Jazz Hampton describes himself as “a bridge builder,” a quality that he believes is needed in the next mayor of Minneapolis.

Hampton grew up in Richfield, the youngest of four children, and attended the Academy of Holy Angels for high school. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a professional doctorate in law from the University of St. Thomas, where he now teaches as an adjunct professor in the Opus College of Business.

As an attorney, Hampton worked as a public defender in Anoka and Ramsey counties and took part in a legal team that worked to exonerate Marvin Haynes, a Minneapolis man serving life in prison for a 2004 killing.

After George Floyd’s murder, Hampton became a co-founder and CEO of TurnSignl, an on-demand layer app that helps drivers navigate traffic stops.

Hampton currently sits on the boards of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, Great North Innocence Project, and the Minneapolis Foundation.

Hampton lives in Southwest Minneapolis with his wife, Courtney, and their three children, Penelope, 7; Hendricks, 5; and Malcom, 3.

When discussing his background, Hampton told Downtown Voices: “When the idea of running for mayor started percolating, it was the first time since the beginning of TurnSignl where I thought, maybe I am the person – and I believe I am – that is correctly situated with life, work, lived and professional experiences that make me the best for this role, to help as many people as possible in this moment.”

‍Hampton spoke with Downtown Voices editor Brianna Kelly on Feb. 6 about why he’s running for mayor, how he plans to tackle Minneapolis’ most pressing issues, and what he would do to bring the City Council together.

The following conversation, edited for length and clarity, is the second installment in Minneapolis Voices’ Q&A series with major mayoral candidates. All of our interviews will include questions based on responses to an internal reader survey.

Downtown Voices: If you were elected, what would be your top priorities for the term?

Jazz Hampton: I think they kind of align with some of my own personal experience, right?

I think making sure that people feel safe is really important. It's what people are asking for. And I think it's a misnomer to say people want police to be gone from the streets. I don't think that's true. I think people want police to be held accountable when things don't go the way they should and to feel secure that the city and streets are gonna be safer with police.

Another, of course, is affordable housing. That's why I was on the board for Catholic Charities for the last four years.

None of these topics are bumper sticker solutions, but ensuring that there are adequate solutions for people who are unhomed is incredibly important. Part of this is deeply understanding what these folks want and desire, not just what the people who live in that area want and desire, which is also important. It's a part of that human dignity aspect of the conversation.

Some folks have addiction or mental health concerns, some are under pressure with their family. I think learning and understanding from them why they're there, how they're there, and what they hope for the next steps of their lives is a big component of addressing homelessness.

I’ll give a third as well. Again, this comes from my personal experience. 

What it’s like to build a successful small business and how that can contribute to the revitalization of the city. When I think of downtown, Uptown, or other pockets of Minneapolis that are still trying to bounce back from the pandemic, I don’t think, ‘How are locally-based corporations like Target going to step in?’ My thought is, ‘How can we foster small business success and growth in a way that helps bring these places back?’

I think encouraging and supporting small businesses is incredibly important. I am one. I know what it's like to run an organization out of the Twin Cities that employs a dozen or so folks. My mom owned a restaurant my entire life – I saw the turn of that industry for her, and I saw it close down. I also worked in restaurants for years.

When talking with other small business owners, red tape and the frustration that comes along with that is so prevalent. There are some rules and regulations that we could update, change, or improve that would improve the system.

But, of course, at the core of everything I believe in is safety, security, and opportunity for the employees as well. So we have to be cognizant of how these things can trickle down to them, but also try to make it easier for businesses to succeed. Because if businesses can succeed, then their employees can, and more importantly, we can get downtown, Uptown, and everywhere in between back to more the vibrant state that it has been in the past.

DTV: What actions would you take to address crime, particularly homicides, which rose in Minneapolis last year but dropped in other major cities? 

JH: I think one of the things that we need to address is how secure people are feeling in their lives outside of the criminal justice system. If people's needs are being met, if they have good and stable employment, if they have opportunities to go to work and do things, falling into some of these bad decisions is less likely, right? So the answer to rising murder rates, or crime rates generally, is not just that we need more police to arrest more people and put them in jail for a longer amount of time. We definitely do need to hold people accountable and find the perpetrators of crime. But, to me, a lot of that starts with stability outside of this criminal justice system, so these people do not feel like they have to be in that moment at all.

At the same time, we need to ensure that as things are escalating, we are having interventions that will make things more helpful. I genuinely think the vast majority of people who have committed crimes are not inherently bad people. They've just been put in a really difficult situation, which led to them making some poor decisions. Without those situations happening, we can improve the outlook of not only their life, but how safe we're feeling, the murder rates, and everything else. 

DTV: How would you work to end the “gridlock” at City Hall, like your campaign promises?

JH: I’m confident that folks, wherever they sit in this gridlock or whatever ward they represent, would come to the table knowing that I come with true intentions of solving the issue, and not to cause more conflict or division within the conversation. I think everyone in that room will be better off having a bridge builder sitting there saying, ‘I understand both factions, and we are 80% there, let's just get this last 20%.’ And, frankly, I think a fresh person with a new perspective, or who hasn't been in this conflict before, is going to be the voice that helps in this situation. 

Unfortunately, I think some of the tensions between folks at City Hall and the City Council are preventing them from getting to a middle ground, and that's why I think we need a new person that hasn't been in those positions before.

‍DTV: What would you say to someone who’s hesitant to vote for you because you haven’t held elected office before?

JH: I think because I haven't held elected office before is one of the main reasons to vote for me.

Let me explain that. Some of the folks in elected office have never had my perspective of policing as someone who is building an organization that is touching law enforcement every single day in these interactions, or as a Black man who's been pulled over a dozen times, right? A lot of people at City Hall have never run a business and tried to successfully navigate owning a business in the City of Minneapolis. A lot of these folks have not been teachers and don’t understand what it's like to be in front of students and hear what it's like for them to navigate this life. 

My experiences are in the shoes of these individuals, my experiences are the city's experiences. Because of that, I'm going to be able to come into office bolstered by a team of really wonderful people that knows what it feels like to be on the other side and can work on building solutions that can actually help the folks that are in the shoes that we were just occupying.

I lived all of these experiences. My kids are in public school with your kids. I've gone to the board meetings. I have the actual, lived and working experience that speaks to what those people are feeling as well. I'm much closer to their experiences as a person who has been in the private sector and understands how to come into the public sector and really try to effectuate change. 

I've been a bridge builder my entire career, whether it's drivers talking to law enforcement, whether it is as an attorney trying to reach a settlement or representing a person that's incarcerated, I've been doing that for my career, and the transition into public work is really a seamless one.

DTV: What’s your leadership style? 

JH: I am a collaborative leader who knows how to appropriately work across the spectrum and set boundaries.

In everything I do, I try to bring an incredibly positive energy. I want a culture of happiness, collaboration, and progress within City government, which can then cascade down to our constituents, to the people of Minneapolis.

DTV: Do you think that mentality will help unify Minneapolis? It seems like that’s really your goal at the end of the day.

‍JH: Exactly. Unifying everyone, from the Mayor’s Office and the City Council to the people of Minneapolis. 

It should be a really, really tangible goal of unifying and actually pushing to get things done for the City of Minneapolis. Making the entire city feel really excited and get folks outside of the city saying, ‘That looks really great. I want to go there for a concert. I want to move back into Minneapolis. I want to be a part of this vibrant city that is growing and going in the right direction, along with the rest of the country.’

Because, as we both know, other major cities in this country are rising at a level that we just frankly aren't, and we can't blame the pandemic or civil unrest anymore. It's time for us to turn the page and start a new chapter.

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