Updated: 8:17 p.m.
The newest member of the Minneapolis City Council was sworn in Tuesday. Aurin Chowdhury took the oath of office at City Hall to fill out the remainder of the term of outgoing council member for Ward 12, Andrew Johnson. He resigned his seat before the end of the year to take on a new job.
Chowdhury, 26, comes in with prior experience at City Hall. She recently served as the senior policy aide for Council Member Jason Chavez. Chowdhury previously managed the elections of local state lawmakers and worked in community organizing on issues like affordable housing and climate change.
Chowdhury campaigned on her experience in politics saying she’d be “ready on day one,” to serve the constituents in Ward 12.
“My first priority right now is cracking into the budget and delivering on a few key things for Ward 12 residents, namely public safety. I made a really big commitment as a candidate to deliver on comprehensive public safety and build out our neighborhood safety tools that can support the ecosystem of public safety alongside policing,” Chowdhury said.
Johnson endorsed Chowdhury and said he felt comfortable leaving his seat early knowing that Chowdhury was up for the challenge.
“Council Member Johnson has been a really great mentor. He and I both talked a lot about why it’s really important to have a good transition between offices, and that’s why I earned a lot of his support,” Chowdhury said.
She said she’s relieved to now be sworn in so she can get to work delivering on the promises she made as a candidate.