Elizabeth Glidden, a long-serving progressive on the Minneapolis City Council who represents a south-central part of the city that straddles Interstate 35W, announced Monday that she will not run for re-election.
"After much consideration, I have decided it is time for someone new," Glidden said in an e-mail to supporters. "I know that there will be healthy competition for the Eighth Ward seat."
Glidden, a former civil rights lawyer who was first elected in 2005, is the vice president of the 13-member council and an advocate for progressive causes.
The council has grown more liberal in her 12 years in office, and the field of candidates who've announced campaigns for 2017 also are liberal. Glidden said this gives her confidence that initiatives important to her will continue to move forward.
"I see this council trending more to be a solidly progressive council," she said in an interview.
The opening of the seat representing mostly the Lyndale, Kingfield, Bryant, Bancroft, Regina and Field neighborhoods is part of a complex campaign season, with eight council challengers announced and the election still almost 11 months away. No one has formally announced as a candidate in Glidden's ward.
Glidden enjoys a reputation as one of the more collegial council members, and said she was encouraged by the 2017 budget process, which was passed with a minimum of rancor.
Glidden and her husband, Eric Pusey, have two daughters, ages 4 and 8, and live in the Kingfield neighborhood.
She said she will devote her final year to work on issues that include "voting on a city minimum wage and defending Minneapolis as a sanctuary city" among other items.
Adam Belz • 612-673-4405
Twitter: @adambelz
