Minneapolis Council Member Wonsley offers no details to back up accusation against Frey

Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley on Friday offered nothing to back up her allegations of abuse of power against Mayor Jacob Frey — accusations Frey called "a lie."

In a Friday email to the Star Tribune, Wonsley said she had "nothing else to share," a response that Frey's office took as vindication.

The dustup started earlier this week, when Unicorn Riot published a video-recorded interview of Wonsley unloading on the mayor.

The pair oppose each other on a number of hot issues in Minneapolis, from how police should be funded to whether the city should adopt strict rent control, with Wonsley, a Democratic Socialist, standing to the left of Frey, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party politician.

But Wonsley's allegations, apparently made during an interview recorded well before last week, went beyond ideology. She accused Frey of threatening to wield his mayoral powers out of political intimidation for vengeance — by threatening to withhold government services.

Here's what she said: "The mayor will like do retaliatory [expletive], be like, 'I'll send, I'll limit cops in your ward.' He'll make threats to council members like that. ... Or make threats to roll back the delivery of services like, you know, entrust his staff, like: 'If you need trash cleaned up, OK, well let's see how you like it or how your constituents like it if trash don't get picked up for a couple of days.' "

No one, including Wonsley's allies on the council, has backed her allegation. Frey's allies and others on the council have condemned Wonsley's statements and said they have never heard of any such conduct by the mayor. Council Member Jason Chavez, an ally of Wonsley, told Unicorn Riot that he wasn't aware of anything to support her allegation; he didn't respond to a Star Tribune request for comment. Other Wonsley allies either declined to comment or have not responded.

On Monday, Frey sent an email to Wonsley and the rest of the council, demanding she retract her allegations and including the following: "This is a lie. Insinuating that I or my staff have ever said — or done this — is a lie. Our residents rely on the critical city services we provide and should never, under any circumstance, be used as pawns in a political game. Intentionally creating and spreading misinformation of this magnitude is beneath the office you hold."

The Star Tribune has pressed Wonsley for days to offer details or evidence of her allegation.

On Friday morning, she responded with a brief email.

It reads: "Thanks for reaching out to my office. In July, I was interviewed by Unicorn Riot about the 3rd Precinct process and Government Restructure. I appreciate Unicorn Riot for covering these two major city events, and have nothing else to share about the interview."

On Friday afternoon, Frey spokeswoman Ally Peters said Wonsley's statement was "not surprising because it was a lie from the beginning. Spreading this type of misinformation reduces public trust in local government and is a threat to democracy. Minneapolis residents deserve better."

The political ramifications of the feud, if any, remain unclear. All 13 City Council members are on the ballot this fall, and Wonsley is among the most vocal members of a coalition of incumbents and challengers hoping to gain a majority on the council. Frey, who currently enjoys support from a majority on most matters, is not on the ballot.

Wonsley is also the only candidate running unopposed; the deadline to file to appear on the ballot has passed.

A Carleton College graduate who gained prominence as an activist following the police killing of Jamar Clark in 2015, Wonsley co-founded the Seward Police Abolitionist Group. She was elected to the Second Ward seat in 2021, unseating longtime incumbent Cam Gordon and beating second-place candidate Yusra Arab by 14 votes.