Minneapolis DFLers endorsed a slate of largely newcomer candidates and incumbents for the Park Board at the city convention Saturday, where tensions grew high in the District 3 race.
Newcomers dominate DFL Park Board slate; two ejected after fistfight
July 10, 2017 at 3:56PM
A fight broke out between a supporter of Abdi "Gurhan" Mohamed and Rep. Ilhan Omar's husband, Ahmed Hirsi, who was supporting the other candidate, Abdikadir "AK" Hassan. Omar announced her endorsement for Hassan earlier and introduced him at the lectern Saturday night.
Gurhan's supporter, Abdirizak Alibos, shouted at Hirsi saying "you and your wife divided the Somali community."
The men started swinging at each other but no one was hurt. The DFL chairman, Dan McConnell, told them to leave the room.
The district, which is the Riverside area, remained in a deadlock late Saturday night.
Delegates at the convention endorsed Chris Meyer for District 1, Kale Severson for District 2, Jono Cowgill for District 4, Steffanie Musich for District 5 and Brad Bourn, who was unopposed for District 6. Russ Henry, Devin Hogan and Londel French won endorsements for the three at-large seats on the board.
Meyer, Severson, Cowgill, Henry, Hogan and French are all supported by Our Revolution, a spinoff of the Bernie Sanders campaign.
The Nov. 7 election guarantees turnover on the Park Board with many longtime board members choosing not to run again.
Commissioners Annie Young, John Erwin, Jon Olson and Anita Tabb are not seeking re-election.
The Park Board manages 160 neighborhood parks and 19 regional parks and has an annual budget of $111 million-plus.
Faiza Mahamud
about the writer
From small businesses to giants like Target, retailers are benefitting from the $10 billion industry for South Korean pop music, including its revival of physical album sales.
