Mohamud Noor

Mohamud Noor (Somali: Maxamuud Nuur, Arabic: محمود نور‎) is an American computer scientist, activist and politician. He is a Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 60B in the central Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is also the director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota.

This article is about the politician and computer scientist. For the geneticist, see Mohamed Noor. For the footballer, see Mohammed Noor. For the police officer, see Murder of Justine Damond.
Mohamud Noor
محمود نور
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 60B district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byIlhan Omar
Personal details
Born1977/1978 (age 42–43)
Somalia
Political partyDemocratic–Farmer–Labor
Spouse(s)Farhiya Del
Children4
ResidenceMinneapolis, Minnesota
Alma materMetropolitan State University
Occupationcomputer scientist, activist, politician

Personal life

Noor was born between 1977 and 1978 in Somalia. Following the start of the civil war, he and his family sought asylum in Kenya. In 1999 they emigrated to the United States, settling in Minnesota.[1]

Noor earned a B.S. in computer science from the Metropolitan State University.[2] He held a part-time job at Macy's while studying.[3]

Noor is the acting director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, a Minneapolis-based NGO serving immigrants.[4]

Noor is Muslim.[1] He is married to Farhiya Del, with whom he has four children.[2][3] The family lives in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.[5]

Career

Noor is a computer scientist by training. He was a system administrator for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Due to a law prohibiting state employees from campaigning, he later stepped down from the position.[2]

In 2010, Noor ran for a seat on the board of the Minneapolis Public Schools, finishing in fifth place. He was the runner-up in the next year's DFL Senate District 59 primary election.[6][7] Noor's campaign was endorsed by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Stonewall DFL and Take Action Minnesota.[6] In December 2013, he was appointed to the Minneapolis school board, beating out Ubah Jama on a 5-3 vote to replace the late Hussein Samatar.[5]

In February 2014, Noor challenged veteran state representative Phyllis Kahn for her seat, district 60B.[8] Noor's policy priorities were job creation via investments in the green economy, health care issues, and forging partnerships with the University of Minnesota. Additionally, he sought to secure more funding for schools, advocated a move away from complete reliance on property taxes, and backed the state government's request for a waiver to get out of No Child Left Behind.[2][4] He supported interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery for Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War, as well as the Affordable Care Act.[4] In contrast to the majority of his socially conservative constituents, Noor's campaign also supported same-sex marriage.[9] He was endorsed by former Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak as well as several local progressive groups,[1] including the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Stonewall DFL, and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers.[2]

In the August 12 DFL primary, Noor lost to Kahn, receiving 1,949 votes (45.53 percent) to her 2,332 votes (54.47 percent).[10] The primary challenge was reportedly one of Kahn's most difficult since her first election in 1972.[11]

In 2016, Noor again sought to challenge Kahn. Ilhan Omar defeated both of them in the DFL primary to become the nominee for the 2016 Minnesota House election for district 60B, and won the general election.[12]

In 2017, Noor ran for City Council in Minneapolis Ward 6.[13] He lost narrowly to incumbent Abdi Warsame, after a recount.[14]

In 2018 Noor ran for Minnesota House of Representatives seat 60B again, as Ilhan Omar was running for U.S. Congress. Noor won both the Democratic primary and the general election.[15]

References
  1. Potter, Kyle (August 3, 2014). "Somali candidate eyes milestone in US race". Associated Press.
  2. Halter, Nick (December 5, 2011). "Minnesota: In Senate District 59, can community activism trump name recognition?". The Journal. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. Brandt, Steve (7 December 2013). "Minneapolis school board adds Somali-American". StarTribune. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. Harris, Marlys (8 November 2013). "Somalis turning to politics to get 'seat at the table'". MinnPost. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  5. Brandt, Steve (16 November 2013). "Ranked-choice votes on board member released". Star Tribune. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  6. Brandt, Steve (6 September 2013). "Mohamud Noor considering seeking Minneapolis school board seat". Star Tribune. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  7. Roper, Eric (7 December 2011). "Kari Dziedzic wins DFL nod for Senate race". Star Tribune. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. "Noor prevails in rescheduled precinct caucus". KTTC. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  9. Yuen, Laura (November 29, 2011). "Why Mohamud Noor supports same-sex marriage". MPR News.
  10. "Primary 2014 Results". MPR News. August 13, 2014.
  11. "Longtime state Rep. Phyllis Kahn survives Democratic primary challenge from Somali activist". Associated Press. 12 August 2014. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  12. Coolican, J. Patrick (9 August 2016). "Next Minnesota Legislature won't have Reps. Phyllis Kahn or Tom Hackbarth". Star Tribune. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  13. http://www.votenoor.com
  14. Belz, Adam (28 November 2017). "Recount ends, Minneapolis Council Member Abdi Warsame's victory stands". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  15. Dill, Emma. "After unsuccessful first bids, Noor takes House District 60B". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
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