John Quincy disappears during Ward 11 candidate forum.
There was a city council candidate forum down in Ward 11 last night. This is one of a handful of pivotal and competitive council races in Minneapolis this year (1, 3, 5, 7 and 11 – and if you think Barb can be beat, add Ward 4 to that list).
Ward 11 doesn’t get a lot of attention and neither does their current council member, John Quincy. He’s affable. He’s inoffensive. He blends in. He finds the safe place to be. He’s not the first person who comes to mind when you think of The Council Members Roadblocking My Favorite Big Idea. But you won’t find him far behind, following the lead of the ones who are.
At the forum, Quincy made a case based on his status and committee assignments, which he attributed to “experience.” How has he used that acquired power to lead on important issues? I didn’t hear much of that.
Quincy has two opponents: Erica Mauter and Jeremy Schroeder. In a three person field you might look around and wonder, which one of these people is the crackpot? Not in Ward 11! Not this year!
In fact, both challengers come off as thoughtful and accomplished. Mauter is a former chemical engineer turned executive director of the Twin Cities Women’s Choir. Schroeder, as part of his experience working for non-profits, led the successful fight to end the death penalty in Illinois.
I appreciated that, without any prompting, both Mauter and Schroeder acknowledged zoning as a factor in housing affordability; that seems like a low bar (and it is) but it shows an openness to new ideas and a willingness to tackle a politically tough issue. Mauter even gave the Wedge a shoutout, saying it was a good thing they turned the former lumberyard adjacent to the Midtown Greenway into apartments (I’m easily impressed).
People might have a hard time remembering who their current council member is, but don’t forget the Ward 11 city council race this year. There are real choices here. Give these candidates a closer look ahead of next Tuesday’s caucuses.
Ward 10 City Council Member Lisa Bender took the the AM radio airwaves recently to talk about the neighborhoods she represents, housing, safe streets, and the 2017 election.
Selected clips below. Listen to the whole show here.
Peter Bajurny (left) is the man at the center of Post-It-Gate
A coalition of 18 Minneapolis neighborhood organizations has been privately working for months to pressure the City Council and other officials to delete a public comment they disagree with from a draft community engagement report published by the city. This is according to a leaked email provided by a person close to one of the neighborhood organizations involved.
A single sentence critical of neighborhood organizations was included in a draft report put together by the Department of Community Planning and Economic Development. The author of the comment, which said “Abolish City recognition of neighborhood organizations,” has come forward to reveal that his critical feedback was originally submitted on a post-it note.
A draft of the Phase 2 Engagement Report, which compiled all feedback into a 22-page pdf, was released on January 6th. You’ll notice the comment from the post-it note was one of many items included in a long list of themes. (You’ll also notice the very next comment is pretty complimentary of neighborhood groups.)
One of the “Engagement Goals” put forth in the document is that the public should feel “their input has been thoughtfully considered and sees their contributions reflected in the plan.” I’ve been in contact with the author of the controversial comment, Peter Bajurny, and he says he feels especially gratified to see his input thoughtfully considered and reflected in the plan.
Who are the villains trying to deny Bajurny his moment in the sun? A group of 18 Minneapolis neighborhood organizations having a collective freak-out over a post-it note. They’re upset about the inclusion of public feedback in a document intended as an accurate summary of public feedback.
An employee writing on behalf of a group of downtown neighborhood associations sent an 1100-word email to a wider group of Minneapolis neighborhood organizations, detailing months of ongoing effort to have the dissenting comment deleted from the draft report. The group hopes to eventually have a total of 40 organizations sign on to the effort to delete the comment.
The email calls the post-it note a “very big deal” and “not valid statistically.” It also includes the detail that neighborhood organizations are seeking an investigation: “We are also asking Councilmembers to find out how the comment got there.”
The email’s author recounts one particularly dramatic scene where “CPED staff Beth Elliott and NCR staff Christina Kendrick defended for 75 minutes” the inclusion of the sticky-note comment.
This story has all the makings of a big, dumb Minneapolis neighborhood scandal:
The director of the city’s NCR Department, David Rubedor, running scared from neighborhood organizations, feebly explaining the comment as a “computer glitch.” (You’ll remember, I tracked down the actual post-it to its actual author. His name is Peter Bajurny. Mr. Bajurny is not a computer glitch.)
A whistle-blower. Neighborhood groups were tipped off to the offending comment “by a member of an ‘internal work group'” which had discussions about the “appropriateness” of including a public comment in a report summarizing public comment.
