Advocates

Soren Stevenson, City Council Member Ward 8

• 2025 candidate questionnaire with Community Power

  • “We need to transition heating and cooling in our buildings to zero-carbon sources such as geothermal and clean electricity.”

Aisha Chughtai, City Council Member Ward 10

• 2021 candidate questionnaire with Community Power

  • “I’ve spoken with people who were involved in the Minneapolis Energy Options campaign, so I understand the  challenges ahead of us, but I truly believe that the municipalization of Minneapolis’ utilities would allow us to  accomplish this in a just and equitable way. People who are familiar with this work know that there a lot of  barriers that we will have to overcome, including fighting at the state level to remove the “poison pill” that would  require Minneapolis to not only buy the distribution equipment (such as lines, poles, and wires) but also have to  cover Xcel’s lost profits. I have worked with elected officials and community leaders across the state, so I am  prepared to advocate at every level we need. 

    We will also have to launch a citywide ballot initiative that authorizes the formation of a city-owned energy  utility, which will get us one step closer. I have been deeply involved with other citywide issue campaigns,  including Fight for 15 and the Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign, so I know what it takes to bring residents and  voters together around the urgent issues facing us. It’s also important to note that, while we work toward municipalization and decarbonization, this referendum would put us in a strong position going into 2024 when  the Xcel contract will need renegotiating. As things stand we need to address the barriers at the state level,  however, for us to have as much leverage as possible going into renegotiations. 

    I will be a champion for municipalization of utilities from the moment I am elected, but until that happens I will  fight to hold Xcel to their Integrated Resource Plan, which states that they will switch from coal by 2030, but  more than that I believe we must push for quicker adoption of renewable energy by Xcel. I also believe we  must encourage the city and its residents to decrease our dependence on Xcel through, for example, wider  adoption of community solar power. Another thing to explore while we lay the groundwork for municipalization  at the state level is Community Choice Aggregation, in which residents are given the choice between retaining  their current energy supplier and switching to municipal energy. This is a less preferable option than full  municipalization, however it is one worth discussing as it ends the effective monopoly that Xcel has over  Minneapolis residents.”

Robin Wonsley, City Council Member Ward 2

• 2021 candidate questionnaire with Community Power

  • “We must fight for energy justice by creating a publicly owned energy utility and halting any new contracts with Xcel and CenterPoint. We must permanently close the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) incinerator and transition employees into unionized renewable-energy jobs. 

    We can and should create thousands more living-wage union jobs through a major expansion of wind and solar power for Minneapolis’ public utilities. We must make energy efficiency upgrades available to all Minneapolis residents, regardless of account or credit status.”

• 2023 candidate questionnaire with Community Power

  • “I believe a green municipal energy utility is long overdue. I support any measures that would shift control of our energy utilities away from private corporations and toward the people of Minneapolis.”

Katie Cashman, Former City Council Member Ward 7

• 2025 candidate questionnaire with Community Power

  • “District energy systems can and should play a major role in meeting our electricity and heating needs going forward. The growing density of Minneapolis and our limestone bedrock together make us an excellent candidate for tapping geothermal energy. With enough investment, geothermal can be the key piece that makes clean heating possible even during our darkest and coldest winter months.
    
    Institutions like the Minneapolis College of Art and Design are already well on their way to implementing district geothermal energy. We need to be further piloting and incentivizing similar projects citywide at key sites of public land ownership like the New Nicollet at the former Kmart site, George Floyd Square, the Minneapolis Farmers Market, and more.”