About Soren Stevenson

Soren Stevenson (he/him) was elected to represent Ward 8 in 2025. He is a renter, survivor of police violence, a former homeless outreach worker, and former union member.

As the Ward 8 City Council Member, Stevenson represents residents in the Central, Kingfield, Bancroft, Bryant, Lyndale, Field, Northrop and Regina neighborhoods. Ward 8 is located in the south-central part of Minneapolis and is home to vibrant and diverse communities, including the 38th Street Cultural District and George Floyd Square.

Having family roots in Minnesota, Soren grew up in Grants Pass, Oregon to parents who worked for the Department of Agriculture and as a teacher respectively. As a preteen, his parents had a change in career which brough Soren and his family to Central Asia where he completed middle school and early high school. At age 12 he was able to go to school via public transit on his own, and after school he was free to go anywhere in the city, play basketball or go to a friend's house because the public transit was cheap, easy to navigate and also very safe. This experience helped inform his vision for Minneapolis: where all families can feel safe and move easily and freely throughout the whole city.

Soren moved to Minneapolis for a masters program in Development Practice at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, where his focus was on housing policy. His studies were rooted in and helped shape by his belief that affordable and dignified housing is one of the most critical foundations of a healthy and happy life. This is because people cannot address any other issues or maintain other commitments if they do not have a safe, stable, and warm place to sleep at night.

Days after graduating from his masters program in May of 2020, George Floyd was murdered. Like many Minneapolis residents, Soren was horrified by this brutal killing, and joined peaceful protests to demand justice and dignity for his neighbors. Less than a week into the protests, while peacefully protesting, a Minneapolis Police Officer shot him in the face with a rubber bullet. This caused him to lose his left eye and most of his sense of smell. He joined and has organized with Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, a support group and advocacy organization for families and individuals affected by police violence. As a City Council member, greater police accountability is one of his core priorities.

Soren also worked for a nonprofit that forms housing cooperatives – buildings or properties owned jointly by residents. He was drawn to this organization because they held a commitment and had a solution to preventing the displacement of residents by rising rents or property sales, while also narrowing the homeownership gaps among rich and poor residents, and people of color and white residents. Soren is committed to working towards a city where everyone can have pride in their neighborhood and control over their own future, regardless of race, income, or national origin.

Soren has also worked as homeless outreach worker. This work helped him gain insight to the struggles that our homeless neighbors experience, and the urgent need for a more compassionate response to homelessness and encampments, as well as increased and protected affordable housing options. He is a democratic socialist, part of the democratic party and his core priorities on the City Council are police reform and accountability, fighting for climate justice, and effectively addressing homelessness.