My name is Aisha Chughtai—

I am a renter from Whittier, I come to local government through the labor and immigrants rights movements, and I have the privilege of representing Ward 10 on the Minneapolis City Council. I’m excited to announce I’m running for re-election.

I first won election to the City Council in 2021 with a bold agenda to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with working-class people and ensure the voices of those most impacted by decisions are prioritized in decision making. That’s what I’ve done for the past 3 years, and I’m just getting started.

With Trump returning to office and promising to wage war against immigrants, working people, and LGBTQIA+ people, the City must be ready to act as the last line of defense for targeted communities. As a Councilmember, I’ve successfully fought alongside the immigrant community to invest historic resources to address and prevent hate crimes and dedicate ongoing resources for legal services to support immigrants. I’ve fought alongside the LGBTQIA+ community to prevent LGBTQIA+ equity work from being gutted and mismanaged by the Frey Administration. 

Ward 10 is home to 80% renter residents and countless wraparound services that support unsheltered residents. In this term, my colleagues and I invested $1.5 million to prevent the permanent loss of 130+ units of shelter and temporary housing at Agate's downtown facility; secured funding to expand the successful Stable Homes Stable Schools program to prevent homelessness for up to 225 families and 565 children; provided a $1.6 million grant to Avivo Village to prevent them from closing their doors in summer 2025; and dedicated funding to provide permanent housing and wraparound social services for 100 individuals and families experiencing chronic unsheltered homelessness.

Ward 10 is made up of working people. In this term, we passed a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers and worked with the State to pass the strongest legislation on wages and worker protections for Uber and Lyft drivers in the country; and secured funding for a low-barrier employment pilot program to establish Public Works jobs for those experiencing homelessness or housing instability. 

Ward 10 residents care deeply about revitalizing Uptown. In this term, my colleagues and I fought to protect significant funding for Uptown Safety Ambassadors; passed $900K to lessen the construction hardships felt by small businesses including along Hennepin Avenue and West Lake Street; and funded an initiative to bring stakeholders together to plan long-term Uptown revitalization.

Ward 10 residents are committed to climate justice. In this term, my colleagues and I passed a carbon tax on some of the city’s largest carbon polluters and invested over $500K in efforts to reduce the amount of trash that ends up in landfills and incinerators.

Ward 10 residents deserve meaningful community safety. In this term, I ensured $1.5 million for traffic calming efforts which result in significantly safer streets for our communities; secured $200K for public safety response in Whittier to address the high rate of reported crimes;  increased the number of civilian investigators to provide victims of domestic violence, juvenile crimes, crimes against children, sex crimes, and homicide with timely investigations and address the significant backlog of unsolved crimes in MPD; and funded a new 5th Precinct Crime Prevention specialist to support residents.

While this has been a historically productive year for the Minneapolis Council, Mayor Frey continues to stand in the way of progress, recklessly vetoing more legislation than any Mayor in recent history. He vetoed our attempt to preserve affordable housing, a Labor Standards Board that he originally supported, and even the entire city budget which may have led to thousands of city workers losing their jobs had my colleagues and I not overridden him. Mayor Frey delays, obfuscates, and plays the blame game—what he doesn’t do is work for those who need government the most. Now more than ever we need a Council with a clear vision and a desire to fight for our communities. I'm running for re-election to continue delivering for the residents of Ward 10.

There is still so much work to do for our communities, from passing a rent control policy and a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase, to a public health approach to encampments and safe outdoor space ordinances. I am committed to keep up this fight to leave no one behind. Because I know what it is to struggle to find affordable housing, to be a child helping your immigrant parents navigate the world, and to have to choose between buying groceries and making a student loan payment. 

Thank you for trusting me to represent you at City Hall these last 3 years. I hope to earn your support again.

In solidarity,

Aisha Chughtai