MinnPost will be regularly publishing profiles of candidates running for Minneapolis City Council. Up today: Mickey Moore, running for the open seat representing Ward 9. Also in the Ward 9 race so far: Rita Ortega, Jason Chavez, Carmen Means, Haji Yussef, AJ Flowers and Saed Haji.
Michael John Moore, who has always gone by Mickey, “just like the mouse,” said he has the know-how to bring Minneapolis out of its pandemic and post-George Floyd doldrums as a City Council member.
The 51-year-old retired businessman is the founder of The Braid Factory, a hair salon established in 1996 that ushered in the natural hair care industry in Minnesota.
“As a longtime business leader, who helped found an entire industry in this city, I know precisely what it takes to work with other people, to work with government agencies, to work with organizations, to work through obstacles, to put aside differences and do whatever is in the interest of the common good and coming up with real solutions,” said Moore. “I’m the candidate that has a legitimate and decades-long track record of real success and accomplishment and I just felt that right now our city needs the kind of strong leadership and experience that I can provide.”
Moore, a south Minneapolis native, lives in the Powderhorn neighborhood and is campaigning to replace Alondra Cano and represent the council’s Ward 9, which includes Central, Corcoran, Midtown and East Phillips, Powderhorn and part of Longfellow.
“I’ve talked to thousands of residents just in Ward 9 and public safety is on everybody’s mind,” said Moore.
He said his top priority is building trust in the Minneapolis police — not to abolish the department. He says he wants more officer accountability and fully supports Chief Medaria Arradondo. Under Arradondo’s direction, the department needs more officers, said Moore, in order to slow spiking crime numbers and quell resident fear.
Other priorities for Moore include environmental justice for Ward 9 as well as the revitalization of commercial districts battered by COVID-19 and the unrest following the killing of Floyd. Homelessness and affordable housing are other big concerns.
He believes each of these issues can be eased with more responsiveness to residents by city officials. “If I had to umbrella these ideas, really it comes down to a lack of leadership and a real disconnect between the city government and the residents they are supposed to be serving,” said Moore. “I hear it from people every day. They write emails to their City Council member or to city agencies and they get no reply. They send letters and call people, and they are just not being heard.”
If elected, Moore said he would immediately open up a Ward 9 office that is open “probably 8 to 8” six days a week. He said it would be housed in a rented storefront somewhere in the ward and be fully outfitted with staff ready to meet with any resident or group for any reason. If necessary, Moore said he’ll foot the bill for the entire operation himself.
“I might be the only candidate that is capable of doing this because of my financial position, but it’s a commitment that I have to our city to change the way our residents, at least in the Ninth Ward, understand and interact with our local city government,” said Moore. “And I don’t care what their issue is. If it’s zoning, if it’s business-related, if it’s health-care-related; we will have staff on hand to help our residents navigate the city, the county, the state, and the federal resources that our residents need right now.”
Candidate snapshot: Mickey Moore
Age: 51
Favorite place in Minneapolis: Midtown Global Market
One-sentence reason for running: I have the real-life experience, passion, and proven leadership skills to work across diverse communities in an effort to bring people together in a way that is compassionate, reassuring and responsive to the challenging issues affecting residents and small business owners in the 9th Ward.
Website: weneedmoore.net
