Look, it’s a rematch and last time Jason Chavez absolutely crushed Dan Orban so honestly I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one. Here’s who’s on the ballot:
Jason Chavez (Incumbent, DFL-endorsed)
Dan Orban (Independent)
Dan Orban (Independent)
When I wrote about Dan Orban two years ago, he had no social media and seemed pretty clueless about policy. He’s since gotten social media (Facebook, Bluesky, Twitter) but I still see no indication that he’s served on any city or county advisory committees or worked in policy or done any of the other stuff that is the sort of experience I generally look for when someone is running for an entry-level political office. He says he’s qualified because he lives in the neighborhood, teaches at the U, and has a PhD in Computer Science. And, I mean. That does in fact put him one up over, for example, Becka Thompson in Ward 12.
I’m not sure what happened with the hobby farm he mentioned in 2023 (they had bought “a 20 acre off-grid Amish hobby farm” in Lanesboro). He doesn’t mention it on his website now.
I feel like this editorial that he wrote for Carol Becker’s “Minneapolis Times” website illustrates a bunch of what I dislike about him. It’s titled “Seek the Peace of the City” and it’s about the Bloomington/Lake raid. He starts out saying that he agrees we should protect immigrants and that he supports the separation ordinance. Then he goes on to take some passive-aggressive swipes at Jason Chavez, who was one of the City Council members to go to Lake and Bloomington in person: “Leaders should be accurate and deescalate dangerous situations. Based on the information that was released by the city, the federal law enforcement event on Lake St. and Bloomington was a criminal operation regarding drugs, money laundering, and human trafficking. […] Unfortunately, this message was not initially communicated. Instead the situation escalated under the false assumption that the event was an immigration raid, requiring additional law enforcement presence to help control the growing crowd. Even if this was an immigration raid, a leader’s role should be directed towards peace and deescalation. Stirring up emotional responses can lead to dangerous activity as we saw on Tuesday. Leaders should also take responsibility for the consequences of their words and actions.” He uses the passive voice when he’s talking about how “the message was not initially communicated” — it was not communicated by the FBI or by Mayor Frey’s office. In the portions of the raid conducted in the suburbs, they sent in a bunch of FBI agents in windbreakers to seize the financial records, and had they done that in Minneapolis, there would not have been a massive, furious, risky protest in response. This was a deliberate provocation, something Dan does not acknowledge, nor does he acknowledge that ICE has backed off in some areas when they’ve met a lot of pushback. This is not a normal time! Trump’s government is not a normal government that can be dealt with in a normal way! Orban’s refusal to acknowledge this is not reassuring at all.
He goes on to say, “If we have learned anything over the past 5 years, it is that we should maintain the highest moral and ethical standards for police officers. Even the appearance of excessive use of force ruins the witness of the Minneapolis Police Department’s efforts.” But in his questionnaire response for We Love Mpls, in response to the question, “With regard to public safety do you feel like the city’s more pressing issue currently is police accountability or staffing levels?” he responded with “staffing levels.”
I find the mix of platitudes and handwringing incredibly offputting. Especially in the current political situation. If you want more people who will wring their hands over incivility any time Democrats do anything other than say “please Mr. President sir, would you be so kind as to respect our constitutional rights sir,” Dan Orban’s your guy.
Jason Chavez (Incumbent, DFL-endorsed)
I like that Jason Chavez showed up at Lake and Bloomington during that raid (I am strongly of the opinion that having elected officials at events like this makes them significantly less likely to become violent, and curtails unnecessary violence used by law enforcement, at least some of the time) and I appreciated that he demanded an after-action report. I like most of what he’s done on the City Council. I would vote for Jason Chavez.
I have a new book coming out next June! This one is not YA; it’s a near-future thriller about an obstetrician who gets kidnapped by a cult because they want someone on site to deliver babies. You can pre-order it right now if you want.
