Betsy Hodges (incumbent)
Age: 48
Bio: Born in Baltimore, the youngest of three. Her family moved to Minnesota in 1974; she grew up in Minnetonka, and moved to Minneapolis in 1998. Divorced, now married to Gary Cunningham, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association and a Metropolitan Council member.
Education: Bryn Mawr College; attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Work experience: Worked for mental health providers in Albuquerque, N.M.; worked for the Minnesota Justice Foundation.
Political and public experience: Founded the Women's Health Project in Albuquerque; staffer and development director for Progressive Minnesota, a predecessor to TakeAction Minnesota; aide to County Commissioner Gail Dorfman; elected to City Council's Ward 13 in 2005.
Main issues: Hodges says her agenda includes fiscal responsibility and sound budgeting, closing racial and economic disparities, workforce initiatives to prepare people to fill more than 100,000 jobs expected to be filled in the region in the next decade, keeping housing and commercial space affordable, pre-preschool education and encouraging adoption of clean energy to fight climate change.
Party: DFL
Why she is running: "What I offer the city is a leader who is compassionate, who is tough, who's been tested, and can lead us into the future. ... We need someone who knows how to stand up to bullies, who knows how to stand up for the people of Minneapolis unequivocally, and with everything they've got. I've been able to do that and will continue to do that."
What you might not know about her: Hodges is the daughter of an HCMC cardiologist who came up with the "Hodges Formula," used around the world in electrocardiograph machines to help analyze electrical activity in the heart.
Website: http://betsyhodges.org/
