A Minneapolis City Council member has given one of her opponents something to chew over — a piece of chewed gum.
Twenty-year incumbent Lisa Goodman took the gum out of her mouth and handed it to challenger Teqen Zea-Aida before the start of a candidate forum Tuesday.
Goodman asked Zea-Aida: “Would you take my gum, please?”
Goodman tells the Star Tribune she couldn’t find any paper to get rid of her gum and was just making a lighthearted comment. Zea-Aida wondered if Goodman was hinting he had bad breath and thought she was offering him gum.
Goodman says the challenger “looked at me like I was crazy,” and she took the gum back out of his hand. The council member says it was “a simple attempt at humor” and apologized.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.