Introduction
Jacob Frey (born 1981) is a member of Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In November 2013, Frey was elected to the Minneapolis City Council, representing the Third Ward.
Frey is a candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, first announcing his candidacy on January 3, 2017, atop the bar at Dangerous Man Brewing Company, a micro-brewery in Northeast Minneapolis.
Early life and education
Frey grew up in Oakton, Virginia, and received a track scholarship to attend the College of William & Mary in 2004. After graduating with a degree in Government, Frey received a contract from a shoe company to run professionally and successfully competed for Team USA in the Pan American Games marathon, finishing in 4th place. During the same time, he earned a law degree from Villanova University from which he graduated cum laude. The day after graduation he moved to Minneapolis to begin his legal career.
Career
Early career
Frey moved to Minneapolis in 2008 to join law firm Faegre & Benson (now Faegre Baker Daniels) before moving to law firm Halunen & Associates.
In 2012, before running for elected office, Frey founded and organized the first Big Gay Race, a 5K charity race to raise money for Minnesotans United for All Families, a political group organizing for marriage equality.
Minneapolis City Council
Frey ran in the 2013 Minneapolis City Council election to represent Ward 3. His platform promised to provide better constituent services, spur residential development, increase the number and variety of small and local businesses, push for full funding of affordable housing and address climate change. He defeated incumbent Diane Hofstede with over 60% of the vote and took office on January 2, 2014.
| Minneapolis City Council Ward 3 election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political party/principle | Candidate | % 1st Choice | Round 1 | |
| DFL | Jacob Frey | 61.31 | 3,722 | |
| DFL | Diane Hofstede | 26.59 | 1,614 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Katch | 5.98 | 363 | |
| Green Party of Minnesota | Kristina Gronquist | 5.88 | 357 | |
| N/A | Write-ins | 0.25 | 15 | |
| Maximum possible threshold | 3,104 | |||
| Valid votes | 6,071 | |||
| Undervotes | 132 | |||
| Overvotes | 3 | |||
| Turnout | 30.99% | 6,206 | ||
| Registered voters | 20,027 | |||
Personal life
Frey met his partner, Sarah Clarke, through community organizing in Minneapolis. The couple got married in July 2016. Sarah is a lobbyist for Hylden Advocacy & Law where she represents several business, non-profit, and community organizations at the Minnesota legislature and executive branch agencies. The couple lives on East Hennepin Ave in Northeast Minneapolis.