Ginger Jentzen

Ginger Jentzen

Education

Bachelor's

Colorado College

Personal

Profession

Nonprofit executive director

Contact

Personal website

Ginger Jentzen was a candidate for Ward 3 representative on the Minneapolis City Council in Minnesota. She was defeated in the general election on November 7, 2017.

Although municipal elections in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan, candidates can choose a party affiliation to appear on the ballot. Jentzen ran as a Socialist Alternative candidate.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Jentzen earned an undergraduate degree from Colorado College. Her professional experience includes work as a restaurant worker and as the executive director of the $15 minimum wage campaign, 15 Now Minnesota.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017) and Mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017)

Minneapolis, Minnesota, held a general election for mayor, all 13 seats on the city council, both elected members of the board of estimate and taxation, and all nine members of the park and recreation board on November 7, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 15, 2017.

Incumbents ran for re-election to all but two of the city council seats. Ward 3 Councilman Jacob Frey filed to run for mayor instead, and Ward 8 Councilwoman Elizabeth Glidden opted not to run for re-election.

Minneapolis City Council Ward 3, 2017, Round 3
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Tim Bildsoe - Eliminated	0%	0	−2,734
Steve Fletcher - Winner	55.8%	4,861	1,758
Samantha Pree-Stinson	0%	0	0
Ginger Jentzen	44.2%	3,844	246
Undeclared Write-ins	0%	0	0
Exhausted		887	730
Total Votes		9,592	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Minneapolis City Council Ward 3, 2017, Round 2
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Tim Bildsoe	29%	2,734	182
Steve Fletcher	32.9%	3,103	394
Samantha Pree-Stinson - Eliminated	0%	0	−1,007
Ginger Jentzen - Most votes	38.1%	3,598	301
Undeclared Write-ins - Eliminated	0%	0	−27
Exhausted		157	157
Total Votes		9,592	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Legend:     Eliminated in current round     Most votes     Lost

This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

Minneapolis City Council Ward 3, 2017, Round 1
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Tim Bildsoe	26.6%	2,552
Steve Fletcher	28.2%	2,709
Samantha Pree-Stinson	10.5%	1,007
Ginger Jentzen - Most votes	34.4%	3,297
Undeclared Write-ins	0.3%	27
Exhausted		0	0
Total Votes		9,592	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Campaign themes

2017

Jentzen's campaign website highlighted the following issues. Click "show" on the boxes below for more information about her positions.

Affordable Housing & Rent Control

"There’s a growing housing crisis in Minneapolis, and Ward 3 is at its epicenter. From rent hikes to unjust foreclosures, working people and young people are being priced out, while new luxury apartments and condos are affordable only to a few. A recent study found that for a median-income black family, there’s not a single Minneapolis neighborhood where housing is affordable. Section 8 waitlists can be endless, and slumlords use the lack of affordable housing to maximize their profits while keeping families in dangerous living conditions. We need bold policies for a major expansion of affordable housing. Minnesota state Republicans and Trump’s White House are offering tax breaks to the billionaire class instead of funding affordable housing, and with Ben Carson in charge of HUD, Minneapolis must explore ways of taxing big business and the super-rich to build affordable homes. Big developers pretend housing is a simple issue of supply, but of the 5,600 rental units planned for the metro area in 2016, only 1/10 were slated to be affordable. Rents have increased 15% since 2009 while the vacancy rate has fallen by half. The 'let the market handle it approach' isn’t working. I will be a powerful voice for tenants and working people in City Hall. My campaign is not for sale, and I pledge to accept no campaign contributions from big developers or corporate executives. Minneapolis needs rent control! Rent regulations are one of the best ways to stop out-of-control rent hikes. The city council should immediately pass a resolution demanding the state government remove the undemocratic state preemption law, and bring a legal challenge to it. Tenants, unions, and community organizations need to organize and build major protests in the state legislature to demand an end to the state ban. Tax big developers to fund affordable housing! Seattle and San Francisco have 'linkage fees', a tax on big developers and the super-rich to pay for high quality affordable housing. Build a public option. Instead of privatizing the existing public housing stock, like Glendale Townhomes, we should build thousands of high-quality, city-owned homes, rented at below-market rates. This can be financed by selling municipal bonds, taxing developers and making use of currently vacant city land. Minneapolis needs a Tenants’ Bill of Rights! Notorious slumlords like Stephen Frenz exploit the lack of affordable housing, raking in massive profits with substandard housing by banking on the fact that his tenants can’t find an alternative. Tenants should have six months’ advance notice of a major rent increase, rather than the 30 days currently legally required. Security deposits and move-in fees should be capped at no more than one month’s rent. Strengthen and support the efforts of renters’ organizers like Inquilinxs Unidxs who are fighting for more rights for renters in the Twin Cities. We need equitable zoning! Minneapolis should adjust its zoning regulations to plan for increased middle density housing, especially in strategic transit and transportation corridors. By ensuring that these units are high-quality, city-owned housing units, rented at below-market rates, Minneapolis can ensure increased affordable housing options. Remove antiquated ordinances like those not allowing more than three unrelated occupants to live in a single family home, and lift restrictions on cooperative housing. Every zoning change is an opportunity to require increased affordable housing through inclusionary zoning, which we should demand be built into the Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan. Mortgage relief for homeowners! Tens of thousands Minneapolis families have lost their homes to foreclosure since 2008. The city needs to stop dragging its feet and finally implement a principal reduction program for underwater homeowners to keep more families from losing their homes. Instead of property taxes on ordinary homeowners, we should pay for services by taxing mansions and millionaire developers"

