Marvina Haynes, advocate for those wrongfully convicted, will run for Minneapolis City Council

A woman who spent years working to exonerate her brother for a murder he did not commit has announced she will run for the Minneapolis City Council.

Marvina Haynes, 40, announced her bid for the Ward 4 seat at a news conference Saturday. She plans to run under the DFL Party banner and advocate for public safety, homeless residents, environmental justice and education.

Haynes will challenge incumbent LaTrisha Vetaw, who was elected to the council in 2021 after directing health policy and advocacy at Northpoint Health & Wellness, Inc. for more than a decade.

Haynes worked for years to free her brother Marvin, who spent 19 years in prison before being exonerated for faulty evidence and released. She founded MN Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform, an organization to help families affected by wrongful convictions.

“I know exactly what my constituents need because I have spoken with them,” she said. “They are my neighbors. They look like me. They have felt the trauma and pain that our current administration has continued to lay down on us.”

Haynes added that Minneapolis residents need a city “where our youth can thrive, where our families can prosper, where our businesses look like our neighbors.”

Last year was a contentious one for the City Council. Besides weighing in on the war between Israel and Hamas, council members passed a new police contract, added a fee for carbon emissions and placed a $15 minimum price on cigarette packs. They also clashed on the fate of the former Third Precinct police station and the future of George Floyd Square.

The mayor’s office and all 13 City Council seats will be up for election on Nov. 4,

“We’re really excited for other candidates to step up because we want a whole slate of City Council members and a mayoral slate,” said Sam Graystar, director of the advocacy organization STAR MPLS. “We know that this is a two-party system that isn’t working for anyone at this point unless you’re super rich.”

Deena Winter of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.