I do not have a Patreon or Ko-Fi but instead encourage people who want to reward all my hard work to donate to fundraisers. This year I’m fundraising for YouthLink. YouthLink is a Minneapolis nonprofit that helps youth (ages 16-24) who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. (Here’s their website.) I have seen some of the work they do and been really impressed. (An early donor to the fundraiser added a comment: “YouthLink was incredible instrumental in my assistance of a friend to escape a bad family situation in Florida with little more than a computer and a state ID. Thanks to YouthLink and their knowledge of resources my friend was able to get a mailing address (which was essential in getting a debit card and formal identification documents), healthcare, hot meals, an internship at a local company, and even furniture for their new apartment.” — That is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about!)
I set up a fundraiser with a specific goal mainly because seeing the money raised helps motivate me. (Having external motivation helps! This is a lot of work.)
Will Tell Stories For Food 
Dear Naiomi Kritzer,
You mentioned that you like most of what Jason Chavez has done as a member of the Minneapolis city council. I wish you would have gone into more detail here. Many of us are struggling with your assessment.
Therefore, I have a few questions to ask you. What makes you, a St. Paul resident, think you are qualified to talk about Ward 9 in Minneapolis? Do you watch people having sex outside your daughter’s window at night? Have people been shot and killed behind and in front of your house? Is it normal to experience mass shootings a block or two away, including where your daughter plays hockey? Do you worry that a stray bullet may hit your kids while they sleep? Do your kids know what a drug deal looks like and how to recognize prostitutes and pimps? Do you have to step around condoms on the sidewalks and streets? Have you ever had a dog traumatized by an encampment in front of your house for three months straight?
My friends have been stabbed, assaulted, and violated. Our houses have been broken into and burned down. Someone even stabbed me with a drug needle, causing my wife incredible emotional pain. She almost did not let me run for office again. The truth is that you don’t know Ward 9 or the trauma we are experiencing under Jason Chavez’s lack of leadership. Many of us have PTSD, still recovering from the endless stream of stressful unrest since 2020. We want peace, safety, cleanliness, and hope. We want thriving communities.
You say Chavez is for the vulnerable and the oppressed, yet he puts them at risk. He continues to encourage encampments and open air drug markets, which keep people addicted to dangerous drugs like fentanyl, eventually leading to death. People who live in encampments and struggle with addiction have told me this (surprisingly, even they don’t think encampments help anyone). At the same time, we in the community experience murder, refuse, excrement, theft, shootings, and human trafficking. Chavez also supports unlicensed vendor activity, causing health violations, pollution, and major safety hazards. This even puts immigrants at risk!
I’ve talked to the neighborhood leaders and business owners at George Floyd Square. They don’t want a pedestrian mall, but Chavez doesn’t care what the community wants. Instead he ended up gerrymandering their vote out of their own street. People are tired of the trauma tourism. They want healing and their street back. They want an honorable memorial with a thriving community.
Chavez’s policy training and committee experience doesn’t seem to help us. You ask about my experience? Well, I know what it is like to work 2 jobs, raise a family, live in the neighborhood, and barely make payments. Imagine also running a campaign (Yeah, I don’t sleep). I was there when our city burned. I’ve experienced the unrest, the drug camps, shootings, death, and trash. I know what it is like to live here and be fearful for my children playing outside. Does Chavez know the experience of my neighbors? Does he know what it is like for his kids to watch sex and drugs all winter long in the camper in front of his house? If he did, he would not allow it. He would advocate for immediate solutions and find shelter beds for those who need help. He would make sure health codes aren’t being violated and laws aren’t being broken. He would listen to business owners and neighbors who want healing. Yes, I have the experience that people need in Ward 9. It is our experience.
Why am I running? I don’t need fame or respect. I have a fulfilling job that I enjoy. I have a beautiful wife and family. If I’m elected, I would even try to take a pay cut, so it isn’t about the money. $109,000 a year is too much for me compared to other similar cities. I want to be paid less, entering into the experience of other public servants who tirelessly work for the city. I’m tired of elections and politics being about money or political parties. As a husband and a father, I must step up when people and children are suffering. I’m running because it is my civic duty to care for all my neighbors. It’s simply the right thing to do.
People who don’t live here can stop talking as if they have special insight into Ward 9. We’ve been through things that they cannot understand. We are exhausted and drained. Enough is enough. Let’s get people the help they need and bring healing to our neighborhoods. We simply want to live together in peace and safety. Jason Chavez can be an activist somewhere else.
