Council approves public works head as new Minneapolis operations officer

Minneapolis’ new operations officer has officially been confirmed.

The Minneapolis City Council approved Margaret Anderson Kelliher for the job on Thursday. She was nominated by Mayor Jacob Frey last month.

Anderson Kelliher has been the city’s public works director since March 2022. Before that, she was the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation and also previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 12 years and held the gavel as House speaker from 2007-11.

“I love working for the City of Minneapolis. We have hard work to do ahead of us, and it will take all of us working on these issues together,” Anderson Kelliher said in a prepared statement. “My vision for this role is striving for operational excellence and improving the City’s workplace culture.”

Her new role oversees the city’s Office of Public Service, making her one of four leaders to report directly to the mayor. The others are the community safety commissioner, the city attorney and the mayor’s chief of staff.

The office’s core functions relate to internal services, communications and engagement services, and development, health and livability services, and oversees departments ranging from the 311 Service Center to human resources, IT, public works, civil rights and community relations.

“I have been working with Margaret Anderson Kelliher for many years and have always appreciated her willingness to listen and her strategic thinking,” Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins said. “Her strong leadership skills, commitment to serving the residents of Minneapolis and collaborative approach to problem solving will serve her well in this role as the City’s city operations officer.”