Instead of returning home to Wisconsin after finishing, he decided to relocate to Minneapolis and began a drug business there.

He also became active in local Republican politics, winning election as Minneapolis comptroller in 1892 to 1894 and also serving on the park board.

[2] He was elected mayor in 1912, defeating Democrat Charles Gould and Socialist Thomas Van Lear.

[3] During his term as mayor, Nye was involved in a controversy over the exhibition of the film The Birth of a Nation in Minneapolis.

Nye eventually accepted a proposal to form a public censorship committee to review the film and to abide by their decision.