Nekima Levy-Pounds

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Nekima Levy-Pounds

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 7, 2017

Education

High school

Brooks School

Bachelor's

University of Southern California

Law

University of Illinois

Personal

Profession

Consultant

Contact

Personal website

Nekima Levy-Pounds was a candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, 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. Levy-Pounds ran as a DFL candidate.

Biography

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

Levy-Pounds earned a B.A. in African-American studies from the University of Southern California and a J.D. from the University of Illinois School of Law.

At the time of her 2017 run for mayor, Levy-Pounds was the principal consultant and co-owner of the racial equity, diversity, business support, and community engagement firm Black Pearl, LLC. Her professional experience also includes work as a law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, and a law fellow for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. Levy-Pounds has served as the president of the Minneapolis NAACP and an advisor to Black Lives Matter Minneapolis.

Elections

2017

See also: Mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017) and Municipal elections 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 Mayor, 2017, Round 5
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Betsy Hodges (i) - Eliminated	0%	0	−26,875
Raymond Dehn	42.8%	34,971	7,613
Al Flowers	0%	0	0
Jacob Frey - Winner	57.2%	46,716	7,348
Tom Hoch	0%	0	0
Gregg Iverson	0%	0	0
Nekima Levy-Pounds	0%	0	0
Aswar Rahman	0%	0	0
Charlie Gers	0%	0	0
L.A. Nik	0%	0	0
Troy Benjegerdes	0%	0	0
Ron Lischeid	0%	0	0
David Rosenfeld	0%	0	0
Ian Simpson	0%	0	0
Captain Jack Sparrow	0%	0	0
David John Wilson	0%	0	0
Christopher Robin Zimmerman (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Theron Preston Washington (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Undeclared Write-ins	0%	0	0
Exhausted		22,835	11,914
Total Votes		104,522	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Minneapolis Mayor, 2017, Round 4
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Betsy Hodges (i)	28.7%	26,875	3,364
Raymond Dehn	29.2%	27,358	3,330
Al Flowers	0%	0	0
Jacob Frey - Most votes	42.1%	39,368	9,888
Tom Hoch - Eliminated	0%	0	−22,754
Gregg Iverson	0%	0	0
Nekima Levy-Pounds	0%	0	0
Aswar Rahman	0%	0	0
Charlie Gers	0%	0	0
L.A. Nik	0%	0	0
Troy Benjegerdes	0%	0	0
Ron Lischeid	0%	0	0
David Rosenfeld	0%	0	0
Ian Simpson	0%	0	0
Captain Jack Sparrow	0%	0	0
David John Wilson	0%	0	0
Christopher Robin Zimmerman (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Theron Preston Washington (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Undeclared Write-ins	0%	0	0
Exhausted		10,921	6,172
Total Votes		104,522	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Minneapolis Mayor, 2017, Round 3
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Betsy Hodges (i)	23.6%	23,511	4,044
Raymond Dehn	24.1%	24,028	5,454
Al Flowers	0%	0	0
Jacob Frey - Most votes	29.5%	29,480	2,730
Tom Hoch	22.8%	22,754	1,842
Gregg Iverson	0%	0	0
Nekima Levy-Pounds - Eliminated	0%	0	−16,189
Aswar Rahman	0%	0	0
Charlie Gers	0%	0	0
L.A. Nik	0%	0	0
Troy Benjegerdes	0%	0	0
Ron Lischeid	0%	0	0
David Rosenfeld	0%	0	0
Ian Simpson	0%	0	0
Captain Jack Sparrow	0%	0	0
David John Wilson	0%	0	0
Christopher Robin Zimmerman (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Theron Preston Washington (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Undeclared Write-ins	0%	0	0
Exhausted		4,749	2,119
Total Votes		104,522	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Minneapolis Mayor, 2017, Round 2
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Betsy Hodges (i)	19.1%	19,467	552
Raymond Dehn	18.2%	18,574	473
Al Flowers - Eliminated	0%	0	−711
Jacob Frey - Most votes	26.3%	26,750	634
Tom Hoch	20.5%	20,912	787
Gregg Iverson - Eliminated	0%	0	−335
Nekima Levy-Pounds	15.9%	16,189	473
Aswar Rahman - Eliminated	0%	0	−756
Charlie Gers - Eliminated	0%	0	−1,233
L.A. Nik - Eliminated	0%	0	−612
Troy Benjegerdes - Eliminated	0%	0	−184
Ron Lischeid - Eliminated	0%	0	−325
David Rosenfeld - Eliminated	0%	0	−477
Ian Simpson - Eliminated	0%	0	−119
Captain Jack Sparrow - Eliminated	0%	0	−438
David John Wilson - Eliminated	0%	0	−220
Christopher Robin Zimmerman (Write-in) - Eliminated	0%	0	−1
Theron Preston Washington (Write-in) - Eliminated	0%	0	0
Undeclared Write-ins - Eliminated	0%	0	−138
Exhausted		2,630	2,630
Total Votes		104,522	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 Mayor, 2017, Round 1
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Betsy Hodges (i)	18.1%	18,915
Raymond Dehn	17.3%	18,101
Al Flowers	0.7%	711
Jacob Frey - Most votes	25%	26,116
Tom Hoch	19.3%	20,125
Gregg Iverson	0.3%	335
Nekima Levy-Pounds	15%	15,716
Aswar Rahman	0.7%	756
Charlie Gers	1.2%	1,233
L.A. Nik	0.6%	612
Troy Benjegerdes	0.2%	184
Ron Lischeid	0.3%	325
David Rosenfeld	0.5%	477
Ian Simpson	0.1%	119
Captain Jack Sparrow	0.4%	438
David John Wilson	0.2%	220
Christopher Robin Zimmerman (Write-in)	0%	1
Theron Preston Washington (Write-in)	0%	0
Undeclared Write-ins	0.1%	138
Exhausted		0	0
Total Votes		104,522	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Campaign themes

