Minneapolis Council elects Wonsley as Minority Leader of democratic socialists

January 5th, 2026

Dear Community,

Today, the Minneapolis City Council conducted our Organizational Meeting for the 2026-2029 Term. I am thrilled to share that I was elected as the Council Minority Leader representing the democratic socialists on the City Council.

Minority Leader Wonsley with Vice President Osman, President Payne, and Majority Leader Chughtai.

Democratic socialism has been a growing political movement nationwide, as demonstrated recently by the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York, Mayor Katie Wilson in Seattle, and hundreds of democratic socialists to local offices across the country. Minneapolis has a strong socialist tradition. Residents elected a socialist mayor in 1916, shortly before Minnesota elected a socialist governor. 100 years later, in 2016, 65% of Minneapolis voters supported socialist Bernie Sanders for president.  Voters first elected democratic socialists to the City Council in 2021, myself being one of them. This past November, over 65,000 Minneapolis residents voted for a democratic socialist mayor. 

Going into this term, nearly a third of the City Council identify as democratic socialists, collectively representing over 120,000 Minneapolis residents. 

There have been well-funded campaigns to demonize socialism. Despite this propaganda, people here in Minneapolis understand that democratic socialism is the belief that society and the economy should be structured to meet the needs of working class people, not to create profit for the wealthiest individuals and corporate interests.

Over the past four years that democratic socialists have held seats on the City Council, we’ve won significant policies that have improved the lives of working class people. We passed policies to protect the majority of Minneapolis families who are renters. We closed the minimum wage loophole for rideshare drivers, leading to a statewide pay increase for over 10,000 workers, who are mostly immigrants and workers of color. We expanded Civil Rights protections for residents who may be targeted with discrimination. We were among the first cities to pass a ceasefire resolution that acknowledged the genocide taking place in Gaza. 

All of these victories happened because working class residents organized and worked hand in hand with democratic socialists on the City Council.

And now more than ever, we’re going to need democratic socialist leadership and organized movements. 

Most immediately, this Council needs to protect our neighbors who are unable to safely go to work while ICE is terrorizing our communities. Allowing residents to be evicted because ICE has made it impossible for them to make rent is unacceptable. I plan to work with the community and all of my colleagues to prevent these looming evictions.

As tech companies expand their reach, our city will be faced with serious questions about automation, surveillance, and corporate control. We need to approach these conversations with an unwavering commitment to labor, community, and accountability. 

This Council will also face monumental decisions about how to handle the upcoming fiscal cliff. Austerity and cuts to social services will be catastrophic unless we put the needs of working class people first. We can’t keep asking working class homeowners and renters to pay ever-increasing property taxes to weather these financially challenging times. We need everyone to pay their fair share– we need to generate progressive revenue and tax the rich. 

Thousands of our residents lack access to fresh and affordable groceries. In Ward 2, 1 in 4 University of Minnesota students face food insecurity, and I know that other areas in the city are also grappling with lack of access to fresh food. Democratic socialists recognize that if the private market and philanthropy aren’t delivering food access equitably, government leaders have the responsibility to step in. 

Democratic socialists have championed a vision for a comprehensive public safety system that protects all of us. Over the last four years, we’ve made tremendous strides towards making this vision a reality with embedded social workers, violence prevention services, and mental health responders. In the term ahead, we recommit ourselves to advancing these efforts that extend safety to all residents, and reject the Frey administration’s current proposal to give MPD over $50 million dollars to build a Minneapolis Cop City. 

These will be my top priorities as Minority Leader for the democratic socialists. I hope to use this position to represent all residents who have ever supported a socialist candidate or social justice campaign. I also hope to represent residents who do not identify as socialists, but want local government to utilize all the tools we have to make lives easier for ordinary people. 

In addition to being elected Minority Leader for the democratic socialists, I was also elected Chair of Climate and Infrastructure and will be a member of the Public Health and Safety Committee. You can read the full list of Council Committees here.

We’re lucky to have political diversity on the Minneapolis City Council. I look forward to working with every single one of my colleagues and residents all across the city to  improve Minneapolis for working class residents.