Max Theroux, an Eden Prairie High School graduate, is running for the Minneapolis City Council. Photo provided by Max Theroux
Max Theroux, an Eden Prairie High School Class of 2022 graduate, has big plans for himself.
Theroux is a senior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN), where he is studying economics and music. He is also running for the Minneapolis City Council’s Ward 2 seat, which covers many neighborhoods where university students live.
He said a conversation with his father, Jeff Theroux, inspired him to run. Before that, he had planned to seek office someday, but not this soon.
While on the phone with his dad, Theroux, 21, described his frustration with near-constant road construction in the Dinkytown neighborhood and said he wanted to know why it kept happening.
“I was just talking to my dad, and I was like, ‘I can’t believe they’re spending all this time and effort and money redoing these roads that seem fine, but they can’t fix these potholes and patches of sidewalk,’” Theroux said. “And he kind of offhandedly was like, ‘Well, you should run for City Council.’”
Theroux said that motivated him to file as a candidate.
The Ward 2 race will be decided in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, Minneapolis municipal election. In addition to Theroux, three other candidates are running in Ward 2: Michael Baskins, Shelley Madore and incumbent Robin Wonsley.
He said his youth should not be a roadblock in running for office. “It’s extremely crucial, now more than ever, for people my age to start getting involved in politics, because it impacts everybody’s life, whether they realize it or not,” he said.
While a student at Eden Prairie High School, Theroux said he participated in concert and marching band, where he played the euphonium, and worked for several years at Scheels in Eden Prairie Center. In college, he interned in the Minnesota State Senate for Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, and met legislative assistant Kevin Montresor, who is now his campaign manager.
Theroux was also a student senator at the University of Minnesota for 2½ years.
Aside from infrastructure issues such as potholes on Dinkytown roads, Theroux said he is concerned about public safety near the university.
Over the past several years, neighborhoods such as Dinkytown have seen an increase in crime, often involving large groups congregating. But as of 2025, crime has decreased, according to the city’s crime dashboard.
“It started off with just a lot of people congregating in that area, and by the end of it, there were police officers on every corner standing outside with bean bag guns, and they’d barricaded off streets,” Theroux said. “That just kind of made the situation worse.”
Theroux said he wants to implement oversight from police or community groups to mitigate such issues. He also said more recruitment for the Minneapolis Police Department is necessary.
Affordable housing is another issue Theroux cares about, both for college students and for people facing homelessness in the community. Introducing rent control policies to prevent rent increases every few years is an issue Theroux wants to explore.
Theroux said he also wants to prevent predatory developers from exploiting college students.
“Developers know students need to live around campus for the most part, and so that allows them to charge,” Theroux said. “I mean, the new place they just put in (The Standard at Dinkytown) is, like, $1,100 a month per person. That’s crazy for a college student.”
(Prices at The Standard range from about $650 to $1,800 per month, per person.)
Theroux said that although it is a busy time to be a student while also running for office, he has a team to help. As a senior, he will have only one semester left if he takes office in January.
“If I were to get elected, that would begin in January, when I would have one more semester left, at which point I have more Gen Eds left and can do online and kind of work my schedule around what it would need to be,” Theroux said.
Ward 2, home to the University of Minnesota and Augsburg University, has the largest student population in the state, according to the city.
With about half its residents being students, Theroux argues it’s time for one of them to have a seat at the table to represent their needs and perspectives.
Theroux said it is time for young people to get involved in politics.
“I’m a younger person getting involved. If you don’t believe that I have the experience to do it, then why did they let 21-year-olds run?” Theroux asks. “You can start voting at 18.”