Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

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Voter Guide

Hennepin County Commissioner District 3

The county's key policymakers who ensure that citizen concerns are met, federal and state requirements are fulfilled, and county operations run smoothly. County Commissioners oversee the administration of the county, set the county budget, and participate in county long-range planning. Services that they oversee include a wide variety of social service and welfare programs as well as certain public health programs and capital improvements.Learn more about the day in the life of a county commissioner in this video from the Association of Minnesota Counties. (https://www.mncounties.org/meetings_and_education/day_in_the_life_of_a_minnesota_county_commissioner.php)Use the MN Secretary of State’s Candidate Filing page (https://candidates.sos.mn.gov/) to find specific candidate contact information.A forum for the primary election in this race was held on Monday, July 13, 2026 - watch the recording here.

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  • Candidate picture

    Marion Greene
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Abdihakim Arabow Ibrahim
    (NP)

Biographical Information

Why are you running for Hennepin County Commissioner and what are your qualifications for this position?

If you are elected, what will be your priorities as a Hennepin County Commissioner?

The Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) received significant funds from the 2026 Legislature to keep it operational. At the same time, the HCMC is also dealing with federal budget reductions to health care programs. As a Hennepin County Commissioner, what approach would you take to ensure critical social services, such as mental health services, housing services, and HCMC itself, are funded? What revenue sources would you propose? What are your thoughts regarding oversight of HCMC?

What is the County Board’s role in ensuring safe, affordable housing for all residents? What policies do you think are necessary to achieve the goal of access to safe, affordable housing?

The Hennepin County Board has established a broad range of 2028 - 2040 for closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC). What is your goal for a closing date and what policies do you recommend be implemented to achieve zero waste?

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I am running for county commissioner to build a thriving, equitable, affordable, and connected Hennepin County. My biggest qualification is that I’ve held the job for three terms, and in those years of service have built skills and relationships that I use every day to advance a progressive vision for Hennepin County on behalf of our district and region. The work of a commissioner is multi-faceted, and I am energized, creative, and diligent.
My re-election campaign is about protecting and expanding what matters most: (1) Affordable housing and safety-net services that stabilize residents, including a secure future for HCMC. (2) Multi-modal transit that connects people to places, a thriving economy, and a healthy environment. (3) Continued resistance to attacks and volatility in Washington DC.
HCMC and the people who work there are crucial to our healthcare ecosystem and wellbeing as a region. From amazing care, to preparing medical and allied healthcare workers for jobs elsewhere in the state, we need HCMC. I will continue to advocate for public dollars to support physical and mental health at HCMC, as well as for services that the county provides that are complementary to healthcare – social services and housing supports. HCMC should remain public, so its mission is not diluted.
Hennepin County is a major funder of affordable housing, and I am proud to have increased that investment, and advocated for regional funding in the seven-county metro 0.25% sales tax for housing. I’ve led innovation, like purchasing hotels and converting them to deeply affordable housing, a gap in our region’s housing. What the county and many cities invest in housing is still not enough to meet the need. We need bigger changes, like increasing the minimum wage to be a livable minimum wage.
The HERC should close as soon as it can, in a way that reflects the environmental harms of landfills. It is an environmental justice issue. To do this we must address consumerism and waste generation. The county is working to become a zero waste county. In 2024 the county pushed for the Extended Producer Responsibility Act. A good next step would be a waste sorting facility, to capture waste that is recyclable. Also, cities need curbside composting, including for people in multi-unit buildings.
Campaign Website http://www.abdihakimibrahim.com
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/abdihakimibrahimslp/
Campaign Twitter Handle @https://x.com/Arabow
Campaign Email abdihakimSLP@gmail.com
Abdihakim Ibrahim is an engineer, community leader, former Vice Chair of the St. Louis Park School Board, and the first Somali American elected to the board. A husband and father, he has spent years strengthening schools, expanding opportunity, and bringing people together to solve local problems. He is running for Hennepin County Commissioner to deliver accountable leadership, stronger fiscal stewardship, and realistic solutions that improve everyday life for District 3 residents.
Commissioners should focus on affordability, housing, public safety, healthcare access, and economic opportunity. I will create a Unified Family Assistance Hub with in-person and online access to county services. Government should measure programs by results, not intentions. I will strengthen fraud prevention, support a public reporting hotline for waste and abuse, and ensure every taxpayer dollar delivers measurable value while protecting essential services.
HCMC is our safety-net hospital and must remain strong. Because it serves patients from across Minnesota, Hennepin County taxpayers should not bear the cost alone. I will prioritize core services and oppose another property-tax increase until every responsible alternative is exhausted. We should maximize state and federal funding, strengthen public-private partnerships, improve oversight, and eventually restore independent professional governance for HCMC.
The County Board should expand the supply of safe, affordable housing while preventing homelessness. I support partnering with cities and nonprofits to build more housing, preserve existing affordable homes, expand supportive housing with mental health services, streamline access to county programs, and invest in prevention so families remain housed. Stable housing strengthens public safety, health, and economic opportunity.
The 2028–2040 range is not a decision. I support setting a binding closure date well before 2040, with annual public targets for waste reduction, reuse, composting, recycling, and diversion from incineration. The County must publish a replacement-capacity and worker-transition plan with clear deadlines, costs, responsible agencies, and annual progress reports to ensure accountability and move toward zero waste without shifting more waste to landfills.
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The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

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