The Wild Reed: Clint Combs on the “Mud” Thrown at Omar Fateh

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Clint Combs on the “Mud” Thrown at Omar Fateh

As a supporter of (and volunteer with) Omar Fateh’s run for Minneapolis mayor, a run which he sadly lost, I appreciate Clint Combs’s piece in the latest (and final) edition of Southside Pride. I reprint it below in its entirety with added images and links.

________________

Omar Fateh faced more media scrutiny than any Minneapolis mayoral candidate in recent memory. Had he not been both a socialist and Somali, it’s likely he wouldn’t have critics lining up on both sides of the aisle. The Star Tribune’s Eric Roper described the state senator as “a pretty radical candidate with enough baggage to fill a cargo plane.”

Much of that so-called “baggage” dates back to a Senate ethics investigation tied to absentee ballots – a probe that was later dismissed, finding no evidence that Fateh knew anything improper was happening. Still, media coverage tends to amplify suspicion. A leaked video from the PAC All of Minneapolis shows former Council Member Lisa Goodman admitting she withheld checks until Fateh lost his DFL endorsement.

The pressure intensified when his campaign was fined $500 for printing “DFL Endorsed” on signs after his endorsement was pulled. It wasn’t the money as much as the headache – replacing the signs, erasing the logos, redeploying manpower. Fox 9’s coverage of the tampered signage — including images of blue masking tape over the “DFL Endorsed” logo – drew about 8,000 views on X and 13,000 on YouTube.

Fateh bristled at what he saw as manufactured scandal. “The Star Tribune is working on a story about my wife that is not journalism. It’s about clicks. It’s about manufacturing a scandal where there is none,” he posted on social media. Many of his supporters, and even some critics, interpreted the potential story through a different lens. “If it’s about her connection to Feeding Our Future, that’s absolutely journalism . . . should have triggered a resignation,” one user tweeted. Another added, “Shit is about to hit the fan,” referencing longtime Frey ally Rev. Tim Christopher.

The controversy centers on Kaltum Mohamed [right], Fateh’s wife, and everyone assumed that the story was related to Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit once under fire. But it had nothing to do with it. Some have speculated that a stalled bill, Senate File 2741, meant to streamline housing support for people with disabilities, could have benefited her work. But Mohamed’s Community Development Services didn’t receive Medicaid dollars, so it was ineligible.

On policy, Fateh’s progressive agenda – especially on tenants’ rights – has upset developers. But perhaps most overlooked is how the Somali community is being economically squeezed: nearly 80,000 East African families in Minnesota have fallen prey to predatory “contract for deed” home-buying schemes. These contracts let buyers make installment payments directly to sellers – often appealing to those avoiding traditional mortgages for religious reasons – but the seller holds the property’s title until the end. Many buyers face “balloon” payments or outright cancellations. “Most of those contracts . . . were designed to fail,” said Luke Grundman of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. “It’s not just the actual money but the false hope of homeownership.”

Meanwhile, corruption often wears a different face under a different skin. Jonathan Weinhagen, the former CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, is now indicted for allegedly diverting more than $200,000 through a shell company called Synergy Partners. He reportedly used the alias “James Sullivan” to funnel money. In 2021, Weinhagen’s offer to loan a staffer to Mayor Jacob Frey’s office was effectively blocked by the Minneapolis City Council members Jason Chavez, Elliot Payne and Robin Wonsley, who rejected the “gift” over concerns about his Chamber’s political influence. But despite the severity of the charges, the “piracy” label hasn’t stuck – in part because he’s not Somali. Yet political deceit has a long history: Donald Trump once went by “John Miller,” while landlord developer Steven Minn used multiple pseudonyms to undercut rivals.

Compounding it all, former President Donald Trump has announced plans to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota. He posted on Truth Social:

“We will immediately terminate TPS for Somali immigrants in Minnesota – they have abused the system and made Minnesota a hub for fraudulent money laundering.”

As president, prone to projection, Trump targets a community exploited for their religious practices. The irony is stark: the long-standing Somali “piracy” stereotype, lobbed at migrants fits the profile of the real culprits – rich white men like Jonathan Weinhagen, Steven Minn and even Trump himself.