Finding a Green Way to Govern

Yet again in the United States, a single man has massacred innocent strangers in a public place.  This time, twenty young children and six adults were killed. This event has shocked our nation, but it is tragically unsurprising.   We have grown accustomed, in this country, to hearing about horrific mass killings.  We even have a naming convention, in which the community's name becomes forever associated with the horror: Aurora, Tucson, Fort Hood, Wisconsin Sikh Temple, Virginia Tech.  Sandy Hook simply joins that painful list. We have grown even more accustomed to the daily toll of lives lost to gunfire in our communities.  It is not common for so many children to die to a single gun in the hands of a single man, but children all over this country are killed by guns almost  every day .  Just a little less than weeks before Sandy Hook, I stood with grieving family members and shocked neighbors for a vigil for just one beautiful child killed by a...

On December 26, 1862 the mass execution of 38 Dakota, the largest in the history of the United States, occurred in Mankato, Minnesota. It was part of the genocide of the Dakota people in Minnesota and the United States. This morning, December 14, 2012,  City Council unanimously passed a resolution, signed by the Mayor, that will help us move one small step closer to addressing the grave injustices done to the Dakota people in Minneapolis and Minnesota over the years. It calls for a year of remembering, honoring and truth-telling to help us understand and rectify the wrongs that were perpetrated during, and since, 1862 on the Dakota People and designates“The Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth-Telling,” from December 26, 2012 to December 26, 2013. Here is the text. ====================== RESOLUTION  of the CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS By Lilligren, Gordon, Reich, Hofstede, Johnson, Samuels, Goodman, Glidden, Schiff...

Addressing climate change may be one of the most important things we can be working on next year. I am very excited about the new Climate Action Plan the city is currently drafting that will measure the impact of current City efforts and develop new initiatives that will focus on transportation, buildings and waste. The draft goals and strategies are available for public comment and we are asking people to take a short survey on them to provide feedback. The survey  will be available through December 14th. Please consider taking the survey and feel free to drop me a note letting me know what you think about the goals and strategies so far. Help make this a strong, aggressive plan. You can find more information on the Climate Action Plan  here .

This morning, the Council unanimously passed a resolution  calling on the federal government to shifting its funding priorities from military operations to meeting the needs of local communities.  This resolution was sponsored by the Minnesota Arms Spending Alternatives Project , (MN ASAP), an organization headed by Second Ward resident, peace activist and author Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Saint Paul had already passed a similar resolution, and the campaign will be asking for Duluth and other Minnesota cities to follow suit.  There is also a robust and growing list of endorsers  that includes churches, nonprofits, and individuals. The resolution we passed this morning is entirely in keeping with House Resolution 733 , authored by Fifth District Congressman Keith Ellison, which calls for a solution to the fiscal crisis our country faces that cuts the military budget but leaves essential spending for our communities unscathed. For much of the past decade, we have bee...

This is an exciting day for Minneapolis Open Streets events.  This morning, the Council unanimously approved accepting a $50,000  " Play Streets " grant from the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to do four Open Streets events next year (one per quadrant of the city), and a resolution to formally cosponsor those events and commit to covering up to $50,000 in public costs.  Minneapolis is one of only 10 cities around the country to receive this grant. Open Streets events temporarily close major commercial corridors to cars for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday, and open the street up to walking, bicycling, and other forms of physical activity and enjoyment.   The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition has sponsored three Open Streets events in Minneapolis so far: on Lyndale Ave S in June of 2011 and 2012, and on Lowry Ave N in September of 2012.  Many other cities both in the US and around the world hold Open Streets-style events, calling them Cic...

