Politics & Government

Matt Perry Taking Ward 13 City Council Candidacy to November

The DFLer lost May 2013 party endorsement battle to Linea Palmisano.

Updated below: Matt Perry announced via Twitter Monday that he will continue his campaign for the Ward 13 Minneapolis City Council seat. 

That means Southwest Minneapolis voters will be able to cast votes for Perry in the November general election, despite his losing the DFL Party endorsement to Linea Palmisano in May 2013. 

Betsy Hodges is vacating the Southwest Minneapolis city council seat to run for mayor. On Saturday she ran second to Mark Andrew at the Minneapolis DFL Party convention, which ended without making an endorsement in the mayoral race. 

Update: Perry's announcement comes after a pledge to abide by the DFL Party endorsement and weeks of not commenting to reporters' inquiries, according to the Southwest Journal

The Perry campaign released a statement about his decision to continue (click on the PDF thumbnail at our desktop site or see below): 

At the urging of many people in the community I have decided to continue my campaign for Ward 13 City Council.

Not getting the DFL endorsement was a disappointment. I have worked to get DFL candidates elected since my wife Karen and I moved to Minneapolis 21 years ago. The decision to continue running is not one I arrived at lightly. After the convention I suspended my campaign, yet in the weeks following many people throughout the community encouraged me to continue to run.

I was picking up some CFL light bulbs at Guse Hardware when a fellow customer asked how the campaign was going. When I said that I had suspended it after the convention, he said, “Why? You’re the best person for the job. One of the reasons you can get things done is because you’ve been doing it already.”

Another resident stopped me at the door of the Armatage neighborhood meeting. She asked me to continue my campaign. “You handle conflict so well,” she said. “It’s great to be in meetings with someone who welcomes opposing views and actually listens.”

Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After numerous conversations like these, I revisited the reasons I got into this race in the first place. Those reasons haven’t changed:

  1. For the past 10 years, I have been doing grassroots community work to improve the Ward and City and I want to do even more for residents as an elected official.

  2. Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  3. Ward 13 should be represented by a leader with a strong management and leadership track record who knows the ins and outs of City finances and will be a strong steward of our tax dollars.

  4. Ward 13 needs someone who can hit the ground running on Day 1. I’ve been doing the work, I’m good at it, I’m proud of it and I love it.

  5. My background sets me apart. I have a proven track record of getting results throughout Ward 13. I bring extensive private sector financial and managerial experience and will be an ardent steward of your tax dollars. I believe in the power of listening to the community which is proven by my tradition of consistently attending community meetings. My extensive hands-on volunteer commitment over the past 10 years shows my dedication to listening, communicating, and bringing people together to empower residents and solve problems. I am ready for this job.

    The decision of who will best serve the residents of Ward 13 is a critical one. All voters should have the opportunity to decide who represents them.

    I look forward to a summer and fall of great conversations with the voters of Ward 13. I ask for your support. Go to www.votemattperry.org and learn how you can help. Together we can continue to improve our ward and city. 


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