Tax the Rich

"The Twin Cities are home to 17 Fortune 500 corporations, the highest concentration in the country per capita, while a quarter of the city live below the poverty line, and a staggering 48% of black people live in poverty. Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans are planning massive tax handouts for their billionaire buddies while implementing deep budget cuts. I was a leader in the movement to win a $15 minimum wage, and we took on some of the most powerful corporations in the state. The establishment says taxing the rich can’t be done, but they said that about the $15 an hour minimum wage too before we built a movement and won. Rather than accepting the status quo agenda of corporate-friendly politicians, we need to tax the rich to fund the crucial services that working people need. We need a Millionaires’ Tax! Fund mass transit, education, and social services by taxing the rich. Wealthy developers in San Francisco now pay a 'millionaires tax' to help fund affordable housing, and make community college free for residents. Seattle has just passed its own citywide tax on the rich. Let’s fight for this in Minneapolis, to fund education, health care, mass transit, and affordable housing. Tax large corporations to fund public services. Under existing law, this can be done with a major increase in developer impact fees, a corporate 'head tax,' an increased tax on commercial parking lot owners, and 'excise taxes' on banks, big box retailers, and franchise businesses. End corporate welfare and developer handouts! Reduce the unfair tax burden on working people, homeowners, and small businesses."

$15/hr and Workers’ Rights

"We won $15, but it needs to be enforced! Workers need unions to defend our rights, and we need to fight back against anti-union laws threatened at the state and federal level. $15 needs to be enforced. Fully fund the Labor Standards Enforcement Division to enforce strong penalties against wage theft. Spread the $15 minimum wage. Support workers and the labor movement in bringing $15 to St. Paul and other cities in Minnesota. Support the efforts of all workers to unionize! 12 weeks of paid family leave for all Minneapolis workers. Many families and working mothers do not have access to paid maternity leave in our city and studies show that it is children who pay the price. Pass 'fair scheduling' legislation. Service-sector workers face on-call schedules, back-to-back shifts ('clopening'), and irregular work hours. Minneapolis needs a 'fair scheduling' law to end abusive practices. Medicare for all! Build the movement for a statewide single-payer healthcare system as a step toward a national, improved Medicare-for-all system. Healthcare needs to be taken out of the broken private insurance system, and run for people not for profit, so we can provide true universal care. I have worked closely with the Minnesota Nurses Association in the fight for a $15/hr minimum wage, and would work to expand coalitions to fight for single-payer."

Expand Public Transit

"Minneapolis deserves a world class public transit system, instead of the current, underfunded 'hub and spoke' system that underserves most of the city. Mass transit is all the more crucial with the growing threat of climate change, which comes with real human costs as we saw this summer with the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Working people, seniors, people with disabilities, and youth all rely on mass transit in our city. But instead of expanding bus routes, light rail service, and providing a real alternative to daily car use, the city establishment is instead cutting local routes that accommodate a majority of riders. For a major expansion of mass transit, paid for by a taxes on developers and big business, whether at the state or city level. San Francisco has passed a corporate 'head tax' to fund city needs and Minneapolis should explore this and all other avenues to fund transit expansion while taking the tax burden off ordinary working people. End the transit cuts! We cannot talk about implementing the Complete Streets program, and moving away from a car culture at the same time deep cuts are made to transit which hit working people the hardest. We need to go forward, not backward! We need equitable transit. I support the equity outcomes in the MSP 2040 plan and will work with communities and ATU members to ensure transit needs are met for all. No increased fares that threaten low-income communities and riders with disabilities who rely on public transit. With transit expansions like Southwest Light Rail we can’t rely on fare increases that further burden regular riders or that cut bus service. We need to expand both bus and rail routes."

