Campaign on for at-large Park Board seats

All nine Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) seats are up for election this November and 21 people have filed to be on the ballot for one of the six district or three at-large seats.
The three current at-large citywide commissioners are Meg Forney, Tom Olsen, and Charles Rucker. Rucker is running for the district 2 seat instead of an at-large position. Forney and Olsen are seeking re-election, and are vying with Michael Wilson, Amber Frederick, Adam Schneider, Averi Turner, Mary McKelvey, and Matthew Dowgwillo are for the three at-large positions. 
Which three people elected this year will be decided by the voters using the city’s ranked-choice voting in multi-member seats voting system. Under that system voters may rank up to three candidates and those that meet the threshold of 25% +1 vote will be elected. Second and third choice votes can have significant impacts, and people are encouraged to rank three candidates.

ADAM SCHNEIDER
Adam Schneider, a Southwest resident and community organizer, is not seeking DFL endorsement and is committed to running until November.
Schneider is endorsed by the 5th Congressional District Green Party (5CDGP), the Twin Cities Democratic Socialist of American (TCDSA) and Our Revolution Twin Cities (ORTC), as well as by local elected officials Samantha Pree-Stinson from the Board of Estimate and Taxation, city council members Robin Wonsley, Katie Cashman and Aisha Chughtai, and school board member Adriana Cerillo.
Schneider’s priorities include environmental justice, support for workers and local businesses, improving youth services and focusing more on neighborhood parks. He supports increasing solar power on park buildings, equitably expanding the city’s community gardens and urban tree canopy, as well as investing in the city’s Green Zones and Cultural Districts and establishing an urban agriculture resource center. He also advocates for better working conditions, pay and benefits for park workers, updating rules for food trucks to operate on park property, increasing training and staff for childcare programs, and expanding community center hours and youth employment opportunities.
“I believe the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board’s first and foremost priority should our neighborhood parks,” said Schneider, “the ones that Minneapolis residents visit most in their day-to-day lives.”

AMBER FREDERICK
Amber Frederick, who was previously running for city council in Ward 5, recently announced that she is now running to be an at-large park board commissioner. She calls herself a “third-generation social worker” who has most recently been working as a youth homelessness prevention specialist.
She lives in the Near North neighborhood and has been endorsed by the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation and the state Service Employees International Union.
Frederick prioritizes climate and the environment, youth and workers. She is concerned that the park board has shifted away from youth investment and strong relationships with workers. “Our parks already play a vital role in youth employment, childcare, and connecting residents to resources,” Frederick said in her announcement. “A city as great as ours deserves park board commissioners who honor our progressive values and stand proudly with working families.”

AVERI TURNER

Turner was born and raised in Minneapolis, attended Southwest High School and lives in the Cleveland neighborhood.  She has over six years of experience in K–12 education and is supported in her run by Forney and Ward 4 Council Member, and former Park Board Commissioner, Latrisha Vetaw.

Parks that are accessible to all residents, environmental resiliency in the face of climate change, and financial sustainability and major themes of her campaign.

“One of the biggest challenges I see in this current term is the lack of advocacy for full accessibility across our park system,” said Turner. “Only a portion of our parks and amenities are truly ADA-accessible. This leaves out community members who deserve the same opportunities to enjoy green spaces, trails, and especially our water resources. Accessibility is not just a legal requirement; it is an equity issue.”

She advocates for more investment in universal access on pathways, playgrounds, and water entry points.” 

“Climate change is already impacting how we use and care for our parks,” said Turner, “and we need proactive strategies to protect natural resources, maintain year-round recreation, and preserve these spaces for future generations.”

MARY MCKELVEY

“I'm in the parks every day, working with kids and adult learners,” said Mary McKelvey works a Loppet Foundation coach at Theodore Wirth Park, an ESL teacher in Minneapolis Public Schools. Has has expereince as a PTA president, Parents United board member. She has served on the Parks for All advisory committee, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed committee, and currently sits on the city’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

She wants voters to know that she is a team player. “The board can achieve more through strategic partnerships that expand youth programming and improve environmental health through invasive species removal and ecological habitat restoration,” said McKelvey.

She supports fair wages, benefits, and safety for MPRB workers and said that communication with unions during last year's negotiations “was inadequate, leaving park staff feeling undervalued despite a mostly fair final contract. As commissioner, I will build relationships with park employees and engage unions early before the next contract negotiation.” 

She added, “I listen to those who are impacted first."  

She is publicly endorsed by Nasrieen Habib, the founder of Amanah Rec and Hiking Hijabie, and Abdi Bile, a world champion runner and decorated Somali athlete. 

