Elizabeth A. Hodges (born September 7, 1969) is an American politician who served as the 47th

Mayor of Minneapolis This is a list of mayors of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The current mayor is Jacob Frey (DFL). Minneapolis From 1867 to 1878 mayors were elected for a 1-year term. Beginning in 1878 the term was extended to 2 years. As the city became larger and mor ...

from 2014 to 2018. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...

(DFL), she represented Ward 13 on the

Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...

from 2006 January 2014. Hodges was reelected to the city council in the 2009 municipal election. She won the 2013 mayoral election and was inaugurated on January 2, 2014.Roper, Eric (November 29, 2012
"Hodges plans run for Mpls. mayor."
''Star Tribune.'' She ran for reelection in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, but lost to fellow Democrat

Jacob Frey Jacob Lawrence Frey ( ; born July 23, 1981) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served on the Minneapolis City C ...

. She left office on January 2, 2018.

Early life and education

Hodges grew up in

Wayzata, Minnesota Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is situated along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka about west of Minneapolis. Known for its small-town character and lakeside lo ...

. She graduated from

Wayzata High School Wayzata High School is a comprehensive public high school in Plymouth, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The high school, operated by Wayzata Public Schools, had about 3669 students in grades 9 to 12 as of 2021-22, making it Mi ...

in 1987. After graduating from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in 1991, she attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

, graduating in 1998 with a master's degree in sociology. Kaneaster Hodges Jr. was her uncle.

Career

Hodges moved to southwest

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1998 and was the development director for the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Progressive Minnesota for a few years before serving on the staff of

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...

Commissioner Gail Dorfman. Hodges returned to fundraising work in 2003, working for the

Minnesota Justice Foundation The Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) is a nonprofit organization that links Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, w ...

. Hodges served on the

Linden Hills Linden Hills is a neighborhood in the Southwest community of Minneapolis on a hill overlooking Lake Harriet. It was one of the last areas to be developed in the City of Minneapolis. A majority of the land around where neighborhood is today was ...

Community Council from 2000 to 2005 and as co-chair of the council from 2003 to 2005. In November 2005, Hodges was elected to represent Ward 13 on the Minneapolis City Council, defeating Lisa McDonald. From January 2006 until she became mayor in January 2014, Hodges represented Ward 13. She was the chair of the council's Intergovernmental Relations Committee, a position that lobbies for the city at the

State Capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

, and chaired the Ways and Means Committee, which oversaw a budget of $1.2 billion in 2013. In 2011, Hodges was the council's point person on a pension-reform package. In 2012, she was one of six council members to vote against a controversial new stadium for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. In 2013, Hodges ran for Minneapolis mayor against a field of 34 other candidates. Her platform emphasized economic and educational equality, municipal management efficiency, and infrastructure investment. Hodges was named a 2014

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

Rodel Fellow. Hodges was also on the Board of Estimation and Taxation and spent four years on the Youth Coordinating Board. Hodges met with

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on July 21, 2015. She joined eight other leaders from US cities and mayors from cities from around the world. They were invited to discuss climate change and human trafficking. Hodges ran for

reelection The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

as mayor in the 2017 election and was eliminated in the fifth and final round of voting, finishing third among the five candidates who made it to the second round. In 2020, Hodges published an editorial in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

References

External links

*
Mayor Betsy Hodges
city of Minneapolis
Betsy Hodges campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Betsy 1969 births Living people Politicians from Baltimore Mayors of Minneapolis People from Wayzata, Minnesota Minneapolis City Council members Minnesota Democrats Bryn Mawr College alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Women city councillors in Minnesota 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Women mayors of places in Minnesota

Early life and education

Career

See also

References

External links