Minneapolis Review

Today, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has nominated Kristyn Anderson to serve as Minneapolis City Attorney. Anderson brings decades of leadership in civil service and a strong background in areas of law unique to government. Anderson presently serves as General Counsel, Enterprise Employment Law Counsel, and State Ethics Officer at the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget. She previously served in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office as Assistant Attorney General, supporting the Civil Litigation Division.

“Kristyn Anderson has fought for the public good and effectively served the people of Minnesota throughout her exceptional legal career,” said Frey. “Her decades of experience with government law have earned her the reputation as a brilliant legal mind. Her commitment to justice and love for Minneapolis makes her the right person to be our City Attorney.”

Since 2014, Anderson has been in the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget (MMB) holding roles of General Counsel, Enterprise Employment Law Counsel, and State Ethics Officer. She has served as General Counsel for the past seven years, managing MMB’s legal function providing advice, counsel, and direction on MMB’s legal activities. This includes working on matters involving the agency’s statewide accounting services, statewide budget services, debt management, enterprise communications and planning, enterprise employee resources, and legislative affairs divisions and programs.

“I am passionate about public service and have dedicated my many years of legal practice to fostering good government,” said Anderson. “I am looking forward to working alongside Mayor Frey and the City Council and am honored and grateful for this opportunity to serve my city.”

In her role as Enterprise Employment Law Counsel, she has advised agencies across the State executive branch on legal compliance with labor and employment laws and the Data Practices Act. Additionally, she served as a member of the Statewide Contingency Response Team setting policy and legal strategy on COVID-19 response for the State workforce. Anderson has also served as the State Ethics Officer advising State agencies on the Code of Ethics for executive branch employees.

Prior to her work at MMB, Anderson served in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Litigation Division for nearly 14 years. In this capacity, she represented all branches of State government and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

In 2020, Anderson was awarded the Minnesota State Bar Association Public Law Section Public Attorney Award of Excellence – In-House Agency Counsel. In 2019, Anderson was awarded the Minnesota Lawyer In-House Counsel Award for a nonprofit or government organization.

Mayor Frey convened a City Attorney search committee in late May, bringing together a diverse group of volunteers with decades worth of legal expertise and public service backgrounds, including Lee Sheehy, Charlie Nauen, Emily Piper, Lola Velazquez Aguilu, and Sam Clark. Over the course of two months, the committee met regularly with City staff, reviewed applicants’ credentials and background information, and ultimately recommended several candidates for interviews.

Additional search committee outreach included consultation with the following bar associations: Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Lavender Bar, Minnesota Association of American Indian Lawyers, Minnesota Association of Women Lawyers and Twin Cities Diversity in Practice.

The mayor’s nomination will be submitted to the full City Council at its meeting on Thursday, August 18 for consideration and referral to the relevant committee. Under the new government structure, the length of charter department head terms is four years.

Original source can be found here.