Former attorney who co-founded app running for Minneapolis mayor

A man who co-founded an app to help people navigate police traffic stops is running for mayor of Minneapolis.

Jazz Hampton and two friends quit their corporate jobs and created a company called TurnSignl after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. They developed an app that connects drivers with lawyers who can give them legal advice during traffic stops and after vehicle collisions.

Four years later, more than 170,000 people have downloaded the app, which puts them in touch with a network of lawyers in all 50 states. Some companies also offer the service as a benefit.

Hampton is a Twin Cities native who said he has “lived in the same 10-mile radius” his whole life. He was working as a lawyer when Floyd’s murder inspired him to be a part of the solution.

Now he wants to tackle what he calls “gridlock” at city hall. His priorities are education, housing and policing. Hampton is also an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and he and his wife have three children in Minneapolis public schools.

He sits on the board of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, where he says the “housing crisis is dire.”

Policing is a priority not just with regard to how police treat citizens but how successful police are, he said. He serves on the Great North Innocence Project board, where he was part of the legal team that helped get Marvin Haynes exonerated and released after serving nearly 20 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

As a small-business owner, ensuring their success is important, too, he said.

“There’s a lot of people asking for a fresh start,” in Minneapolis, he said.

The mayor and all 13 Minneapolis City Council seats will be on the ballot in November. Mayor Jacob Frey has said he intends to seek re-election, and among those challenging him are Council Member Emily Koski, state Sen. Omar Fateh and the Rev. DeWayne Davis.