Womens’ Rights

"One in four women enrolled at the University of Minnesota will be sexually assaulted during their college career, a recent study showed. With a President that openly bragged about committing sexual violence, our city needs to take an even bolder stand against sexual assault. Women face threats to reproductive rights, attacks on Planned Parenthood, and cuts to social services that disproportionately impact us. The Twin Cities are the second-worst nationwide when it comes to equal pay for tech jobs, with a pay gap of 52%. A new women’s movement has developed in recent months with the biggest day of protest in US history on January 21st with the Women’s March and thousands protesting to defend their rights on March 8th, International Women’s Day. We can build upon this by fighting for real changes that can dramatically improve women’s lives. 12 weeks of paid family leave for all Minneapolis workers. Many families and working mothers do not have access to paid maternity leave in our city and studies show that it is children who pay the price. Fight to close the gender pay gap! Build the movement and organize alongside labor unions to win equal pay for women and an end to workplace harassment. Fight sexism! Build a movement against sexual harassment and violence against women. Expand the city’s programs against domestic violence. Help prevent violence and fund services for survivors. Expand housing alternatives and shelters for women leaving abusive relationships. Affordable, high-quality childcare for all families."

Environmental Justice and Green Jobs

"Minneapolis can lead the charge in resisting Trump’s anti-environment agenda by massively expanding public transit and renewable energy, shutting down toxic emissions by big corporations, and creating green jobs and retraining for workers. Victories against polluting companies like Northern Metals show cities have an important role to play in fighting for a sustainable alternative. End toxic pollution and shut down the HERC! The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) lies on the edge of Ward 3, blowing poisonous smoke from burning garbage collected from the entire county, much of which is entirely recyclable. This directly impacts one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, largely populated by people of color. This type of blatant environmental racism would never happen if it affected a wealthy neighborhood. HERC should end all toxic practices immediately or be shut down. As a first step, Minneapolis should enact the Zero Waste Draft Plan. Slash greenhouse gas emissions and create green jobs! Massively expand public transit and renewable energy, with a just transition, retraining and union jobs for all fossil fuel sector workers. End the passage of oil trains through Minneapolis! Oil trains are chronically understaffed, threaten our environment and put at risk the lives of people we care about. In the past few years, oil train derailments in the US and Canada have forced mass evacuations of residents and caused irreparable damage to the environment. Divest from banks funding big oil pipelines! Minneapolis should also follow in the footsteps of cities like Seattle and Los Angeles who are divesting all city funds from Wells Fargo, which is directly investing in the DAPL pipeline, and severing all ties to banks with fossil fuel investments."

Black Lives Matter

"The acquittal of Philando Castile’s murderer is further proof that the criminal injustice system is fundamentally stacked against black people. Minneapolis has some of the worst racial inequities in the nation, with a staggering 48% of black people in Minneapolis living in poverty. There is ambitious urban development taking place intended to attract young professionals to the city, while black and working-class people are being gentrified out of historic neighborhoods. While Chief Harteau was forced to step down under pressure from our movement, there have been no substantial reforms to the Minneapolis Police Department in spite of widespread national outrage over the killings of Philando Castile, Jamar Clark, and others. End police brutality! Eliminate 'stop and frisk' style policing, which amount to profiling people of color and immigrants. Decriminalize marijuana and other nonviolent, low-level drug offenses. Implement restorative justice practices, avoiding arrests for minor crimes and instead referring people directly to social programs, mental health services or shelters. We need strong community oversight of the police! Empower the communities who are the most harmed by racist policing by creating a democratically elected oversight board with real powers over the Minneapolis Police Department, including setting policy, amending budgets, launching independent investigations, setting department priorities, and with the right to subpoena officers. Fund youth jobs programs, education, and services for communities of color. Tax the rich to address unjust racial inequities in our city."

LGBTQ Rights

"Minneapolis needs to tax the rich to fully fund LGBTQ services, healthcare, and anti-discrimination initiatives, especially with attacks on LGBTQ rights by state Republican’s and the Trump administration. Minneapolis needs a fully-funded LGBTQ resource center. Studies show that transgender people are four times more likely to be living in extreme poverty than the general population. By taxing the rich we can also fully fund LGBTQ community centers and social programs, especially initiatives to protect against anti-LGBTQ violence and intimidation. Fund community anti-hate-crime groups to raise awareness through public education efforts. Fully fund homeless shelters and expand affordable housing. LGBTQ youth face disproportionately high levels of homelessness in Minneapolis and nationally. A 2011 report showed that 19% of transgender people reported having been refused a home or apartment and 11% reported being evicted because of their gender identity/expression. End discrimination and harassment! Especially with the Trump administration targetting LGBTQ rights, we need to take immediate action to fully fund anti-discrimination initiatives and city services. We need explicit protections for LGBTQ people who face housing discrimination. Together with labor we need to fight the ongoing workplace discrimination of our LGBTQ co-workers. Healthcare is a human right! A statewide single-payer system should include free access to hormone therapy, sexual reassignment surgery and reproductive services. As the 2014 Hobby Lobby court case showed, big business will hide behind religion to restrict healthcare coverage. These are some reasons why I will organize alongside unions and community groups to win statewide single-payer care as a step towards 'Medicare for all' nationally."

Immigrants’ Rights

"We need to stand united against attacks on immigrants, refugees and Muslims. State Republicans are working with Trump as he gears up the deportation machine and directs federal agencies to profile our neighbors. Trump is threatening 'sanctuary cities' like Minneapolis, which have pledged to not share their data with deportation agencies. No ban, no wall, no raids. Trump-proof Minneapolis! Our 'sanctuary city' laws at present provide few real protections. End the practice of stop-and-frisk policing, which criminalizes immigrants and people of color, and feeds Trump’s deportation machine, as shown most recently by the highly publicized profiling of Ariel Vences-Lopez on Minneapolis light rail. Anyone who is suspected of a crime that ends up in Hennepin County Jail or in the court system still risks being deported by ICE agents. No cooperation with ICE. The city should fully commit to safeguarding personal information gathered by city agencies that can be used by ICE to identify targets. We need economic justice so that immigrant workers can afford to live here. This means building quality affordable housing, paid for by taxing the rich. No to Islamophobia! Sever all ties with the the [sic] FBI’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program, which feeds into racism and Islamophobia. Ensure Minneapolis agencies do not cooperate with 'fusion centers' designed to consolidate and hand information over to Trump’s surveillance state."

Defend and Extend Public Education

"Public education in the Twin Cities is in crisis. The result of the assault on public education has been reinforced by a vicious cycle of budget cuts which further reduces the quality of the remaining public schools in Minneapolis. As a result, over one-third of eligible public school students in Minneapolis and St. Paul are now leaving their neighborhood schools for other districts and private charters. This effectively paralyzes students whose families are not in a position to send them to other areas in the city, keeping them in schools that lack the funds to ensure a quality education and closing other schools. This burden falls most heavily on neighborhoods that have lower income levels. The solution is not further privatization of education or more charter schools. The school environment reflects the community environment. We need to make sure students can focus on their education, not having to worry about things like housing instability and being treated like criminals in the classroom. That’s why we need high quality public school education funded by taxes on the super-rich and big developers that is part of a broader plan for justice for working and young people in Minneapolis. No More Budget Cuts, Fight for Full Funding Tax the Super-rich and Big Developers to fully fund public education No school closings, no layoffs, no program cuts No to attacks on teachers unions Improve Education Quality – Expand Student Services Decrease class sizes by hiring more teachers Invest in a massive expansion of afterschool and summer programs Stop criminalizing students – move towards diversionary and intervention programs for student misbehavior and violence, not punishment Hire more school counselors and social workers, not more School Resource Officers Expand anti-bullying efforts and culturally relevant curriculum promoting LGBTQ equality, anti-racism, and anti-sexism Stable Housing for Students – Rent Control Now! Fight for rent control Create a mass of high quality affordable housing funded through taxes on the big developers Fully Fund Minnesota’s Rental Assistance Pilot for Homeless and Highly Mobile Families with School Age Children to combat student homelessness"

Endorsements

2017

Jentzen received endorsements from the following in 2017:

• Communications Workers of America - Minnesota State Council
• Democratic Socialists of America
• Minnesota Nurses Association
• Our Revolution Twin Cities
• Socialist Alternative
• United Transportation Union Minnesota Legislative Board

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ginger Jentzen Minneapolis City Council. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Ginger Jentzen - Google News

See also

Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minnesota	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

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