Jeremy Schroeder has been named the unofficial winner in the Ward 11 City Council race.
Schroeder defeated two-term incumbent Ward 11 City Council Member John Quincy by 776 votes in the second round of ranked-choice voting tabulation (4,757 to 3,981).
Schroeder had 30 more first-choice votes than Quincy and 534 more than candidate Erica Mauter after the first round. He received nearly two votes for every one Quincy received in the second round.
In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, Schroeder wrote, “I’m honored to have earned the privilege of serving our Ward 11 community at City Hall. I’m proud of the race we ran and can’t wait to get to work. Thank you for putting your confidence in me. I won’t let you down.”
His supporters had been upbeat at his campaign party Tuesday night at Wild Mind Artisan Ales, cheering when finding out Schroeder led after the first round.
“We need to wait to see what happens,” Schroeder told the crowd, “but it is an absolute honor to be in front of you guys.”
He thanked supporters, his campaign staff and his wife and two young kids and told the crowd he would by their fiercest advocate at City Hall if elected.
Schroeder, a policy director for a housing nonprofit, campaigned on issues such as equity/working families, housing and sustainability and pledged that he would bring more responsive and transparent leadership to City Hall. He noted his previous work building coalitions and experiences driving campaigns to secure benefits for low-wage workers and abolish the death penalty.
“I will always put progress ahead of politics by bringing together diverse voices to build real solutions,” he wrote in a questionnaire submitted to the Southwest Journal.
Schroeder announced his candidacy in fall 2016. He won the most DFL delegates of the three candidates at the Ward 11 convention this past spring, though none earned an endorsement. The Star Tribune Editorial Board endorsed Schroeder as its top choice.
Schroeder raised $24,504 between Jan. 1, 2016, and Oct. 24, 2017, according to his campaign finance reports.
Quincy, who was first elected to the City Council in 2009, pitched himself as an experienced leader who had a strong grasp of city workings. He cited accomplishments such as a higher minimum wage and his role as the council’s majority leader and chair of the Ways & Means/Budget Committee in explaining why he was best for the job.
Mauter, executive director of the Twin Cities Women’s Choir, pitched herself as the only candidate who lives with the perspective that every single policy has an equity implication. She said she would work to center marginalized voices in every policy conversation and work to dismantle systemic racism embedded in policies if elected.