Tensions are high in the lakes area of Minneapolis, home to many of the city’s wealthiest residents. But it’s not all bad news: I became Officially Minnesotan™ after I saw a man shove Walter Mondale’s son, Bill Mondale, at Saturday’s Ward 7 DFL Convention.
On stage in a Bryn Mawr school auditorium, midway through the convention, Minneapolis Council Member Katie Cashman tried to ease tensions and win over the crowd by touting the fact she voted for the new police union contract in 2024. An indignant man called out that she was lying. And my friend Hot Dog Larry Jacobs (aka Jason Garcia) had to assure him, yes, Cashman really did vote for that contract. But the man wasn’t buying it.
That’s right, a local media figure best known for wearing a hot dog costume on YouTube has a firmer grasp on reality than your average high-income, high-information(?) lakes area convention-goer. It’s gotten so bad that my friend in Ward 7, a former girl scout, clips articles before leaving home in order to combat misinformation.
Much has been said about a leftward drift in Minneapolis. But in case you haven’t noticed: police, crime, and the trauma of the last several years are being used to elect council members who are more conservative than voters might otherwise find acceptable. While the people using law and order as a wedge are clamoring for more “moderate” politics, they’re actually hollowing out the city’s progressive middle.
Katie Cashman has supported renter protection policies, but she’s rejected rent control. She voted to make MPD among the highest paid police in the country, but she doesn’t engage in fear politics or mindless police boosterism. Cashman’s also shown a commitment to building out the city’s comprehensive public safety responses — and a willingness to scrutinize Mayor Frey’s administration as they’ve struggled to manage that system.
Cashman’s opponent, Elizabeth Shaffer, is running to represent a 65% renter ward while flat-out rejecting the idea of any additional renter protections. The hope from Cashman’s perspective is that more of those renters show up in November than they do at a May convention.
That’s not to say Shaffer wasn’t delivering a message well-calibrated to win over the 222 delegates it took to earn the DFL endorsement. This room loved her. The applause when Shaffer tagged the city council for “vilifying” businesses felt like it would take the roof off.
I’m guessing Shaffer’s “vilify” comment was meant to reference last year’s debate over a Labor Standards Board. That proposal would have created an advisory body to recommend labor protections to the council — but it was vetoed by Mayor Frey. An advisory board doesn’t seem like a war on business to me.
Shaffer is currently the district 4 commissioner on the Park Board. In that role she’s been accused by the park workers union of supporting union-busting tactics during contract negotiations. Shaffer’s defense at the convention is that she did ultimately vote for the new contract.
Shaffer has voted for parking over park space for the Mall in Uptown — recently turning down free money from the Met Council that would have expanded trees and green space. She ignored the recommendations of park board planning staff and a community engagement process. In another case she voted to turn down free money from Hennepin County that would have added badly-needed ADA access to the Midtown Greenway.
Katie Cashman has served as Ward 7 council member for a year and four months. This is the same brief period of time that’s coincided with a drop in violent crime and an increase in police staffing. Cashman’s predecessor Lisa Goodman served for 26 years until the end of 2023.
It’s not clear what Shaffer is offering on public safety that isn’t already underway. MPD has seen its budget increase by $50 million since 2022. I haven’t heard her say she thinks that $230 million annually for MPD isn’t enough, or that we should raise taxes to spend more than Mayor Frey (the person singularly in charge of police) has requested.
Shaffer is unwavering in her defense of the status quo. She’s shown hostility to some pretty standard-issue DFL progressivism. As we move on to the general election in November, what’s Elizabeth Shaffer’s upside? Harsher vibes?
Candidate speeches and Q&A session from Saturday’s convention: