Mary McKelvey

Mary McKelvey

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Middlebury College, 1990

Graduate

University of Minnesota, 1995

Personal

Birthplace

Minneapolis, Minn.

Religion

Christian: Episcopalian

Profession

Teacher, coach

Contact

Campaign website

Personal LinkedIn

Mary McKelvey is running for election to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large in Minnesota. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Biography

Mary McKelvey was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. McKelvey earned a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College in 1990 and a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota in 1995. Her career experience includes working as a licensed teacher and certified coach.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2025)

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates are running in the general election for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Meg Forney (Nonpartisan)
		Tom Olsen (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Matthew Dowgwillo (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Amber Frederick (Nonpartisan)
		Mary McKelvey (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Adam Schneider (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Averi Turner (Nonpartisan)
		Michael Wilson (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

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2021

See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021)

General election

General election for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

Select round: Round 7 Round 6 Round 5 Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Meg Forney in round 2 , Tom Olsen in round 6 , and Alicia Smith in round 7 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	21.5	19,657	359	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	29.2	26,664	-1,111	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.2	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	20.2	18,459	160	7
		Londel French	0.0	0	0	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	0.0	0	0	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	21.0	19,298	2,429	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	30.2	27,775	4,350	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.0	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	19.9	18,299	981	7
		Londel French	0.0	0	-13,394	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	0.0	0	0	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	17.3	16,869	1,731	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	24.0	23,425	1,490	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	27.3	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	17.7	17,318	2,382	7
		Londel French	13.7	13,394	889	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	0.0	0	-10,761	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	14.9	15,138	1,621	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	21.5	21,935	841	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	26.2	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	14.7	14,936	1,495	7
		Londel French	12.3	12,505	371	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	10.6	10,761	633	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	-7,575	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	12.9	13,517	711	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	20.2	21,094	384	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	25.5	26,663	-4,966	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	12.9	13,441	1,362	7
		Londel French	11.6	12,134	218	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	9.7	10,128	408	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	7.2	7,575	303	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	12.1	12,806	7	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	19.5	20,710	8	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.8	31,629	17	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	11.4	12,079	5	7
		Londel French	11.2	11,916	10	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	9.2	9,720	9	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	6.9	7,272	2	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	12.0	12,799	0	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	19.4	20,702	0	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.6	31,612	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	11.3	12,074	0	7
		Londel French	11.2	11,906	0	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	9.1	9,711	0	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	6.8	7,270	0	3
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.5	576	0

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 106,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Note: The official tabulation of voting rounds includes decimal points. Ballotpedia rounded transferred votes.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mary McKelvey has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Mary McKelvey asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Mary McKelvey, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

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You can ask Mary McKelvey to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing mary@MaryforParks.org.

2021

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 28, 2021

Mary McKelvey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McKelvey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Mary McKelvey. I am a teacher in Minneapolis Public Schools, a coach year-round in Minneapolis Parks, and with my teams, my family and our dog, I enjoy the parks every day. I have been paying attention to the parks for several years as a member on two Community Advisory Councils and as a member of the League of Women Voters.

I believe that what benefits kids sustains our whole city, and am passionate about bringing parks programming that brings all of our our vibrant communities together.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We need relevant, well-communicated programming to connect us to Minneapolis parks and to nature. Right now, for too many youth aged 11-17, outdoor options are to join expensive sports clubs, other city leagues, or older high school students. Our neighborhood park recreation centers can collaborate with schools and community groups to offer attractive programs, including environmental activities, for all ages, especially for those at the critical age of middle school.
• Minneapolis identifies itself as the City of Lakes, so let's take care of them better. Our regional parks and trails (the Chain of Lakes, Wirth Lake, Nokomis, Mississippi River, Bassetts, Shingle, and Minnehaha Creeks) get more visitors than any State park. Yet much of the trails and amenities are in disrepair, and the water quality is substandard. This is unacceptable, and I will work to change that.
• A current plan has been made for all 180 parks in our system. A Comprehensive Plan is about to be approved as to the Mission and Vision of the Parks. Let's take the next step; transparent , equitable plans about the schedule, staff, and funding to make Plans happen. The parks have successfully made a transparent, equitable schedule for neighborhood recreation centers; it can be done throughout the system, and I will push for that as Commissioner.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you balance the needs and desires of existing business and housing communities with new development? Would you take gentrification and displacement into consideration when planning neighborhood development?

I will take gentrification and displacement into consideration when planning park development. In recent years, Parkland Dedication Fees have required developers to set aside a percentage of their profits toward new parks, to keep greenspaces as the city becomes more dense. In general, this is a good idea, but we need to be careful that those parks areas remain public assets, not private parks for developments. I think for current residents whose home values increase due to new parks or improvements, credits or other protections should be made to ensure that increased property taxes do not force them to leave the neighborhood.

Community Question Featured local question

Please list the criteria you would use to evaluate which projects are worth maintaining or starting in Minneapolis when it comes to public infrastructure.

First I would seek a user-friendly matrix of the that the public infrastructure that Minneapolis is in charge of now, and how the maintenance schedules between parks, city, county, utilities, and watershed districts overlap to optimize the project areas, so that areas only need to dig places up once per area, and save on funds.

Year-round safety and generations-long environmental sustainability will be top considerations in my evaluations of public infrastructure projects.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's environmental health? Would you make any changes to current policy?

