The Minneapolis DFL continues to show a troubling tolerance for ethical lapses—a tendency perhaps due to its decades-long dominance in city politics. One of the benefits of political competition is that it forces parties, like companies, to reexamine their practices and standards.
For example, the party still backs Council Member Jamal Osman—an ally of Omar Fateh—despite both men’s proximity to the ongoing Feeding Our Future fraud investigation.
It’s a subject the Minneapolis DFL may prefer to ignore, but the headlines persist. Consider the KARE 11 report from July 22:
MINNEAPOLIS — A 34-year-old Mankato man is the 48th person to be convicted in the massive Feeding Our Future meal fraud case.
Asad Abshir pleaded guilty to money laundering for his role in the $250 million dollar scam. He stole about $750,000, and the fed was able to get back most of that money...
Abshir and his brother admitted to running a phony food distribution site in Mankato called Stigma-Free. That’s the nonprofit he and others bought from Minneapolis city council member Jamal Osman.
In a November newsletter, we outlined Osman’s connections to this fraud-adjacent activity:
CM Osman currently serves on the Minneapolis City Council budget committee. Consider this: a budget committee member who, in the DFL’s fantasy world, is expected to have been unaware that his wife’s nonprofit was stealing almost $500,000 in taxpayer money, is entrusted with overseeing fiscal responsibility. Not only did he win his election while this fraud was being committed, but he also secured the coveted endorsement of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Notably, the PAC Minneapolis for the Many has yet to endorse Osman. He recently promoted his endorsement from Council 5 AFSCME. Osman and Fateh have publicly endorsed one another.
Sen. Fateh’s own campaign, as reported by the Sahan Journal in February 2022, returned 11 donations from individuals named in FBI search warrants in the Feeding Our Future fraud case. At the time, his team claimed he was unaware of their involvement in the scheme until the warrants were unsealed. (Four of those same donors also contributed to Mayor Jacob Frey’s campaign.)
According to the Sahan Journal:
The seven donors to Omar listed on the search warrants are Salim Said, Ahmed Ghedi, Abdinasir Abshir, Ahmed Omar, Abdihakim Ahmed, Abdiwahab Mohamud, and Sahra Mohamed. Each donated $1,000 to Omar’s campaign. In addition, Kimyon said the campaign returned two more donations from people not named on the search warrant but who listed addresses or identified themselves as employees of companies named in the search warrants. Finally, Kimyon said the campaign returned two additional donations “out of an abundance of caution.”
In total, Omar Fateh returned $11,000 of the $41,000 he raised in 2021. That means approximately 27% of his campaign contributions that year came from individuals later connected to the Feeding Our Future fraud investigation.
It’s also relevant to note that Fateh’s brother-in-law, Muse Mohamud Mohamed, was convicted in May 2022 on two counts of making false declarations related to absentee ballots he submitted during the election.
The Real Question
People had mixed reactions to Monday’s Better Minneapolis newsletter. In that article, we said Mayor Frey should accept the DFL endorsement of Omar Fateh and move forward. Some readers thought that was a bad idea and want Frey to fight back. Others agreed with our reasoning.
But this isn’t just about one event. The bigger issue is that the Minneapolis DFL has been the only political party in control for decades. When one group holds all the power, it often leads to bad decisions and corruption. We can see the same thing happening in Washington right now.
This problem isn’t limited to politics. Any group—whether it’s the Catholic Church, a labor union, a big company, or local government—can become corrupt when no one is watching or challenging them. In Minneapolis, we’ve seen this with the city budget and the police department. We need more people asking questions, offering different ideas, and holding leaders responsible for their actions.
So the real question is: why does the Minneapolis DFL endorsement matter so much? One way to address this issue would be to hold a nonpartisan primary, where all candidates compete on an equal footing. Even better would be the emergence of a second or third political party, providing voters with genuine choices and bringing more balance to our local government.
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