As you can read here , a Second Ward two-year-old nam ed  Neejnco Xiong  was accidentally shot to death yesterday by his four-year-old brother. I cannot begin to express how tragic this is and how devasting it must be the child's family.  My thoughts and prayers go out to them all. Let's commit ourselves to make sure this kind of tragedy is not repeated again. It seems that this child's father brought a handgun into his home for "personal protection."  It sounds like the gun was stored loaded and unlocked, which Minneapolis Police were right to point out is against state law . There is a vigil for Neenjco this Saturday , December 8th , at 3:00 pm on the 1900 block of South 7th Street. There is some question as to whether the gun owner was told in his gun safety training that he could store the weapon in this loaded and unlocked state.  Protect Minnesota is calling for  an investigation by Public Safety Commissioner Ramona Dohman int...

On November 19, a Saint Catherine's University student sexually assault in Riverside Park on the West Bank.  A suspect description was obtained and a composite sketch was developed and distributed to the media. This past Tuesday, a man named Louis Richard Oliver was arrested near Region's Hospital in St. Paul, after having been reported "approaching females" near their parking lot.  He matched the sketch from the victim's description, and was interviewed by Minneapolis police.  He has been charged with the sexual assault on the 19th. This is good news for the Riverside Park area, and I hope it will bring some closure to the victim.

This morning, the Council unanimously approved the Mayor's appointment of Janee Harteau to head the Minneapolis Police Department.  I strongly supported her appointment, and congratulate her on this new chapter in her career. I was struck, during the public hearing earlier this week at the Council's Public Safety committee, by the number of West Bank residents and business owners who were so thankful for Janee's service as first a Sector Lieutenant and then Inspector of the First Precinct that they came down to speak on her behalf: Todd Smith, owner of Nomad World Pub and President of the West Bank Business Association Russom Solomon, owner of the Red Sea Bar and Restaurant and head of the West Bank Safety Committee Lynn Johnson, Riverside Park resident  Rosemary Knutson, Riverside Park resident and past president of the West Bank Community Coalition New Chief Harteau's passion and competence have made a lasting impression on folks from the West Bank, and I k...

The Minneapolis Food Council is holding an Open House tonight ,  December 5 , from 5:30-9pm at East Phillips Park Cultural and Community Center, 2307 17 th Ave S.   Participants will hear an update on Minneapolis’ progress with urban agriculture initiatives, hear from two urban farmers and weigh in on possible future policies and programs.  The open house will include an information fair with organizations that support urban agriculture; lessons on composting, gardening and beekeeping; and a discussion on the future work of the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council. Sisters Camelot will serve a light dinner from 6-7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and there's still time to  RSVP .

Channel 6 news, KAAL, has run what appears to be an unfortunate story about the Red Sea bar's request for a liquor license upgrade.  I know this business well and have been following this closely and want to use this blog to add some  pertinent facts that didn't make it into the story. The story states that " As it stands now the city isn't accepting public comment on this issue," but fails to note that this is because the formal public hearing on the license upgrade was already held, on November 5th.  Many West Bank stakeholders, both businesses and residents, came to testify on the Red Sea's behalf.  Exactly no one came to speak against the license upgrade.  (It's interesting to note that many of those who came to speak are practicing Muslims and do not generally support drinking establishments.)  Here's the list of West Bank folks who showed up to speak in favor: Todd Smith, owner of the Nomad World Pub Ahmed Hassan, resident and Executi...

I am aware of many concerns related to significant delays in west Seward, in the new Precinct 2 of Ward 6, that voted at Seward Square Apartments. In my view, this situation was created by the Charter Commission’s decision to redistrict west Seward into Ward 6 putting the Ward 6 portion of Seward is in two different legislative districts, necessitating that the two areas be in different precincts of unequal size.  Precinct 6-2 ended up very oddly-shaped as a result, with a long "panhandle" between Franklin and I-94 that stretches all the way to 20th Ave.  More analysis below the fold.

Thanks to everyone for voting on November 6. And thanks to everyone who got involved in the elections, volunteering for campaigns, talking to neighbors, writing, calling, knocking on doors, putting up signs or helping out on election day as a judge, ride giver or as part of an effort to "get out the vote." I believe that your participation in our democracy is vital to health of our city, state and country. Turnout in Minneapolis and in the Second Ward was very high. I am very pleased that both of the constitutional amendments – to ban same-sex marriage and require voters to have a photo ID – failed yesterday. I’m proud that the City Council took a strong, unanimous stand against both amendments, and that the Second Ward voted so conclusively against them. 84% of Ward 2 residents voted against the marriage amendment, and 81% voted against the voter ID amendment I congratulate all those people elected on Tuesday and look forward to working with them all, but especially t...

I want to call this to your attention from the John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence and Research.  It is a report and extensive review of research about reforming gun regulations to address the serious public health problem they pose. It opens with these sentences: "More than 31,000 people a year in the United States die from gunshot...wounds. Because victims are disproportionately young, gun violence is one of the leading causes of premature mortality in the U.S. In addition to these deaths, in 2010, there were an estimated 337,960 nonfatal violent crimes committed with guns, and 73,505 persons treated in hospital emergency departments for non-fatal gunshot wounds." I encourage folks to look it over.

While doing some research on the history of marriage in the United States, I learned that in 1958 Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter decided to get married, but because Mr. Loving and Ms. Jeter were different races, their marriage was illegal in their home state of Virginia. So, the couple went to Washington, D.C. and got married, but, after returning home, they were arrested because living together as a married couple was also illegal in Virginia. They were subsequently convicted of violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924. A Judge ordered them to leave the state and not return for 25 years or spend one year in jail. They returned to Washington, D.C., but in 1963 took their case to Court. Their case, Loving vs. Virginia, eventually made it to the Supreme Court and resulted in the historic decision that made all U.S.  antimiscegenation laws illegal in 1967. As Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote then: "The freedom to marry has long be...

Our Equity in Employment efforts at the city are getting some national attention. A recent article  in PolicyLink 's "America's Tomorrow" newsletter says, " Minneapolis recently became the first city in the nation to adopt a resolution promoting racial equity in employment." We are expecting to get an update on progress made so far next Wednesday, the 24th, at the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Health committee meeting that starts at 1:30. The agenda and staff report should be posted online here soon. I believe this will be the 7th item on the agenda: “Equity in Employment in Minneapolis and the Region: Receive and file update report on Council Resolution 2012R-456 Supporting Equity in Employment in Minneapolis and the Region.” It will likely include a staff presentation with a first draft of an equity “tool kit.” Time for the committee members to ask questions and discuss the presentation and issue will also be provided. It would be helpful fo...

As you can read here , a location in the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial (or SEMI) area of the Second Ward is at the top of the list of locations Surly Brewing Company is considering for their new brewery and taproom. They will be applying for environmental remediation grants to deal with significant soil contamination of this land, which is fairly standard for the use of industrial land, especially on or near old railroad corridors. I am very supportive of this idea, and have encouraged City Economic Development staff to help in any way we can - though, to their credit, they've needed little encouragement.  Staff are as excited about the prospect of Surly making Minneapolis home as I am.  When  Surly moves to the SEMI area, it will bring a large number of good paying jobs to the Second Ward, increase the vitality of not only SEMI but the University Avenue corridor, and represent one of the first major employers attracted by the Central Corridor LRT. I look forward ...

This is good news: the Minnesota Department of Commerce has rejected Xcel's request to scrap the popular and successful Solar Rewards rebate program.  The Commerce Commissioner's reasons for requiring Xcel to keep Solar Rewards in place sound a lot like the City's position that I wrote about back in August.  Solar Rewards will remain in place for the next three years, though at a smaller rebate subsidy than before. Again, this lack of commitment to solar energy and building a viable, sustainable solar industry in Minneapolis and Minnesota is one of the reasons I think we ought to keep our energy options open .

Six people were killed on September 27 in a hand gun shooting in a Minneapolis business. Another four people were wounded in a separate shooting on the same day when someone shot into their home. My thoughts and prayers go out the victims, their families, co-workers and other community members devastated by these terrible crimes. These are all too common in our country, our state and our City. Each time it reminds me how important it is for us to work harder to prevent future acts of violence and address this epidemic of gun violence head on. I don't understand why it is so hard for us, as a nation, to unite to look at how science, education, regulation and technology can help address this public health crisis. To jump start that effort and secure the funding that it will require we should increase the tax on guns and amunition. There is already a federal excise tax on bullets and sporting arms (11 percent) and handguns (10 percent). The tax goes into the Pittman-Robertson Fun...

This is an update about a tragedy that occured in the Ward several months ago.  Wesley Gubbin, the driver who hit and killed a bicyclist named  Thomas Malloy on West River Parkway, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison. According to witnesses, Gubbin was speeding down the oncoming lane of the parkway in order to pass other drivers who had conscientiously stopped for Mr. Malloy to cross the street.  He did not stop after hitting and killing Mr. Malloy. It's good to see that there have been consequences in this case, and I hope it is a reminder to the rest of us to drive carefully and cede right of way to pedestrians and bicyclists.  Keeping everyone safe is worth taking a little extra time.

In an ironically well-timed announcement the same morning that the Council was gutting civilian oversight in Minneapolis, we're hearing that there will be no consequences for the officers involved in the Drug Recognition Evaluator  (or DRE) controversy.  According to the Hennepin County Attorney, there is insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against the officers involved.  I have not heard anything about the officers involved being disciplined in any other way, and I doubt that they will be. So, to recap: Several young people go on record alleging that officers involved in the DRE program provided them with illegal drugs, via a video shared on the internet.  No one takes any action until an unnamed police participant in the DRE program corroborates the allegations, triggering an investigation.  That investigation is complete, and no action will be taken.  Did the young people who made the initial allegations and the police officer who cam...

I t's a sad day for Minneapolis.  Our decades-long experiment in civilian oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department has been ended by a 7-6 vote of the Council. The dismantling of the Civilian Review Authority (CRA) goes far beyond what was necessary to respond to the Legislature’s recent actions to hobble the CRA.  The CRA has been scrapped and replaced with a new "civilian oversight" process completely dominated by the police. A growing reluctance for people to bring complaints forward and a renewed erosion of public trust in the police will likely follow. There are many problems with the changes that passed the Council today.  If someone was treated badly by a Minneapolis police officer before today's  change, they could choose to have their complaint investigated by a civilian and sent to a board of civilians for their recommendation to the Chief.   After today's change, a complainant will no longer have any choice.  Their complaint may be in...

One of the pieces of literature I handed out during Welcome Week activities last week along with City staff and folks from the U of M was this "Grade Your Living Space" piece, prepared by the Minneapolis Inspections Department. The last point of this otherwise good piece asserts that open porches can NOT have "couches, lazy-boys (sic), or any type of indoor furniture." The problem with this is that it's not, well, true. Such a prohibition was definitely proposed by Council Member Hofstede in 2009.  But as you can see here (scroll to page 328) or here , or here , or here , this ordinance did not pass.  In fact, it failed by a wide margin, with nine Council Members voting against it and only four voting for it. This isn't the first time I've heard about Inspections using this non-law for enforcement activities.  Earlier this year, a constituent of Council Member Schiff was given a violation order from the City that attempted to require her to rem...

After a very good discussion at the Council's Committee of the Whole this morning, the committee  voted to create a new Utility Franchise Work Group to assist the City in preparing for negotiations regarding our electric and natural gas franchise agreements with public utility companies.    I am one of the four Council Members who have been appointed to this Work Group.    Among its tasks, the work group will develop a set of policy principles that will guide the city in its franchise discussions; review and consider potential legislative and/or other regulatory changes and consider formal support for these changes on the City’s state legislative agenda; and develop a community engagement program.   I am very supportive of having this conversation, and exploring all of our options: renewing the franchise agreements, renegotiating them to include more green energy and energy efficiency, or starting the process to become a municipal power utility .

This month, Environment Minnesota is bringing former Boulder, Colorado Mayor Susan Osborne to Minneapolis for a  Green Ideas and Ham  discussion on municipal power.   This should be a fascinating and timely conversation, given that Minneapolis’ franchise agreements with Xcel Energy and Centerpoint Energy expire in 2014.  Susan was on the Boulder City Council from 2007-2009, and served as Mayor from 2009-2011.  She also served as a planner in Boulder for decades. The event is on  Tuesday ,  September 18 th , 8:00am, at the Red Stag Supper Club, 509 1st Avenue NE. Last year, the people of Boulder took a major step towards democratic control of their energy options.  They voted to authorize their city government to form a municipal power utility, provided that it could keep rates as low or lower than the incumbent utility, reliability as good or better, and make significant progress on clean energy and energy efficiency.  Their incumbent uti...

A resolution, "Supporting Equity in Employment in Minneapolis and the Region," that I am co-authoring will be coming for approval to the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Health Committee tomorrow, on August 22 at 1:30pm. Time for a public comment will be provided. The resolution declares that racism, discrimination and racial employment disparities in Minneapolis are serious problems that must be solved. It commits the City government to lead by example and better incorporate racial equity into City policies and, if approved, it would direct the City Coordinator, Community Planning and Economic Development Director and the Civil Rights Director to engage with other department heads, staff and our Workforce Council to develop and implement an Equity Assessment Toolkit to inform city decisions including those related to the budget, hiring, promotion, contracting and purchasing. It also directs staff to assess and implement where appropriate, the other recommendations of the E...

The Civil Rights Department, in conjunction with the Police and City Attorney’s Office, have proposed a major change  (scroll to item 9) to the Civilian Police Review Authority (CRA).   If passed, the CRA would essentially cease to exist, and be replaced by an advisory board to the Police Department.   Internal Affairs and the Civilian Review investigatory functions would basically be merged.    The current CRA board is not supportive of this proposal, and has recommended its own improvements to the civilian review process.   Though I understand the problems this proposal is attempting to solve – including the Legislature and Governor’s recent terrible decision to prohibit our CRA from making findings of fact, and the fact that the CRA cannot communicate its disposition of complaints – I have serious concerns about merging the police department’s internal affairs with the civilian review authority and making the citizen/civilian component adviso...

In case you missed it, the Star Tribune has run a very good article by Eric Roper on the Unisys contract.  I have been very troubled by the close relationship between past leadership in the City's BIS (now called IT)Department and Unisys, and those concerns are confirmed by the information Eric has dug up. The bottom line, for me, is that for too long we have accepted the conservative, Reagan-era lie that government can't do things well.  We have outsourced essential City functions in ways that I don't think those who came before us would have been quite so eager to accept.  Small and underutilized local firms are crowded out by this one large, powerful corporation, undermining the City's efforts to create jobs, especially for women and people of color.  We're giving tens of millions of dollars to Unisys, without adequate oversight for me to be confident that we're getting our money's worth.  Remember, we're in a time of limited resources, and the Cit...

People in Minneapolis can now request City services any time of day through a free application on their smartphone and similar devices. So far ten common service requests are available, including those related to folks will be able to report issues to Minneapolis 311 related to abandoned vehicles, graffiti, parking meters, parking violations, potholes, traffic signals and broken street lights. More will be added soon. The Global Positioning System (GPS) will provide the location of the service request and people will also be able to submit a photo to add more detail to their request.

The Council took a strong position earlier this year opposing the Republican attempt to write bigotry into the Minnesota Constitution through the anti-marriage amendment. Today, the Council had to respond to an open-ended fishing expedition for all communications having anything to do with the effort to defeat that terrible ballot measure, by none other than erstwhile Michele Bachmann staffer Andy Parrish . Here's just one of the narrowly tailored requests our office spent an hour and a half of taxpayer-funded time responding to: "Any communication or contact between any combination of the following individuals, their staff, and the identified organizations (including officers and staff) that relates to the proposed constitutional amendment to recognize marriage: Mayor, all current City Council Members, the City Administrator, County Administrator, the City Attorney's Office, and any city established Human Rights Committee or other committees, Project 515, Minnesotan...

The Council has passed an ordinance, supported by the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee, which bans coal tar-based sealants from being sold or used on any driveway or parking lot in Minneapolis.  The purpose of this ban is to keep Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons – toxic chemicals present in coal tar sealants but not alternative sealant products – out of our lakes, streams and river.  I enthusiastically supported this ordinance, and commend Council Member Colvin Roy for taking the lead on it.

The Council has voted to require all large block events and all parades and races on Minneapolis streets to recycle. The changes are designed to reduce the amount of trash being generated at these events. Beginning next year, organizers of any block event with more than 2,500 in attendance and any parade or race that uses City streets will need to have a written recycling plan for the collection of all paper, cardboard, and plastic, glass and metal containers. I was very supportive of this initiative by Council Member Betsy Hodges .  I see this as a continuation of the City's work to increase waste diversion, including our requirements that multifamily housing and commercial properties have recycling.  It's tremendously important that we continue to reduce the amount of recyclable (and organic) material going into landfills and the garbage burner.

Xcel Energy, the electrical utility for Minneapolis, has submitted a new Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) document that would do away with their Solar Rewards program.  Thanks to some good work by our Sustainability Director Gayle Prest and Regulatory Energy and Environment Chair Elizabeth Glidden , the City is now on record opposing this change. Here's a little bit about the program Xcel wants to dismantle.  The Solar Rewards program offers a financial rebate for qualifying small / medium sized solar photovoltaic (pv) installations.  It is fully subscribed and has been successful.  For example, from our comments, " In 2011, within the City of Minneapolis geographic area, there were 30 solar projects totaling 216 kW that received Solar Rewards rebates compared to only two solar installations in 2009, the year prior to the start of the Solar Rewards program." As we try to build a robust, self-sustaining solar industry, rebates are essential. ...

Last night a young man killed more than a dozen people in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.  News reports indicate that he was armed with a military-style assault rifle, a shotgun and handguns. One of the most terrible things about this tragedy is just how unsurprising it is.  Our country has become inured to the constant catastrophe of gun violence, and even mass murder has become appallingly familiar.  Aurora will be just another place name suffused with new meaning, to add to Tuscon, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and on and on and on. But at least these large-scale massacres get some level of attention in our national conversation.  Not so with the steady stream of gun-related violence that goes on day after day.  Here's a sample of gun violence from eight days in Minneapolis: - Tuesday the 10th: Two young men were shot at on the street, likely due to their sexual orientation. - Wednesday the 11th: Police arrested a man who fired a gun fou...

Friday, I plan to introduce subject matter of an ordinance that will, if passed, allow electric-assist bicycles to be used as pedicabs in Minneapolis. This idea came from Bill Beekman, a resident of Ward 13, who wants to start a small business pedaling a particular European-made pedicab called a Veloform .  It was discussed during last fall's complete revamp of the pedicab ordinance (which, as you can read here, also made things difficult for another small business owner), but the City could not legally allow electric-assist pedicabs then due to a quirk of state law. That quirk was that electric-assist bicycles were categorized as a subset of "motorized bicycles," rather than as a subset of "bicycles," and it's against state law to let anyone ride on a motorized bicycle.  That law makes sense, when thinking about a bike with a 2-stroke motor that goes 30mph; you don't want people giving each other rides on bikes like those.  It was pretty clearly not...

At the request of Council Member Glidden and me, our superb City Clerk and Elections staff have prepared a very detailed report on the potential impacts of the Voter ID Constitutional amendment.  I say "potential" because the actual ballot language is extremely vague, and the Legislature would have to put together the actual rules that  election administrators would have to follow. After reading the report it is clear that this would be a major step backgrounds for voting rights in Minnesota. If this amendment passes it will be disastrous for democracy in Minnesota, for election administration, and for local governments.  It is not a "Voter ID" initiative, but a voter suppression initiative.  The key impact will be to make it harder for Minnesotans - especially the most vulnerable Minnesotans, like people in nursing homes, young people, and the poor - to vote. I encourage you to read the report, but here are some of the key concerns that it raises. ...