# R. T. Rybak *American politician who served as mayor of Minneapolis (2002–2014) and became chief executive of the Minneapolis Foundation in 2016.* Raymond Thomas Rybak Jr. (born November 12, 1955) is a [[Minnesota]] politician and former journalist and businessman who held office as the 46th mayor of [[Minneapolis]] from 2002 to 2014. He was elected in 2001 over the incumbent, Sharon Sayles Belton, and won further terms in 2005 and 2009. He served as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and made an unsuccessful run for governor in 2010.[^1] In May 2016 MPR News reported that the [[Minneapolis Foundation]] had named Rybak its chief executive.[^2] The project's validated master records him as having moved from the mayor's office to the foundation's chief executive post in 2016 and as still holding it in June 2026.[^3] The same master records the foundation as a route for public money at three levels of government: a [[35W disaster fund]] at the city level, co-administration of a state appropriation, and a federal [[Environmental justice]] grantmaking role. It also records that the foundation sued the United States in 2025 over that role.[^3] The pack does not document any specific act by Rybak in these matters, and the article does not attribute one to him. ## Background Rybak was raised in Minneapolis, the son of a pharmacist. He finished Breck School in 1974 and Boston College in 1978.[^1] Back in Minneapolis during the 1970s and 1980s, he reported for the *Minneapolis Tribune*. He later became managing editor of the *Twin Cities Reader* and started *Q Monthly*, a local gay and lesbian paper.[^1] He led Internet Broadcasting Systems, which began as an online unit of WCCO-TV, worked as an Internet strategy consultant on projects for [[Minnesota Public Radio]] and Public Radio International, and was development director for the Minneapolis Downtown Council.[^1] As an activist, Rybak managed former Minneapolis police chief Tony Bouza's 1994 bid for the DFL nomination for governor, which did not succeed.[^1] He was an early member of ROAR ("Residents Opposed to Airport Racket"), a group that pressed for noise mitigation in neighborhoods near Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.[^1] He sits on the board of the bike-share program Nice Ride Minnesota.[^1] ## Mayor of Minneapolis (2002–2014) In the 2001 election Rybak received 57,739 votes (64.7%) to Sayles Belton's 30,896 (34.6%). Wikipedia's summary rounds the result to 65% to 35% and describes it as the largest margin over a sitting mayor in the city's history.[^1] He took office in January 2002.[^1] In 2005 he beat Peter McLaughlin, a fellow DFL member, 61.5% to 36.7%. He was elected again in 2009.[^1] Wikipedia lists the main priorities of his administration as crime reduction, job creation, affordable housing and a balanced city budget.[^1] In 2002 he started the City of Lakes Loppet, a 35-kilometer cross-country ski race through Theodore Wirth Park and across several city lakes. In 2004 he addressed a rally of striking [[Metro Transit]] workers at the Hennepin County Government Center.[^1] After the I-35W bridge over the [[Mississippi River]] collapsed in August 2007, Rybak asked Governor [[Tim Pawlenty]] and state officials to build the replacement so that it could carry mass transit. The plan that resulted accommodated a light rail line.[^1] The project's master lists a "mayoral-requested" 35W disaster fund among the foundation's city-level roles. It does not name who made the request.[^3] In December 2012 Rybak said he would not run for a fourth term.[^1] ## 2010 gubernatorial campaign Rybak filed papers for a campaign for [[Governor of Minnesota]] on November 5, 2009. About a month later he announced at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.[^1] He won the statewide precinct-caucus straw poll on February 2, 2010.[^1] At the DFL convention on April 24, 2010, he withdrew after six ballots and endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher. [[Mark Dayton]] went on to win the DFL nomination and the general election.[^1] ## Other work Rybak was the first mayor of a major U.S. city to endorse Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. In September 2011 he became one of five vice chairs of the Democratic National Committee.[^1] In May 2014, after leaving office, he joined Living Cities as senior advisor for municipal practice. Living Cities is a collaborative of 22 foundations and financial institutions whose members include Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley.[^1] ## Minneapolis Foundation MPR News reported Rybak's appointment as chief executive of the Minneapolis Foundation in May 2016.[^2] The project's master records the foundation's chief executive post as twice filled from public office. Hennepin County Administrator Vargas became chief executive in 2007. Rybak followed in 2016, moving from the mayor's office, and the master records him as still serving in June 2026.[^3] The master documents these roles for the foundation:[^3] - **State:** co-administration, with LISC, Meda and [[Propel Nonprofits]], of the [[Main Street Economic Revitalization appropriation]]. The master also records a documented "small grants → large public-dollar outcomes" leverage strategy that credits about $238 million in appropriations. - **Federal:** a December 2023 EPA Environmental Justice grantmaker role for Region 5. The master reconciles the award at $50 million as announced in December 2023, $52 million on the foundation's own program page, and $60 million at litigation. - **Litigation:** after the EPA terminated the funds in early 2025, the foundation and two co-grantmakers sued in April 2025. On June 17, 2025, a federal judge in Maryland found the termination arbitrary and capricious and ordered $180 million restored, a figure the master reconciles as three recipients at $60 million each. These events fall within the period the master records as Rybak's tenure as chief executive. The pack carries no court filing, docket number or agency document for the case, and it does not describe Rybak's personal role.[^3] ## Personal life Rybak lives in the East Harriet neighborhood of Minneapolis. Breck School gave him its Distinguished Alumnus award in 2002.[^1] He had a heart attack while cross-country skiing on January 4, 2014, and was treated with angioplasty and stents.[^1] He has a star on the outside mural of the First Avenue nightclub, one of the few non-musicians so recognized.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Rybak, a former Minneapolis mayor, became chief executive of the Minneapolis Foundation in 2016.[^3][^2] ### What - Rybak was mayor of Minneapolis before he became the foundation's chief executive.[^3] ### When - Rybak moved from the mayor's office to the foundation's chief executive post in 2016.[^2][^3] - The master records Rybak as still chief executive of the foundation in June 2026.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *R. T. Rybak* (revision 1353109543, retrieved October 26, 2026) — biography, election results, 2010 campaign, later posts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._T._Rybak [^2]: MPR News, *Rybak named CEO* (May 2, 2016) — reports Rybak named chief executive and president of the Minneapolis Foundation. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/05/02/rt-rybak-named-ceo-president-minneapolis-foundation [^3]: *How Minnesota Got Here* (merged master, footnoted; validated), "Power" passage and its notes 34–35 — personnel sequence (Vargas 2007; Rybak 2016, still serving June 2026); the foundation's city, state and federal roles; the EPA termination, the April 2025 suit and the June 17, 2025 ruling ordering $180 million restored. No URL in the pack.