The Wedge Times-Picayune

A reader tipped me off that Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Metro Transit’s former Police Chief Ernest Morales have wikipedia pages created by the same editor. Both pages were created in early 2023 and read like promotional material. Wikipedia does allow for paid editing but “does not allow promotion, advertising, marketing or public relations.”

Continue reading “Local Police Chiefs Enlisted IT Consultant to Create Their Wikipedia Pages”

Lisa Goodman’s seven terms on the Minneapolis City Council ended on Jan 1. Less than nine months later, she’s back at city hall. She started a new job Monday as the director of initiatives and partnerships — a new position created specifically for her.

What new things does a former council member who represented both Uptown and downtown since 1998 have to teach us about Minneapolis revitalization? We’re about to find out.

In Goodman’s 26 years on the city council she was known for wielding great power as chair of committees controlling economic development cash, being an unreserved police booster, and being a foe of safe streets and alternative transportation (she was the lone vote against the Transportation Action Plan).

This City Pages story from 2009 has all the Goodman classics: guiding development towards her friends and getting the city sued; threatening to defund a neighborhood group for not letting her use their email list; and going to great — possibly corrupt — lengths to help her dear friends build a wood-burning energy plant in the Phillips neighborhood.

One of Goodman’s last acts in her old job last December was to vote on the city’s 2024 budget that created her new job. The annual pay of $156,000 is roughly 140 percent of her old salary as a council member.

In an email last Friday, deputy city operations officer Brette Hjelle described Goodman as a “creative thinker with a penchant for bringing people together to get things done.” He said Goodman was hired after a months-long “rigorous and thorough interview process.”

But that can’t be true — I was told on Feb 1 that she’d be given this job. I posted about it four days later. That’s not enough time for a thorough, rigorous, months-long process.

Continue reading “Frey admin brings Lisa Goodman back to city hall; lies about having months-long, “rigorous and thorough” hiring process”

Political endorsements can be dicey. It often means putting a little bit of your reputation on the line for someone whose name you didn’t know until a few months ago. But not this one. My endorsement of Katie Jones for Minnesota House of Representatives in District 61A is strongly felt and easy to write.

Continue reading “Endorsement: Katie Jones for MN House District 61A”

At the August 13 primary election, voters in district 61A (map below) will get to choose which of three DFL candidates will replace retiring Minnesota House Rep. Frank Hornstein. I spoke with all of the DFL candidates a few months ago on the Wedge LIVE podcast: Katie Jones, Isabel Rolfes, and Will Stancil.

But they’ve sharpened their messages since then, so it’s worth checking out the League of Women Voters forum from Wednesday night. Below are some highlights from the forum.

Continue reading “MN House District 61A Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues”

We never thought this day would come. The transportation needs of car-free, low-income and disabled residents has become a top concern. Everyone across the region is in a panic over what happens if we fail these people. Did you think we meant transit riders? Sorry, no, we meant the Uber and Lyft situation.

But rideshare aside, many of us really are hoping for city leadership that follows through on ambitious commitments to affordable, safe, sustainable transportation. And Minneapolis is about to get a new Public Works director. Timothy Sexton is certain to be confirmed at a City Council meeting this Thursday.

Continue reading “New Hope for Public Works Leadership That Won’t Kneecap Transit”

It was more than five years ago that the nationally-heralded 2040 plan, with a vision of a dense pedestrianized city, was passed by a 12-1 vote of the City Council. But before that vote even happened, the city was taken to court by Smart Growth Minneapolis. This is an organization formed for the sole purpose of suing the city to stop modest upzoning (legalizing triplexes) in residential areas that had been restricted to single-family housing only.

SGM was founded by John Goetz of the personal injury law firm Schwebel Goetz & Sieben and borrows its name from a prominent national organization called Smart Growth America. But these two organizations hold views that are diametrically opposed – Smart Growth America disavows any connection to its Minneapolis namesake, says the lawsuit is “sad” and that the 2040 Plan is actually the definition of “Smart Growth.” Despite SGM having no environmental agenda apart from the one lawsuit, they have had success getting themselves labeled as an “environmental” group in news stories.

Continue reading “2040 Plan, Five Years Later: Pretend environmentalists say they’re not against density, this is about ethics in city planning.”

A draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza has been introduced and will be taken up by the Minneapolis City Council at a committee meeting on January 24. Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw has responded, in an opinion published in the Star Tribune, calling it “dangerous” and “divisive” — without pointing to any particular language in the resolution. She accused one colleague of language “clearly meant to incite violence.” A serious enough charge that you’d expect her to specify what had been said — but she didn’t. And she’s set a record for the number of days into a new term that a council member pretends to be offended and demands an apology from the council president.*

Continue reading “Delegitimizing Gaza Conversation Misses the Point”

In addition to all the other stuff scheduled to be on your 2024 ballot, Minneapolis voters may get to weigh in on another amendment to restructure city government. The Minneapolis Charter Commission (the authors of our new strong mayor form of government adopted in 2021) is currently discussing a proposal to strip the City Council of their power to confirm certain mayoral appointees. This could include the directors of departments like Public Works, CPED (planning), Civil Rights, Regulatory Services, Emergency Management, Health, and Tax Assessor. The number of council-confirmed roles could go from the current 12 to as few as five.

There’s no agreed upon proposal, nothing has been voted on, but this commission has a preference for concentrating power in the mayor’s office so let’s sound the alarm. This could be bad and you should pay attention.

Josh Martin and I discuss the issue in detail for this week’s episode of the Wedge LIVE Podcast, available wherever you listen. Or watch on YouTube:

Continue reading “Return of the Mayoral Power Grab”

Here’s an early start on the holiday theme of hope, peace, love, new year, and new beginnings. I bring you tidings of comfort and joy about Minneapolis local government in 2024.

Continue reading “There’s hope for Minneapolis City Hall in 2024”