'Minneapolis Is Coming Back': Mayor Jacob Frey, New City Council Members Sworn In

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the new city council were sworn in Monday morning at the city's convention center.

Frey and new leaders are promising a Minneapolis comeback following crime and health crises.

The swearing in was briefly delayed as nearly all the elected officials and their guests took rapid COVID-19 tests that were set up upstairs in the convention center. That's because the results of tests that people took on Thursday had not come back yet.

In his inaugural speech, Mayor Frey acknowledged the impact of the last two years.

"The murder of George Floyd and the global racial reckoning that followed rocked our city to the core, and we all have been forever changed," Frey said. "Minneapolis is coming back … Will it be difficult? Yes it will, but we are up to the challenge."

Seven of the 13 council members are new. A majority are now people of color.

Members unanimously elected Council Member Andrea Jenkins as council president.

"It's an incredible honor, I am really deeply humbled," Jenkins said.

She represents the ward where Floyd was murdered. While she has supported the Defund the Police Movement, she also has a history of working with all sides.

"I really believe that we have an opportunity to turn things around, and I am thrilled to be in a roll … to help shape and drive that," she said.

Jenkins is also the first transgender council president in city history, and she hopes she can serve as an example for all people who may be struggling.

By a 8-5 vote, the Minneapolis City Council also elected moderate Council Member Linea Palmisano as their vice president, indicating that unlike the last council, moderates appear to have a majority.