Samuels Over Omar for Congress

By David Tinjum

On Tuesday, August 13th, Don Samuels and Rep. Ilhan Omar face off in a highly anticipated rematch in the Democratic primary for the Congressional seat in District 5.

Rep. Ilhan Omar has represented this diverse district that covers Minneapolis and many of the first-ring suburbs for three terms, and she is vying for a fourth against former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels. After carefully reviewing both candidates, Mill City Times has decided to support challenger Don Samuels in this rematch.

Like many, we supported Rep. Omar's rise to Congress in 2018. Minneapolis is home to the largest Somali-American population in the country, and it was inspiring to see a member of that community reach the highest levels of the U.S. government.

Minneapolis and its suburbs are a Democratic stronghold; thus, being represented by a self-proclaimed progressive champion made sense. Rep. Omar quickly rose to national prominence. She was featured on the front page of Time Magazine, gained more than a million Twitter followers, and regularly participated in national political talk shows. She has been an inspiration to immigrants from Africa and beyond, especially to youth wondering if they can set their sights high in America.

Pragmatism and collaboration are the cornerstones of Minnesota’s unique progressive style of our most successful leaders like Amy Klobuchar, Tim Walz, Hubert Humphrey, and Walter Mondale. Working together with those of different factions within the DFL, sometimes even across the aisle to accomplish the common good for Minnesota, has been the hallmark of these leaders. Our most respected leaders routinely set aside ideology and instead vote for the common good.

Unfortunately, Omar has fallen far short of the standard of setting ideology aside and voting for the common good. Her failure in this regard might best be represented by her vote on the MAHSA Act, House Bill Number: H. R. 589. The bills namesake, Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian whose arrest in Tehran for opposing mandatory hijab and subsequent death in police custody sparked a wave of protests throughout Iran. People and governments around the world reacted widely to her death. In a sign of near universal outrage, the House passed the MASHA Act in rare bipartisan fashion, 410 Yay to 3 Nay. Inexplicably, Omar vote Nay.

Regrettably, Omar has been unwilling to find common ground even with her fellow Democrats, often at the expense of progress. Time and again she has sided with MAGA Republicans and voted against Democratic priorities such as President Biden’s signature piece of legislation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. She voted against the Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act, the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which provided funding for security at the U.S. Capital following January 6th, and she opposed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which reduced the visa backlogs to allow immigrants to gain permanent residence faster and easier.

After the murder of George Floyd, when our city needed calmer heads to prevail, Rep. Omar led the charge to defund the police. When former President Barack Obama decried “defund the police” as counterproductive to the cause of meaningful police reform, Omar attacked him, saying that it was “not a slogan but a demand.”

Rep. Omar has also failed to stand up for liberalism on the international stage, joining MAGA Republicans in voting against several pieces of legislation meant to hold Russia accountable following its invasion of Ukraine. Omar voted against sanctions on Turkey’s growingly illiberal leadership after they attacked the Kurds, our allies, in Syria, and she voted against legislation aimed at responding to Iran’s brutal repression of women and the press.

As inspirational as Omar was in breaking barriers and achieving the American Dream, her performance in office veered far off course, and away from traditional Minnesota progressive leadership.

Don Samuels is the better choice for those of us looking for a pragmatic progressive like Gov. Walz or Sen. Klobuchar.

Samuels is an immigrant from Jamaica who spent his early career as an executive in the toy industry before moving to North Minneapolis in the 1990s. When gun violence was out of control in his community, Don organized protests and held vigils to mark the deaths of his neighbors. Samuels led a company called Microgrants, which invests in businesses and careers of low-income people. He was instrumental in creating the PEACE Foundation, which would later become the Northside Achievement Zone, widely praised for its success in providing better education for low-income students. He started LightsOn! in response to the police killing of Philando Castile, which aims to improve interactions between the police and the African American community and has been implemented in cities nationwide.

On the City Council, Don collaborated with his colleagues, the mayor, and numerous organizations to help reduce youth violence and gun violence in Minneapolis. He was also instrumental in passing the first Ban the Box statute, which helped rehabilitated convicts attain employment after serving their debt to society.

Samuels and Omar both support the standard Democratic positions – reproductive freedom, creating affordable housing and healthcare, combatting climate change, and confronting economic inequality. However, Samuels is a problem-solver who has repeatedly shown an ability to confront issues in our city and state. Don will probably not be on TV making headlines for the wrong reasons, or going viral online for his comments. If his past performance over a lifetime of service is the best indicator of future actions, Samuels will be working behind the scenes, collaborating, and working to find real solutions to the problems that continue to plague our community and nation.

Samuels’ outcomes-orientated, pragmatic approach to politics is sorely needed in today’s polarized and combative political environment. Minnesota has long served as a haven for this leadership style, and a Samuels’ victory would be a welcome return to a more productive brand of politics.

Samuels and Omar face off in the Democratic primary on August 13th. Find voting information here: https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/how-elections-work/primary-election/