Raymond Thomas Rybak Jr. (born November 12, 1955) is an American politician, journalist, businessman, and activist who served from 2002 to 2014 as the 46th mayor of Minneapolis.

The first mayor of a major U.S. city to endorse Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for president, Rybak was one of five vice chairs of the Democratic National Committee.

He became managing editor of the Twin Cities Reader, where he also launched Q Monthly, a local gay and lesbian newspaper.

In 1994, he was campaign manager for Tony Bouza, the former Minneapolis chief of police who unsuccessfully sought the DFL nomination for governor of Minnesota.

The group staged a memorable "pajama protest" in which area residents wore their nighttime clothes at the airport to show that they were losing sleep because of airplane noise.

[8] Rybak's mayoralty focused mostly on reducing crime, creating jobs, building affordable housing, and balancing the city budget.

He notably crowd-surfed while mayor, diving from the stage during a "Rock for Democracy" event at the Minneapolis club First Avenue in July 2004.

In his 2005 reelection campaign Rybak defeated challenger (and fellow DFLer) Peter McLaughlin by nearly 25 percentage points,[12] 61.5% to 36.7%.

[20] According to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rybak was the first mayor of a large U.S. city to endorse Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2007.

[23] The plan was met by community opposition, with both the DFL African American Caucus and the Minneapolis Urban League speaking out against it.

[26] Rybak's office regularly used social media including Twitter to alert followers to vital city information.

After leaving office, Rybak became executive director of Generation Next, an organization seeking to help close the achievement gap for minority students.

Living Cities, a philanthropic collaborative of 22 foundations and financial institutions, reported that Rybak was hired in May 2014 as a senior advisor for municipal practice.

[36] The mural recognizes performers who have played sold-out shows or otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the venue.