Somalilandsun: St. Cloud council in Minnesota has appointed its first Somali-American city council member.
On a unanimous vote on Monday night, city councilors appointed Hudda Ibrahim to fill a Ward 3 vacancy on the seven-member panel. She replaces Jake Anderson, who was elected St. Cloud mayor last month. Ibrahim, 39, was born in Somalia and has lived in St. Cloud for nearly two decades.
She is an author, educator, business owner and nonprofit leader. Ibrahim was chosen to fill the vacant seat from among nine applicants.
After taking the oath, she thanked the council for their support. “I just want to thank you all for believing in me and my leadership,” she said. “I have been here for 19 years. And of those 19 years, every single day when I wake up, I always asked a question which is, ‘What can I do to make St. Cloud a better place for all?’”
Ibrahim ran for one of three open seats on the city council earlier this year and came in second in the August primary.
In the November general election, she took fifth in a field of six candidates, with 13% of the vote. In an interview with MPR News the week before the election, Ibrahim said she hoped to bring diverse representation to the city council that’s reflective of St. Cloud.
But she mainly spoke about being eager to tackle the city’s biggest challenges, including a need to build more affordable housing and revitalize its downtown. “It’s not about me. It’s about our community,” she said. “It’s about St. Cloud residents, and it’s about the issues that we need to address, and make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and valued.” Ibrahim’s family fled to Kenya during the civil war in Somalia.
Her mother was an educator and her father a colonel in the Somali army, before they settled in Minnesota….
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