MEG FORNEY
Meg Forney was born and raised in Minneapolis and lives in Southwest. She is a real estate agent who formerly worked for YWCA and Project for Pride in Living. She has been serving on the park board since January 2014.
Forney is endorsed by the Minneapolis Firefighters union, as well as several elected officials including Mayor Jacob Frey; council members Linea Palmisano, Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw; state legislators Scott Dibble and Jamie Long; as well as the DFL Senior Caucus. She plans to run in the general election regardless of the DFL endorsement results.
Forney identifies three priorities for next term. She wants to address inequities in the system and make parks accessible for all families, specifically in under-served areas. She also wants to broaden the tree canopy in areas with heat islands, poor air quality and health disparities; and she wants to diversify park board revenue sources to reduce the property taxes on residents.
She is especially concerned about funding for the two new Graco and Upper Harbor north and northeast parks, “It is paramount that these under-parked areas have full activation of these new parks, especially in light of the recent killings at Boom Island and Folwell,” she said.

MATTHEW DOWGWILLO
Matthew Dowgwillo only recently entered the race and has yet to announce any endorsements. He is a 25-year Minneapolis resident, father of two, and has degrees in environmental science and economics from the University of Minnesota. He intends to continue running even if he is not endorsed by the DFL.
“I’m running to ensure parents with young children are represented by an at -large park commissioner,” Dowgwillo said, and to provide “more access, more connection, less divisiveness, and more joy in every season.”
He said, “We are the greatest Winter City in the world. Let’s embrace it and let the world know.”
His priorities are centered on programs for youth, “because healthy habits, self-confidence, and connections are formed through teams, outdoor free play, and community gardens.” He advocates for better event and programming coordination, and better communication and community engagement. He also wants more “premiere park offerings,” connections to local cultural initiatives, and increased usage of parks.
He plans to use his experience as a father trying to register and do activities in the parks to improve park processes. “It’s been incredibly hard to follow my park, sign up for sports, and follow a calendar of activities,” he said.

MICHAEL WILSON
Michael Wilson is endorsed by labor unions TCDSA and ORTC, LiUNA, the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation and AFSME Council, as well as the Stonewall DFL, city council members Aurin Chowdhury, Robin Wonsley, and Jason Chavez, school board member Greta Callahan and state representative Samantha Sencer-Mura. He said that he will continue running even if he is not endorsed by the DFL.
Wilson, who lives on the southside near Minnehaha Falls, has worked for the parks overseeing all their aquatics programs and he has done organizing in East Phillips. “I understand city-wide park operations from the ground up and will bring both practical experience and working-class values to the Park Board,” he said.
Wilson prioritizes investing in youth programs and expanding affordable childcare “so that MPRB is the strongest partner possible to our public school system that is under attack at the federal level.” He is also committed to standing with front-line park workers and supports fair bargaining with unions as well as better transit connections and traffic calming parkways. “Minneapolis residents,” he said, “should have affordable and safe options for accessing our park destinations without solely relying on personal cars.”

TOM OLSEN
Tom Olsen, who was first elected in 2021, lives in South Uptown and currently works for the Minnesota House DFL as a communications specialist. He graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with degrees in environmental studies and political science. He previously served on the city’s Community Environmental Advisory Commission and worked at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
Olsen is endorsed by the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, the Minnesota state SEIU, and several elected officials including state legislators Jamie Long, Sydney Jordan, Mohamud Noor, Scott Dibble, Fue Lee, Katie Jones, and Aisha Gomez, as well as city council members Katie Cashman, Hennepin County Commission Marion Greene and fellow park board member, Becky Alper.
Olsen wants to see parkways as pedestrian-oriented community space, and convert underutilized fields into soccer fields, skate parks, pickle ball and basketball courts, and other more popular uses. He also prioritizes providing safe and structured environments for youth no matter the activity, free programming for all youth, climate justice goals, anti-racism training for all MPRB staff, and increasing where and when drinking alcoholic beverages is allowed in parks.

TIM PETERSON DROPPED OUT
Tim Peterson, who has dropped out of the race, was endorsed by city council members Michael Rainville of Minneapolis and Kristy Janigo of Maple Grove, as well as Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston and State Representative Huldah Hiltsley. Former elected officials, Don Samuels, Kathleen O’Brien and Jackie Cherryhomes, have also endorsed him for park board.
Peterson, who ran for Congress in 2024, grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from South High School. He was a volunteer coach at East Phillips Park, was in the National Guard, and taught at Minnesota Transitions Charter School in Minneapolis. He has operated two gyms in the city and taught martial arts, kick-boxing and self-defense.
He prioritizes youth empowerment, new revenue sources and clean water and energy. He proposes creating a “Youth Empowerment Tiger Team” with community partners, to support challenged youth and increasing funding for youth programing in general. He advocates working with small business to “create cross marketing and lucrative sponsorship deals,” and wants to eliminate PFAS and microplastics in the park watershed.
He opposes removing cars from our parkways. “I can say it’s unrealistic and downright mean to folks with disabilities to consider this,” he said. “You can count on my advocating for folks that aren’t able to use a bike as their main transportation.”