference on issues big and small. And during work hours at her actual job, she advocates for more sustainable energy policy. I gather she’s pretty effective at that too.
Katie is effective because she builds coalitions. She’s sharp, practical, and never shy to ask others to help her understand something better. She knows exactly who to get on the phone to help remove an obstacle. She doesn’t back away from core principles — but has an uncommon instinct to seek common ground past the point when others would lose patience.
Katie has demonstrated by far the broadest support among the three candidates in this race. She’s the only one with endorsements from elected officials currently representing portions of 61A (six of them at the city and county levels). She’s got endorsements from council members, county and park board commissioners, mayors, the esteemed Board of Estimate and Taxation (omg, what???), and officials the state level — including Attorney General Keith Ellison. She won the most first ballot support at this year’s DFL convention. Her organizational support includes Faith in Minnesota and the Sierra Club. And perhaps most coveted of all, she’s backed by Naomi Kritzer and David Brauer.
What I respect most about Katie Jones is that she doesn’t quit. She finishes one thing and then she’s on to the next. She has been relentless in making government work better for this community. There is no doubt she will be extremely effective as your state representative and a worthy successor to Rep. Frank Hornstein.
Vote in the primary now through August 13. Early voting locations are here. Find your election day polling place here. The candidates are Katie Jones, Will Stancil, and Isabel Rolfes. There is no ranked choice voting.