MINNEAPOLIS — The questions surrounding the resignation of two senior campaign staffers in Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges re-election campaign may have come to an end.
The former campaign manager for Hodges, Jorge Contreras, explained in a Facebook post why he decided to resign from the incumbents re-election bid. A screenshot of the post was posted by the “Anybody But Betsy” Facebook group.
Contreras wrote:
“Many people have been asking me why I resigned from Betsy Hodges campaign. I have been quiet about it for weeks, but as more time passes I honestly believe that I need to to let folks know why. I was called a racial slur by someone on the Hodges campaign.
When I brought it up with the Mayor and her staff I was told, ‘I am not the victim.’ I was then told that I was basically a scary figure that intimidated my staff. For those of you who have worked on campaigns with me you know that these accusations are ridiculous. I am proud of the way I have interacted with my employees in my decade long career. The words that the Mayor used against me were laced with racial undertones that made me feel sick.
I tried to stick it out with the campaign for another 5-6 weeks but I could not even look in the mirror because I knew I was not doing the right thing.
Let me be clear, I resigned from the campaign because of this incident. I know that there will be political backlash because of this post. I have already been told by folks from the Mayor’s team that my career is over in this state and that they would make sure they would go nuclear on the people that resigned from the campaign.
I am writing this because we need more diversity in ‘progressive’ political campaigns. What happened to me happens everyday to minorities in this country. We cannot allow this disgusting behavior to continue to happen especially from “white allies.” #oneminneapolis #sisepuede #happycinco.”
The Star Tribune reported back in April Contreras and organizing director Kyrstin Schuette resigned. “We resigned, and it was our choice to do that,” Contreras told the paper.
“It was our decision at the core to leave together,” Schuette told the Star Tribune.
Hodges told the paper that, “Contreras was ready to take on new challenges in his life.”
Alpha News reached out to Contreras for comment on his Facebook post, but declined to comment to the news outlet.
Hodges has faced a tumultuous re-election bid. Despite being endorsed by prominent politicians like Al Franken, she was also recently named “Second worst Mayor in the Country” by the New York Observer.
Alpha News has reached out to Mayor Hodges campaign.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
