off the November ballot in Minneapolis. It seems there are a good number of
people downtown who don't believe in referendums. On the City Council, Blong
Yang and Jacob Frey have come forth with opinions against holding referendums
legitimately earned. One such referendum is the Police Insurance Referendum,
which would require police to carry professional liability insurance so that
they are personally liable for their own behavior. For offending officers it
would mean higher premiums and possible eventual withdrawal of insurance,
resulting in automatic termination due to being not insurable.
City Council member Blong Yang seems to think that the amount of money to
provide professional insurance for every officer would be more than that paid
out in lawsuits. Yang's viewpoint places money above human life, and honestly
does not acknowledge that people are harmed every day by police and the news
goes under the radar. Many cases are settled through the City Council's Ways
and Means Committee, with people accepting lowball settlements just to get any
compensation at all because they can't afford an attorney. This is not
justice!
Jacob Frey thinks that the voters "can't be expected to dive into every complex
issue". This is insulting to the voters, who certainly have not had a chance to
weigh in on issues which directly concern them and who would relish a chance to
really make a difference with their vote. I think government needs to slow down
and make better decisions, personally.
Sadly, Minneapolis has gained a reputation for not standing behind a referendum
already in place, as in the stadium referendum that should have kicked in about
building the Twins stadium. I remember RT Rybak at a forum in a bar saying that
Minneapolis voters were not capable of voting on such a complex matter as the
Twins stadium. I think he must have meant the clumsily and purposefully
obfuscated mess that was the foisting of the Twins stadium on the taxpayers of
Minneapolis. We saw through it but were forced to accept it with help from the
MN legislature, and have since lived through another even worse stadium ripoff.
We were not allowed a vote because the greedy owners and their lackeys in
office knew we would vote a resounding "NO!!!"
The Committee for Professional Policing is now engaged in a discussion brought
about by questions about proper procedure pertaining to official filing
deadlines. Improper interpretation of and/or changing rules midstream have
drastically reduced the amount of time available to file a lawsuit and still
have time to get on the ballot.
If you are interested in learning more and addressing poor procedure and worse
in City Hall, you may contact the campaign at insurethepolice.org or CfPP on
Facebook.
Janet Nye
Phillips