Thanks,
Dan Orban
p.s. Getting 20% of the vote in 2023 against an incumbent with minimal money, a small amount of help, and an extremely short amount of time (2 months) is not my definition of being crushed. This is a different ballgame.
I apologize Naomi for getting your name wrong. I am very sorry, and I respect your public voice and opinion even if I do not agree in this case.
By the way, if you are interested in staying on a farm that we originally bought for my mother in law as a respite away from the violence in the city, you are welcome to it. We share it with everyone including neighbors, friends, strangers, and non-profits (all for free). In fact, a friend from my neighborhood took care of the place this week. It’s more like a shared farm. We also give the produce away to those who need it. Please don’t judge us for this. It’s our heart to give to those who need it! It’s what my wife and I are all about. Just ask our neighbors and friends. They will tell you who we are :).
Okay, I guess I should say that we share it with people we know and trust :).
Hi Dan. I am a Ward 9 resident, a former East Phillips resident, and I have continuosly had a child in daycare in East Phillips for the past three years. When we first moved to Minneapolis, we had an encampment on our street for six months. We got to know the people living there. My five-year-old certainly can’t recognize a drug deal, but he has built lasting relationships with unhoused people, who he calls “outside neighbors.” Everything that you write about above — we have also lived through, including the shootings.
I am voting for Jason Chavez because of how he writes and speaks on homelessness. He views unhoused people as his neighbors and his constituents — as part of the community. I am a Christian, and the way Jason has been working to end homelessness is in line with my values. Jesus says the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. I don’t see any of that in how you write about unhoused people — I only see vitriol and disgust. First of all, not every unhoused people use drugs, and second of all, the way you write about drug use makes it beyond evident that you see people who use drugs as less valuable.
You’re wrong about encampments, and I guarantee you I have talked to more unhoused people than you have. Are encampments ideal? No. But you know what’s a lot more unsafe for unhoused people? Sleeping outside alone with no one to watch out for them. So while encampments might make housed people feel uncomfortable, the danger they pose to people who have a roof and a lock on their door does not even begin compare to the danger that unhoused people face when they are alone at night. Moreover, there are simply not enough shelter beds, nor should unhoused people be forced to accept shelter if they do not feel comfortable with it.
My husband (also a Ward 9 resident) is a nationally-recognized expert on homelessness and the author of a book called Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness. I am happy to give you a copy. Let me know.
Hi Naiomi Alexandra,
Thanks so much for your kind response. We agree on many of these items, especially loving your neighbor as yourself.
Yes! I would love to read the book your husband wrote. It would be great to hear your stories and sit down to compare thoughts. I’m no expert, and would love to just listen. Let’s get together soon. Please reach out!
I completely agree that unhoused neighbors should be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect. I’m a both / and kind of guy :). My response includes the unhoused as our neighbors who need to be protected and cared for. We need to get unhoused into safe housing, healthy environments, treatment programs, and meaningful job placement opportunities. At the same time, we need to protect neighborhoods from people who take advantage of the unhoused (e.g. drug dealers, human traffickers, dangerous gangs, etc…).
This comes from many great conversations over the years that I’ve had with unhoused residents and from those who have overcome or are in the process of overcoming addiction. They are the ones who have told me that encampments are scary places to live. In fact, I recently sat down and drank tea with people from the encampment on 28th and Lake. They simply wanted clean and safe shelter off the streets. They said that encampments are dangerous and are terrible for people who are addicted to drugs. They both said that they would like to be sober someday, but the encampment environment and past trauma makes this difficult. I loved talking with them as neighbors. They were encouraged to meet with me. They also voiced their frustration with the lack of city and county support. I want to advocate for their health and safety too!
In any case, thanks for your response. I’m encouraged by it, and I am excited to learn more from you and your husband. Let’s get together soon!
Thanks,
Dan Orban
orban4ward9@gmail.com
Sorry, I meant Naomi… Don’t know why I cannot get this correct.
Candidates Chavez and Orban responded to questions at the 2025 League of Women Voters Ward 9 Candidate Forum. The video from the event is available here: