Finding a Green Way to Govern

Every so often (and on a pretty regular basis actually) we get emails about what a good job some City staff person has done. Frequently these are about our police or fire department. This compliment was emailed into 311 and it was such a touchy and dramtic storyI wanted to share it with you. "Hello My name is Sally Smith and I wanted to take the time to let you know of my gratitude towards the firemen of station #2, and Raul Ramos of station #11. Some men from Station #2 were grocery shopping on Memorial day when my daughter Madeline, she’s 2, and I were shopping at Rainbow Foods at The Quarry. Although she’s had probably HUNDREDS of grapes, she was munching on some in the cart when I was pushing her around the store, and she started to choke on one. I did all that I remembered from my lifeguarding days 20 years ago to get that grape out, but no go. I turned and basically threw Maddy into the arms of a fireman who was shopping in our aisle I later found out this was Raul Ramos f...

As you've likely heard, outgoing Governor Tim Pawlenty has "unalloted" $2.7 billion in State spending, rather than negotiate with the DFL-controlled legislature to find a workable compromise that would both raise revenues and cut spending. Yet again, he has chosen to balance the State's books on the backs of local governments. Local Government Aid to Minneapolis will be cut by $8.5 million in 2009 and $21.3 million in 2010, for a total cut of $30 million through 2010. With the Governor’s action today, on top of his previous draconian cuts to LGA, the City of Minneapolis receives 43 percent less from the State than we did six years ago. The real kicker? The State of Minnesota is still using Minneapolis as a piggy bank. On top of the income tax the State collects from Minneapolis residents and workers, they take about $74 million off the top from our property taxes, and rake in $390 million in sales taxes generated in Minneapolis. Given what Pawlenty did today, t...

This morning, Public Works presented a draft of the City's first Pedestrian Master Plan to the Transportation and Public Works committee. I'm pleased to see this document, which the Council directed staff to create as part of the larger Access Minneapolis process. This marks the first time that the City has taken a comprehensive look at how our infrastructure and planning affect the walkability of our neighborhoods. I'm hoping that it will help us improve on the existing strengths in our pedestrian system, and close some of the gaps that I know are out there. My long-term goal is to get more people to choose walking over driving, to meet their daily needs. The current plan is a draft, and is now going out to the public to gather input. Staff has scheduled a public meeting on Thursday , July 16 , at the Minneapolis Central Library, with the following planned events: 5:30pm Walking Workshops 6:00pm Meeting 6:30pm Presentation I hope to see you there.

Minneapolis Police Department Assistant Chief Sharon Lubinski has been recommended by Senator Amy Klobuchar to be the next US Marshal for Minnesota. Congratulations to Sharon, and good luck in your new endeavor.

This afternoon, the Council took an important step toward a healthier, more sustainable, and more local food system. The Health, Energy and Environment (HEE) committee received and filed the fantastic Homegrown Minneapolis report and sent forward a resolution that puts Minneapolis on record supporting local food and will create a Homegrown Minneapolis Implementation Task Force to put into action the recommendations from the report. I was the lead author on this resolution, which was written primarily by my staff, and was joined by Council Members Glidden, Hodges, Hofstede, Remington, Schiff and Samuels as coauthors. The committee also passed an amendment I brought forward clarifying that I will co-chair the Implementation Task Force, and adding another Council Member to the group. I have heard from Council Member Diane Hofstede that she's interested in taking that seat. I look forward to putting my time and energy into this important and continuing work.

I agree with the cautious tone of last weekend's Star Tribune editorial on the proposed elimination of the Civil Rights office of investigations. They raise some good points about why local Civil Rights investigations are important and not necessarily a function that the State can adequately take on: - Minneapolis has our own Civil Rights ordinance. Our investigators are trained to work with it. Will state investigators understand it and effectively enforce it? If not, is there any reason for us to retain our ordinance, or should we cede not only investigations but the definition of Civil Rights violations to the State? - Minneapolis has a long history of leading on Civil Rights that goes back at least to Hubert Humphrey in the 1940s. If we give up our position of leadership - as the most diverse and one of the most progressive communities in the state - and instead follow the State's lead, what effect will that have on the future of Civil Rights for all Minnesotans? I oppose ...

Last Friday, the family of Ahmednur Ali, the young man shot last year in front of the Brian Coyle center on the West Bank, gathered at City Hall to protest the release of the young man charged with his murder. I share their pain and frustration, and welcomed them when they arrived. This case was particularly disappinting because we a credible witness had stepped forward, but at the last minute, decided not to testify. I spoke with the protester when the visited City Hall and committed to working with them to find more and better ways to encourage and support witneses you have the courage to step forward and to follow through and testify. I look forward to scheduling a meeting with some of the protest leaders in the weeks ahead. I'm thankful to groups like Students Against Violence for their organizing - I hope that more and more Somali youth will hear their positive message of hope, peace, and responsibility. The City's focus on youth violence prevention means, in part, that w...

This morning, the Council made a momentous decision: to use ranked choice voting in the municipal election this fall. It passed in the wake of yesterday's slam-dunk Supreme Court decision on a 10-2 vote. This decision is the culmination of years of effort on the part of many people, both inside the City enterprise and out. Here's a list of some of the major players and their contributions: - Council Member Elizabeth Glidden: chaired the Elections committee and shepherded ranked choice voting through the implementation process. - Former Elections Director Cindy Reichert: though never completely convinced that 2009 implementation was possible or advisable, still laid the groundwork for using ranked choice voting this fall. - FairVote Minnesota Executive Director Jeanne Massey: passionately, effectively and tenaciously pushed the City to put ranked choice voting on the ballot in 2006 and to implement this fall. Never lost sight of the goal and never doubted that, with a lot of ...

The City is moving forward with plans to sell the old Dania Hall Site on Cedar Ave and 5th. Earlier this week we held of first meeting of a newly formed advisory group to help navigate the process. We will be looking at both short term and long term solutions. To help with information sharing and planning efforts the City has set up a Dania Site website here . You can find the notes from the advisory committee meeting here . The West Bank Community Coalition is also hosting a meeting June 24 regarding the interim use of the site. Here is a flyer for the meeting. Joe Bernard is the City staff person heading this up and he is happy to take comments or questions. This is a very important parcel of land on a major commercial corridor in the community and is full of emotional and historical significance me and for many others. I recall some wonderful evenings performing in the Dania ballroom with my brothers in our old Rock band, the New Psychenauts, back in the 70s. It was a great traged...

As you can read here , the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the City (and our allies in this case, FairVote Minnesota) on the question of the constitutionality of ranked choice voting. Their decision leaves no doubt: ranked choice voting is constitutional. Congratulations and thanks are due to our great City Attorney and her staff, who did a fantastic job defending the City's position. Jim Dorsey, who represented FairVote pro-bono, did wonderfully as well. My colleague Elizabeth Glidden, who chairs the Elections committee, also deserves quite a bit of credit for shepherding this difficult issue to this successful conclusion. As I see it, the last impediment to using ranked choice voting in this year's election has been removed. I will be voting no on Council Member Barb Johnson's introduction of an ordinance declaring we're not ready to implement ranked choice voting this year. We will be ready , and we don't need two more weeks of confusion as to wheth...

The proposal to establish a new tax increment financing (TIF) district to help pay off Target Center debt and fund neighborhood revitalization activities will be coming up for review, possible amendments and final approval this summer. . The Plan can be found here . The Consolidated Redevelopment TIF District is being established in accordance with the legislation many of us worked so hard to get passed in 2008. I am a strong supporter of the TIF district and believe that it is essential to future funding of neighborhood controlled planning and revitalization efforts in Minneapolis. I am also concerned, that given the tough economic times and likely short falls in our City budget because of cuts to our local government aid I support funding Target Center debt relief, (which will help our general fund and lighten the load on property tax payers,) and neighborhood revitalization equally and will fight hard to ensure the neighborhoods get their share. The district will be comprised of all...