![Stae Rep Raymond Dehn talked with about 50 Northside community leaders about the spike in violence.] A group of community leaders met with police officials and others today to talk about shootings and homicides that have pushed the north side to near boiling point. In the basement of New Bethel Baptist Church, Community Standards Initiative was held with community leaders, faith leaders and police officials talking about the recent outbreak of violence on North side. Richard.Sennott@startribune.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/2UPVNDSPGWCBQJZU4TNW3HUZY4.jpg?&w=1080)
Raymond Dehn said Wednesday he will run for mayor of Minneapolis, joining Nekima Levy-Pounds as the field of challengers to Betsy Hodges grows.
"We can do better than working from crisis to crisis," the DFL state representative said in a statement posted to Facebook. "We must do better in tearing down the country's largest achievement gaps."
A legislator who is set to start his third term representing downtown Minneapolis, the North Loop, Bryn Mawr and parts of Near North, Dehn said his goal is "a city that works for everyone," and he called for significant investment in struggling neighborhoods such as West Broadway in north Minneapolis and pockets of East Phillips.
"I think it's time that we get serious about investing smart resources to try to transform those neighborhoods," Dehn said.
He also called for a "deep dive" into environmental contamination in low-income parts of the city.
In an interview Wednesday, he said he supports a $15 minimum wage for most full-time workers.
"Anybody who's working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks of the year, should be making livable wage in the city of Minneapolis, and that's $15 an hour," Dehn said.
Dehn, 59, who grew up in Brooklyn Park, was convicted of felony burglary as a teenager in the 1970s and later pardoned by the governor. He is known for his work on behalf of felons, and believes the city should be more strategic in the way it polices itself.