The author of the leaked email claims Council Members Jacob Frey and John Quincy have committed in writing to have the comment removed from the final version of the report (update: Frey says this claim isn’t true). That would be a shame because, whether or not you agree with the feedback written on the post-it note, it accurately represents a viewpoint I hear expressed by many: Minneapolis neighborhood associations are highly political, sometimes vicious organizations, that tend to prioritize the concerns of property owners over the interests of diverse neighborhoods, despite being publicly funded. You should either want to reform what currently exists, or end the system entirely and start over with something better. Neither of those ideas is unworthy of discussion.
Despite the problems with these groups, they are politically powerful enough to have recently extracted $9.1 million in funding from the city council during the height of caucus season. Neighborhood groups shouldn’t be given the additional power to delete public feedback from a city report because they don’t like what it says. If these groups are to receive millions from the city, they should at least be subject to all the scrutiny, criticism and reform that you can fit on a post-it.
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Full text of the email sent to a number of Minneapolis neighborhood associations on behalf of a group of downtown neighborhood associations.
Dear Neighborhoods,
Here is where we are at.
We continue to pursue the Removal of ‘Abolish City Recognition of Neighborhood Organizations’ from the Phase II Civic Engagement Report for the Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan 2040. Some at the City believe it is not that big of a thing. We believe it is. We believe that to allow this sub theme under the Theme of Governance in a published City document is a very big deal. Especially when there was only one such comment out of 1,100. It is not valid statistically to elevate one comment to such a level. We are beginning now to reach out to Councilmembers to keep the comment in raw data and remove it from the Document. We are also asking Councilmembers to find out how the comment got there. It was not due to a ‘computer glitch’. There were internal workgroups synthesizing the comments and developing this report. We heard about this in early December from a member of an internal workgroup.
DMNA and CLPC on behalf of the DT Neighborhood Groups brought this item to the January NCEC meeting. We discovered this bullet point from a draft document sent to us out of concern by a member of an ‘internal work group’. There had been discussions by this internal workgroup member since early December – before it was a published draft – on the appropriateness to have this comment in this City draft document – with CPED and NCR staff. At the January NCEC meeting, no one on the Commission was aware of the inclusion of this bullet point in the report. The Commission moved to discuss this at their February meeting and bring City Planning/NCR staff in to explain how and why this occurred. During the Commission meeting, DMNA President Joe Taburino pulls up the City’s website and we find out the this Draft Document is already posted on the City’s website. Director David Rubedor was at this meeting.
The day after the NCEC meeting, even with all the expressed concerns and challenge to validity of this comment, the Draft Document gets sent out to thousands via Gov Delivery.
The Downtown Neighborhood Groups then developed the Resolution and began to circulate it to other neighborhoods they knew and/or worked with.
CM Lisa Goodman’s Policy Aide Patrick Sadler was requested by CLPC to find out how this Bullet Point got into the document. He talked to Director Rubedor who stated that it was a computer glitch, that CPED staff did not catch it, and that it would be taken care of.
The Resolution was presented at the February NCEC Meeting in advance of the discussion with City Planning & NCEC staff. Several neighborhoods and MCTC were present. We find out at the meeting, even though there were concerns expressed in January and even tho NCEC/NCR was to be working with CPED on this community engagement piece, the Draft document in debate had been finalized. CPED staff Beth Elliott and NCR staff Christina Kendrick defended for 75 minutes the inclusion of this statement to ‘Abolish city recognition of neighborhood organizations’ in the document. Beth Elliott stated that she could not remove language from a finalized document. Director David Rubedor was not present. The new Deputy Director was.
Thank you to Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, Citizens for a Loring Park, Jordan Area Community Council, Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association, East Phillips improvement Coalition, Waite Park, and Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association for attending the February NCEC Meeting.
The NCEC Commission moved the Resolution for further discussion to their Committee of the Whole meeting, to the March NRP Policy Board meeting, and to a vote at their March meeting.
We plan to be present at the NRP Policy Board meeting. Once a meeting is set up, we will notify everyone.
Then, last week we discovered that CPED is taking the Comp Plan work to date to City Planning /City Council for Interim Approval. We expect that this Civic Engagement report will at that time, be ‘Received and Filed’ with the Bullet point in it.
So, now we are moving to discuss this with Councilmembers and to get this Bullet Point removed from the published city document.
See conversation with CM Jacob Frey below.
DJ Heinle, is a Charter Commissioner and has been active with the North Loop Neighborhood. North Loop Neighborhood is a participant of the Downtown Neighborhood Group which authored the Resolution. The Minneapolis Charter is about the Governance of the City. Charter Commissioner DJ Heinle offered a Resolution to ‘Establish a workgroup to look at the role of neighborhood organizations in the City of Minneapolis.’ This motion passed 7-3. The process and composition of the Workgroup has not yet been established, but as an Official Work group of the Charter Commission, all meetings will be published on the Charter Website and open to the Public. There will be transparency. You can sign up for Charter Commission notices via Gov Delivery.
What needs to be done now:
If your neighborhood has not signed the Resolution yet, take it to your Board for approval, sign it and send me the date of your board approval and a copy of the signed Resolution. We will contine to update the Resolution as Boards approve it.
We presently have 18 Neighborhoods signed on. We would like a minimum of 40 neighborhoods signed by the March NCEC Meeting.
Contact your NCEC Commissioner about the NCEC Committee of the Whole meeting. Ask them to support the Resolution.
Attend the March 27 NCEC Meeting at 5:00 pm at the DT Library when the Resolution will be voted on.
Talk to your Councilmember!! They need to ensure that this bullet point is removed BEFORE this Civic Engagement Report is approved by City Council. So far we have a written commitment from CM Jacob Frey and CM John Quincy to pursue this on our behalf. We need the language removed. This is very important right now. Read the attached correspondance to this email.
Plan to Attend the April 1st Community Conndctions Conference. This is supposed to be ‘the time’ that Neighborhoods can give input to the Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan.
Know also that throughout this entire debate over the Civic Engagement Plan, the larger question is ‘Why have Neighborhoods who do and have done planning, not intimately involved with the 2040 Minneapolis Comp Plan development?’. NCR Neighborhood Specialists who have done neighborhood planning thruout 25 years of Neighborhood Revitalization are not involved and the NCR Staff assigned to the Minneapolis Comp Plan to represent all of us in this process is the NCR Access & Outreach Specialist for Senior Citizens.
Think about making these topics for discussion if you are planning any Mayoral or City Council Candidates Forums/Debates.
We will continue to keep you posted.
Jana Metge, CLPC Coordinator On behalf of the DT Neighborhood Group
Incumbent Kevin Reichused a photo of himself behind Alondra Cano in a campaign email intended to promote his commitment to “diversity.” This is a strange thing to do because Reich is out of focus in the background, and Cano wants nothing to do with his campaign.
@WedgeLIVE I was never asked by his campaign to approve this nor do I endorse him. Im disappointed his campaign used my image in this way
The poll, conducted in the Second Ward last week, was commissioned by Minneapolis DFL Chair Dan McConnell without consulting the central committee. The potential candidate who would run against Gordon is McConnell’s wife, Becky Boland, secretary of the Minneapolis DFL.
This is notable because the non-DFL Cam Gordon actually pushes for stuff that’s in the DFL platform, but actual DFLers Barb and Lisa Goodman roadblock. Also of concern is the fact that the DFL Chair is privately spending $2,000 on a poll to benefit his wife, while publicly saying the organization has barely enough money to pay for routine democracy, like caucuses and conventions.
There’s more certainty on Pierson’s website, where she says, “I support a $15 wage for full-time workers…” But then you come to the next paragraph, and she’s back to hedging, saying she’s “firmly committed to shaping this policy” to avoid “negative results.” If you happen to run into Pierson, you should ask her about the minimum wage.
If you find that you’re experiencing too much Barb during this election season, you could support one of Barb’s opponents: Phillipe Cunningham and Stephanie Gasca.
Can you tell the difference between Blong’s logo and a shopping bag?
Blong’s logo is a shopping bag.
Ward 7
I checked whether Lisa Goodman’s website matches reality. I have determined that Goodman hates your annoying garden.
Ward 9
When we last checked in on Ward 9—after the trouble at Gary Schiff’s pancake party—I was telling you to not get involved. Since then we’ve gone from pancakes to puppets. Here’s what Gary Schiff wrote on his campaign Facebook page, firing back at accusations from incumbent Alondra Cano that he had perpetrated puppet impropriety:
…the dates for puppet-making workshops are Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in April. The day of the convention is, in fact, the only Saturday before May Day that does not have a scheduled puppet workshop.
Ward 9 is expected to remain a hazardous area at least through April 4th. We see a high probability of “Open Letter” conditions on Facebook. We continue to recommend that civilian populations not get involved.
Looking ahead to March 8th, Lisa Bender will be hosting the Ward 10 Minneapolis Mayoral Forum. It might seem a little unusual for a city council member to host a mayoral forum, and to promote it with her campaign’s branding. Lisa Bender is an evil genius who’s gotten the candidates for mayor to appear with her, at her own event, giving the appearance they’re all endorsing her re-election (and they will surely regret it when Scott Fine gets his shit together).
Ward 13
Adam Faitek is mounting a late challenge to Linea Palmisano, a little more than a month away from the April 4th DFL caucuses. Faitek is positioning himself as the progressive alternative to Palmisano.
Scott Fine is running for Minneapolis City Council against Lisa Bender in Ward 10.
We’ll start with a few things about our current council member. I find this endorsement of Lisa Bender very persuasive:
In three short years, she has passed more progressive ordinances than other Council Members have managed to pass in two or three whole terms. Parking reform, ADUs, flexibility for homeless shelters, a nation-leading Complete Streets policy, parklets, sick and safe time, relaxing regulations for beekeeping… I could go on, but won’t.
The quality I appreciate most in a politician is the sense that they are running for office because they care about policies more than just the idea of getting elected. Lisa Bender cares about policy; she wants to make those policies happen; and she’s talented enough to have been successful making them happen in her first three years in office. Most importantly, she inspires enough confidence in her colleagues that they’re willing to follow her lead.
Lisa Bender has a challenger in the 10th Ward this year. His name is Scott Fine. His campaign Facebook page describes him as a web developer who’s lived and rented in Ward 10 since 1970.
Guy on twitter makes this observation:
@WedgeLIVE “I’m a web developer.” *Launches campaign with FB page only*
Fine highlights “Democratic Neighborhoods” as one of his top three issues. I’ve been covering neighborhood politics since the last election in 2013, and I have never come across Scott Fine.
It’s also notable that Scott Fine is from the Wedge neighborhood. Ward 10 has many neighborhoods, including CARAG, Whittier, ECCO, and East Harriet. But recently, all our council candidates are Wedge-based. Lisa Bender is from the Wedge. Lisa Bender’s predecessor, Meg Tuthill, is from the Wedge. We should be very proud of this. Other neighborhoods should be ashamed for making the Wedge neighborhood do all the council membering.
You might be wondering:
Is Scott Fine’s candidacy propped up by the forces of the Wedge Shitstorm? I’m pretty sure.
Has HGTV’s Nicole Curtis “stockpiled” her money to write a $600 check to his campaign? I wouldn’t count on Nicole Curtis to pay up on her promises.
(For Minneapolis election year news beyond Ward 9, read this post.)
Gary Schiff announced his campaign to challenge Ward 9 Council Member Alondra Cano a little more than a week ago. Schiff held the Ward 9 seat until running for Mayor in 2013. Since his announcement, a series of open letters have been addressed to Schiff on Facebook questioning the legitimacy of his candidacy.
(Please note: Wedge LIVE isn’t getting involved in Ward 9.)
On Sunday, Schiff held his campaign kickoff/pancake party/birthday bash (happy birthday, Gary!). The event was attended by a handful of Alondra supporters, who refused to eat pancakes–but did pass out a printed copy of a “Dear Gary” letter originally posted to Facebook.
In the aftermath, Mayoral candidate and current Ward 3 Council Member Jacob Frey (who by all accounts did partake in pancakes), became embroiled in the controversy. A Facebook user who says he was among the people distributing the letter, alleges Frey checked the “endorse” box on the sign-in sheet at Shiff’s event. Frey denies endorsing Schiff.
Again, Wedge LIVE is advising readers to steer clear of dangerous conditions in Ward 9.
@IanAlltyr – didn’t endorse. Was there for his birthday as he’s a friend and I respect him.
Ward 9 Fact: The Hennepin County emergency sirens that sound off at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month are intended to warn local residents of the threat posed by getting involved in Ward 9. Continuing Coverage: Ward 9 Logo Disaster New Gary Schiff Design Evokes Image of Man Beaten to Death With His Own Birthday Pancakes
CAUTION: After reading the Ward 9 update, you may be tempted to get involved–do not do so.
First, a public service announcement: City Council incumbents of varying degrees of bad are being challenged in Wards 1, 4, 5, 7, and 11.
DFL caucuses are April 4th. Consider donating, volunteering and–especially–caucusing for one of the challengers in these races. 2017 is your last chance to decide which candidates get to spend the next four years making decisions about police reform, transit, zoning, bikes, and whatever other local stuff you care about.
City government is the easiest level of politics for one person (you!) to have an impact. This is your moment!
Like the above races, Ward 9 is also competitive, but Wedge LIVE is advising the civilian population to evacuate the area. Do not get involved in this conflict. For details, read the Ward 9 update.
Yes Barb spends over $7100 in campaign funds on those things every year, but doesn’t pay anyone to file her reports on time. pic.twitter.com/cKguzYEF88
In Ward 7, Lisa Goodman has the biggest bank account of all the City Council incumbents. Fortunately, Janne Flisrand is challenging Goodman. Janne is the only candidate endorsed by Wedge LIVE.
Here’s how Goodman is making her case to Ward 7 residents:
Lisa Goodman will probably spend $200,000 this year telling you how progressive she is, then spend 4 years acting like she never said it. pic.twitter.com/KpPhj7SmjA
The vacuum left by Frey in Ward 3 has been filled by a steady stream of candidates, most notably by Steven Fletcher (DFL), Cordelia Pierson (DFL), Samantha Pree-Stinson (Green Party), Ginger Jentzen (Socialist)–and many, many more. The problem: nobody in the Ward 3 clown car is named Anton Schieffer. Schieffer is a nationally regarded YIMBY icon and fitness celebrity with over a decade of cyber security experience.Please join the “Draft Anton” movement by tweeting any of the following images using the hashtag #time4anton.
“Transgender candidates for Mpls. City Council seek a voice at the table.” The Star Tribune has a story about Phillipe Cunningham (Ward 4) and Andrea Jenkins (Ward 8). Neither wants to focus their campaigns on the fact that they are transgender, but both are aware of the historical significance of their candidacies. Mohamud Noor is reportedly challenging Ward 6 incumbent Abdi Warsame. Drama.
Snow emergencies are a big deal here in Minneapolis. You hear about it on the TV news. There’s an app–tens of thousands of people have installed it on both iPhone and Android (“avoid the cost and hassle of a ticket and tow…”). People are very interested in not having their cars towed, so people become very interested in moving their cars to designated areas.
The reason the City of Minneapolis makes a big fuss and puts so many residents at risk of serious personal cost, inconvenience and unhappiness is that we’ve collectively decided to make it a priority to keep our streets plowed and safe. Individually, people comply with the rules because their personal interests (money and property) have been aligned with public safety (plowed streets).
Snow emergencies coincide with, but fail to address, another public safety issue: snow and ice-covered sidewalks. In good weather, we brag about walkable neighborhoods and bike lanes and transit investments; when it snows, we fail hard on the the basic thing that is the foundation of all the rest: functioning sidewalks.
Unsurprisingly, the people most reliant on safe sidewalks are often those with the least power and money in our city: people without cars; people who walk a few blocks to the bus stop or the store; people with disabilities or limited mobility. Nobody comes to rescue them in a snow emergency.
Sidewalk users are at the mercy of property owners. In my experience, most are meeting their obligations, but in the days and weeks after a snow emergency, there are at least a handful of dangerously iced over properties on every block in my south Minneapolis neighborhood. Even if a majority of a block is cleared, some portion is still dangerously choked with ice.
I have good boots, legs that are long and strong (I am widely regarded as a hunk), and yet even I have slipped and fallen on icy sidewalks. Older people, those susceptible to falling or injury, people whose long-term health depends on not being shut away in their homes for months at a time–these people can’t afford the risk we put them in year after year.
The system Minneapolis currently uses to resolve sidewalk snow and ice issues relies on citizen reports to 311, followed by multiple letters from the city to the property owner explaining their obligation, and can take up to 21 days to resolve. The ice is likely to melt before it results in the city sending a crew to clear the sidewalk and bill the property owner for the cost. This system isn’t working
Another reason our current 311 reporting system isn’t working: hopelessness. The sheer volume of non-compliance, coupled with the demoralizing ineffectiveness of enforcement (not to mention the frozen-ness of my fingers before I can tap out an address on my phone) creates a loop where it feels pointless to report. Ineffective enforcement leads to less reporting leads to even less enforcement.
The system we have doesn’t work because there is too little incentive to comply. Here’s how we might create a sense of urgency: any property owner who hasn’t shoveled within a reasonable time-frame (24? 48 hours?) should be at risk of immediately having their sidewalk shoveled by a city-hired crew and receiving a bill for the cost. Even if there are logistical barriers to making this a guaranteed outcome for every case, it should at least weigh on people’s minds as a possible consequence of not meeting their obligation.
If Minneapolis is going to continue to rely on individual property owners to clear snow and ice from sidewalks, then the city needs to communicate an Oh no, what if my car gets towed? level of urgency.
