Lisa Bender (Minnesota)

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Lisa Bender

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Minneapolis City Council Ward 10

Successor: Aisha Chughtai

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Minnesota

Graduate

University of California, Berkeley

Personal

Profession

City planner

Contact

Personal website

Lisa Bender was a member of the Minneapolis City Council in Minnesota, representing Ward 10. Bender assumed office in 2014. Bender left office on January 3, 2022.

Bender ran for re-election to the Minneapolis City Council to represent Ward 10 in Minnesota. Bender won 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. Bender ran as a DFL candidate.

Biography

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Bender earned a bachelor's degree in biology and Spanish from the University of Minnesota and a master's degree in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Her experience includes serving as a co-founder of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition and working as a city planner for the city of San Francisco, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

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. Incumbent Lisa Bender defeated Saralyn Romanishan, David Schorn, and Bruce Lundeen in the general election for the Ward 10 seat on the Minneapolis City Council.

Minneapolis City Council, Ward 10 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lisa Bender Incumbent	64.34%	4,883
Saralyn Romanishan	20.57%	1,561
David Schorn	9.34%	709
Bruce Lundeen	5.48%	416
Write-in votes	0.26%	20
Total Votes		7,589
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services, "2017 Minneapolis Election Results," accessed November 22, 2017

Campaign themes

2017

Bender's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	Racial and Economic Justice The income gaps — between the rich and the poor, and whites and people of color — are growing, not shrinking To fight this trend, Lisa has been a leading voice on the council for passing workplace protections that reflect today's economic realities while supporting the small, locally owned businesses that create jobs and make our neighborhoods great. More and more people, particularly workers of color and indigenous workers, are relying on multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. Lisa was the lead author of our paid sick and safe time ordinance which gives all workers in Minneapolis the right to earn and take sick time in their jobs, including to deal with issues related to domestic violence and to provide care to family members. Lisa has been a consistent supporter of raising the city's minimum wage and coauthored a staff direction to bring an ordinance for consideration to the council in 2017. She also authored a fair work week ordinance that did not have the support of other council members, but she continues to support protections that give low-wage workers more predictability and fairness in the workplace. Lisa is also a proponent and supporter of budgetary investments in racial and economic equity: Restoring funding for racial equity staff, homeownership programs and other equity investments during the first budget cycle. Investments in youth violence prevention and restorative justice and decriminalization of addiction and mental health issues. Body-worn cameras for all police in the city. Investments in the Community Service Officer classes which are diversifying our police department. Proposed staff specifically to support small businesses. With federal and state elections, we are entering a time of a new reality when we need to fight back against potential threats to our immigrant communities, against hate crimes and against budget cuts and laws that could attack our most vulnerable neighbors. It is more important than ever that Minneapolis continues to lead by passing policies that reflect our progressive values, the values that Lisa has been fighting for since taking office. Housing for All The City of Minneapolis is losing affordable units faster than we are building them. With a growing population and one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in the country, rents are rising much faster than income. We need to welcome new housing options to our community to prevent displacement and make sure that housing equitable and affordable. Lisa supports funding affordable units through Affordable Housing Trust Fund. But that isn't enough. We also need more aggressive strategies to preserve existing affordable housing, extend the life of all affordable housing units, add more protections for renters, and require affordable units in market-rate development. Minneapolis also needs real strategies to preserve and build wealth in lower-income neighborhoods where development pressure is building. Lisa will continue to work to ensure that our city is affordable for all residents as it grows. Streets Designed for People For decades, Minneapolis' streets prioritized moving cars quickly through neighborhoods over the people who live here. Lisa will continue to champion making it safer and more comfortable to walk, bike, and take transit. Lisa helped craft a nation-leading Complete Streets policy that prioritizes people on foot, bikes and transit and will lead on: Making sure our 20-year parks and streets funding package prioritizes safety for walking and bicycling. Changing street signals to make it easier to walk. Building out our network of protected bike lanes. Finding ways even in constrained budgetary times to continue to advocate for and improve transit. Construction will soon begin on the 35W transit access project and Lisa will continue to make sure all levels of government prioritize our neighborhood businesses and residents when making decisions about project phasing and construction schedules. Healthy Planet, Healthy Communities The decisions made at city hall affect the health and sustainability of our neighborhoods, our city and our planet. Lisa will continue to prioritize transformational action to meet our adopted goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The Clean Energy Partnership with the city's utilities is one opportunity to reduce energy usage in buildings, which makes up the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in Minneapolis, and Lisa will work to ensure that our utilities make good on their promises. Lisa also wants to make sure city-owned buildings continue to meet these energy standards and continue to change our street infrastructure to encourage alternatives to driving alone. Lisa will continue to support and champion the work of our health department in getting toxins out of our homes and neighborhoods, making sure our schools have health resources for all children, and working on the holistic health work that ensures every child in Minneapolis has a chance for a full, healthy life.	”
—Lisa Bender's campaign website, (2017)

See also

Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minnesota	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

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Personal

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Minneapolis City Council Ward 10 2014-2022	Succeeded by Aisha Chughtai