The Parks should be leading on environmental policy. Increasingly, the best environmental decisions are the best budget decisions. Goal 6 of the Comprehensive Plan includes many ways to strengthen our ecological sustainability in the city. Commissioners will have the Plan as an ecological guideline. I also think that with every financial decision Commissioners make, one of the guiding factors should be what the environmental costs and benefits are. Questions I would ask include, can new equipment be electric vs. gas-powered? Can solar be put on a rebuilt recreation center roof? Can we use eco-friendly means to have better ice traction on parkways and trails during winter? Can better stormwater management practices be installed when a field is being improved? Can we add more natural filters to our shorelines? Can we stop using pesticides in an area and manage it organically? We can improve our city's environmental health.

Community Question Featured local question

What role do you feel police should play in Minneapolis? What are your thoughts on the city council’s proposed changes to the Minneapolis Police Department?

The role of the police is to be a trusted, timely source to call in an emergency situation. We also need a trusted investigative authority when people are hurt or killed or property is stolen or damaged; right now that is police.

The current city council's proposal is for the next city council and mayor to change the chain of command structure of the Police Department , Police Chief and Mayor to add a commissioner of Public Safety.

Everything seems to be in the abstract right now, but if the amendment passed by voters, I will figure out the Park's role in the new system.

Community Question Featured local question

What would you like Minneapolis' public safety system to look like by the end of your term? What would you do to accomplish your vision of public safety?

First, I would like residents to trust their neighbors and their neighborhoods, by personal engagement in their own communities. I think this is the corner where I can affect public safety as a Park Board Commissioner. Parks are public gathering spaces where trust can develop.

I would like residents to trust that when they call 911, the appropriate level of response from a trained officer, (one who is familiar to residents in a non-crisis occasions already) will come to help in a timely manner. I will encourage Park Police agents and officers to get involved with the community before crises occur as much as possible.

The following are my vision, too, but Park Commissioners have less direct affect on them:

I would like BIPOC residents of Minneapolis to experience an abundance of concrete cases that start to instill confidence that their safety, property, and lives are valued, and are as important as that of white residents.

I would like to see our judicial systems work on behalf of residents in cases when public safety is not safe.

I would like residents to know and have access to resources available to them in longer term safety situations, such as addiction, mental health, and domestic safety.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most interested in policy that involves the well-being of our children, our shared spaces, and natural spaces for all (including wildlife). That is why I am interested in running for Park Board, and not for another city position.

I also believe it is important that we believe that our government listens to and works for its constituents. If elected, I will hold myself to that standard to be that kind of official.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Minneapolis is one of the few cities which has an independent park board. It's one of the few developed with a plan to have a park within 6 blocks of every resident. That is unique, it's what makes our system one of the best in the nation. I will fight to keep that independence.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have had the privilege of being a girl interested in sports after Title IX passed. I have been allowed to participate in any sport I wanted. I have had fantastic male and female coaches, but I don't think I would have continued if I hadn't had excellent female coaches along the way. Kris January, Patty Ross, Caitlin Gregg, Kate Ellis, BethAnn Chamberlain, and Kim Rudd are all amazing athletes who have taught me technical, motivational, and teaching skills. Seeing people who looked like me helped me realize that I could follow them, too. I recognize this factor when thinking of welcoming new people into programs.

I will always admire Vice President Walter Mondale and his wife, the artist Joan Mondale. They met hundreds of thousands of people in their political lives, yet they still wrote hand written notes, and made sure that they remembered your name and the connection you had. I experienced it personally, so I felt like I was their friend, and I'm sure thousands of others felt the same. It was an astonishing trait. It showed me that politics is about the personal. I hope to develop even a tiny version of the memory they had for the stories of the people they met.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My Life on the Road, by Gloria Steinem

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, authenticity, ability to "read the room".

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Authenticity, empathy, true interest in people.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To present budget priorities, to vote on budget and financial decisions, to listen to residents and park users, to support park staff, and to hire or fire the superintendent, if necessary.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to leave a park system where every Minneapolis resident has a positive connection and a sense of belonging and stewardship to at least one Minneapolis Park.

I'd like to leave a thriving park system that is sustainable ecologically and financially.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember President Nixon saying as he was resigning, "I am not a quitter."
I remember thinking that was a very strange thing to say on TV. I was 6 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as a babysitter starting from age 11, really until the present.

Before becoming a teacher and coach, I was also a YMCA camp counselor, a waitress, and a SCA (Student Conservation Association) trail crew leader.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am a cheerful and optimistic person, but I have also experienced depression.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

There is a Commissioner chosen from the Park Board to the Board of Estimate and Taxation. As one of only six members on that board, including the Mayor, the two BET members, and two representatives of the City Council, it is a powerful position that determines the percentage of property tax to levy on the city, as well as the percentage of the total to allocate yearly to the Parks.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Politics are about people. Connections and people skills are important to have. Ability to ask questions, to find out who to ask, and to know the limits of your own knowledge are also important. Government experience is beneficial, but it's good to have both incumbents and fresh voices in a democratic system.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

There are nine Commissioners, and I hope all bring helpful perspectives to the job. My experience of being in the parks almost every day with a variety of people gives me a practical, ground level perspective. Ability to ask questions and to listen to constituents and share those concerns with staff are also key.

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