Brooklyn Center voters have elected City Council member Teneshia Kragness as their next mayor, with Kragness capturing 6,068 votes, or 64.4 percent, to decisively beat challenger Alexander Koenig, who drew 3,294 votes, or 35.0 percent. She will take over for Mayor April Graves, who chose not to seek reelection this year.
A Big Win for a Sitting Council Member
According to CCX Media, Kragness was first elected to the Brooklyn Center City Council in 2022 and now moves up to the city's top office. Her path to the general election began back in the primary, when she and Koenig emerged as the top two finishers among four mayoral hopefuls. At that stage, per hometownsource.com, Kragness earned 1,832 votes, or 52.9 percent, while Koenig collected 683 votes, or 19.7 percent, with Laurie Ann Moore taking 676 votes and Latrecia J. Mayo finishing with 275.
Kragness brings financial oversight experience to the mayor’s office: before joining the council, she served 12 years on Brooklyn Center’s Finance Commission, including as its chair, and has worked as an accountant. She also served as mayor pro tem while on the council. Her civic and professional background gives added context to her move into the city’s top elected role as candidates have debated how to manage the budget.
Graves, who is wrapping up nearly 12 years on the council, endorsed Kragness in her bid for mayor. The endorsement came even as Graves opted against another run of her own, clearing the path for a new face at the top of city government. The winner of this fall's race was set to begin a four-year term in January 2027, as outlined in a hometownsource.com voter's guide.
Candidates Split on Budget Strategy
The mayoral contest surfaced differing views on how Brooklyn Center should shore up its finances. One candidate told hometownsource.com that the goal should be to substantially strengthen the city's tax base through strategic redevelopment and business investment, while another said in the same voter's guide that they do not support reducing staff as a way to balance the budget, pointing instead toward efficiencies, grants, partnerships, and responsible development.
The budget debate unfolds in a city whose estimated population fell 5.7 percent between 2020 and 2025, to 31,846, the Census Bureau’s latest city estimates show. Census figures also show that 21.7 percent of residents were foreign-born in 2020–24 and median household income was $72,535. Those figures offer a snapshot of the community Kragness and the incoming council will serve as they weigh development and city finances.
Council Race Sends Two New Faces to City Hall
Brooklyn Center's city council race also produced a shake-up. Gretchen Enger and Nahid Khan emerged as the top vote-getters for two open council seats, with Enger pulling in 4,176 votes, or 27.9 percent, and Khan close behind with 3,792 votes, or 25.3 percent. Mark Viste finished third with 3,462 votes, 23.1 percent, and incumbent Dan Jerzak placed fourth with 3,434 votes, or 22.9 percent, falling just short of retaining his seat.
Jerzak's run came against the backdrop of a 2023 complaint filed by a city employee alleging a hostile work environment, a claim Jerzak has disputed. The election results indicate voters favored the two newcomers, Enger and Khan, over both Viste and the incumbent Jerzak for the council's open seats.
The new mayor also takes office amid an unresolved public-safety legacy. After Daunte Wright was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center police officer in 2021, the council approved a resolution calling for changes including unarmed traffic enforcement and mental-health response. In April 2026, five years later, a community-led advisory board approved the previous year had not yet launched, leaving implementation among the issues facing city leaders.