2017

Levy-Pounds' campaign website stated the following:

“	Address the affordable housing crisis There’s an affordable housing crisis in Minneapolis. One of the fastest-gentrifying cities in the country, it has become considerably more expensive to rent or own property in our city. Home prices have increased 8.8% in the last year alone, and the average one bedroom apartment costs over 20% more than it did five years ago – all while wages have remained fairly stagnant. We will work with community stakeholders to create solutions that address this crisis, which has hit low- and middle-income individuals especially hard. Our vision includes championing initiatives that: Reduce housing disparities and predatory rental practices Enact equal access initiatives and enforce fair housing laws Hold landlords accountable for the livability of their properties Read the Housing Platform Advocate for environmental justice and urban agriculture Every community deserves to drink clean water and breathe clean air. I will pursue an environmental justice agenda that safeguards our most valuable natural resources and improves the health and wellbeing of Minneapolis residents. Along with proposing policies that help reduce instances of asthma and lead poisoning in vulnerable communities, I will work to close the harmful Hennepin Energy Recovery Center and implement a cleanup initiative for the Mississippi River. Urban agriculture is vital to reducing food insecurity and increasing access to fresh and nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables. I will work to address the current state of the food system that creates barriers for both urban producers and local consumers to have access to markets with fresh and affordable food. Encouraging community gardens and incentivizing rainwater harvesting are just a couple of the ways we can address key nutrition and health issues, but also foster deeper community engagement and cohesiveness. Promote economic equity and fairness for all We need a paradigm shift in how Minneapolis addresses economic inequality. The city can no longer afford business as usual. A level playing field is the foundation of economic equity and fairness, which is why I will fight to implement policies that shrink wage gaps and reduce racial disparities. And while Minneapolis has a relatively strong economy, too many are still either unemployed or underemployed. We must offer support to those striving to better their lives. I will promote initiatives that encourage businesses and corporations to invest in Minneapolis, particularly in areas with high unemployment, and provide living wages to residents in our diverse city. Early supporter of $15 Now I was in full support of $15 Now before all other mayoral candidates. Why a $15-an-hour minimum wage? Because the minimum wage should be a living wage. Everyone who works full-time has earned the right to a roof over their head and to put food on the table. A $15-an-hour minimum wage is a step in the right direction and I’m proud to have been an early supporter. Spearhead criminal justice reform The time is now to move beyond talking about criminal justice reform. We must now start enacting policies that put those words into action. Minneapolis can be a national leader in showing what true racial equity is all about. That means taking actions like improving community and police relations, advocating for the fair treatment of people of color, and reducing racial profiling. We also cannot forget about those who are reentering society from correctional facilities. I will push for reentry policies that reduce recidivism and provide economic and housing stability for people seeking a fresh start. LGBTQ+ Rights I am a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I recognize the intersectionality of all movements and I’ve had the opportunity to march on the front lines with people who identify as LGBTQ+. I believe in the importance of equality under the law irrespective of race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, religion and special needs. It is time for our city to come together.	”
—Nekima Levy-Pounds' campaign website, (2017)

Endorsements

2017

Levy-Pounds received endorsements from the following in 2017:

• Minnesota Sen. Patricia Torres Ray
• Minneapolis City Councilman Cam Gordon

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Nekima Levy-Pounds Mayor of Minneapolis. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Nekima Levy-Pounds - Google News

See also

Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minnesota	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the mayor of Minneapolis
• Campaign website
• Social media
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter