Koski was born in Minneapolis to Albert Hofstede, then the mayor of Minneapolis, and Barbara Hofstede. Her mother died of breast cancer when Koski was eight years old; her father remarried, and her stepmother adopted her.[1] Her father served as mayor for two terms, from 1974 to 1975 and from 1978 to 1979. Her aunt, Diane Hofstede, was a city council member from 2005 to 2013.[2]
Political career
Emily Koski began her political career with a run for Minneapolis City Council in 2021. During her 2021 campaign, she opposed rent control and proposals to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety, positioning herself as a moderate in alignment with incumbent mayor Jacob Frey.[3] She was elected in the first round of ranked choice voting, defeating incumbent Jeremy Schroeder, who ran in favor of the Department of Public Safety.[4][5][6] In her first term, Koski largely voted with the moderate majority alongside then-council president Andrea Jenkins and vice president Linea Palmisano.[7] One such vote was against a pause on homeless encampment evictions in 2022.[8]
Koski was re-elected in 2023 with 88.36% of the first-round vote against Socialist Workers Party candidate Gabrielle Prosser.[9] In her second term as a council member, Koski opposed some of Frey's moderate positions on matters including police bonuses, relocation of the third police precinct, and redevelopment of the former Roof Depot site in the East Phillips neighborhood. [10] In March of 2024, she changed her vote on an ordinance establishing minimum wage for rideshare drivers, overriding Frey's veto.[11] In October 2024, Koski's letter criticizing the delayed MPD response to the shooting of a Minneapolis resident by his neighbor again broke with Frey and gained media attention.[12] Koski is the sitting vice-chair of the Budget Committee and of the Climate and Infrastructure Committee.[13]
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