Interesting article about Mpls (and the Hodges administration) in The Nation
- 8 posts by
- Last post by Jack Ferman at 1:39am, Sep 17, 2014
Keywords:
- Hodges
- Malcolm
- mayor
- smoker
- Fred
One rose does not a summer make. I'm told that a direct phone call to Mayor
Hodges inevitably lands on her flakcatcher's answering machine. This means that
that unelected subordinate and only her decides who shall approach the Queen.
R.T. had a wall of flakcatchers such that campaign promises to give ready
access to the mayor at his seat of power to various communities within
Minneapolis was honored in the breach while Himself was colluding with the
Inspections Department to get a small business out of the way of a grandiose
plan by the Ackermann Group to create a new and inevitably upscale landscape
along Glenwood Avenue North. The development never came to pass, but the
business owner lost a stout building that had displeased the erstwhile empire
builders.
We voters insisted on retaining the independent Board of Estimate and Taxation.
R.T., a member of this board ex officio, couldn't be bothered to attend. His
finance people turned aside any notion of an outside audit - including the
State Auditor in their list of undesirables. They chose to ignore the Charter
requirement that the Mayor's budget proposals be both public and timely. They
threw caution to the wind and struck a blatantly lopsided deal with the Vikings
and Ryan Companies despite widespread opposition in the Minneapolis electorate.
They failed to persuade the voters to eliminate the independent Park Board but
recently - with no doubt the Mayor's acquiescence - earmarked much of the new
stadium park for activities run by and to the financial benefit of the Vikings
organization.
Interestingly, the Vikings now are suing to acquire Ryan Corp.'s share of this
latest municipal pie. Rest assured whoever wins this corporate mudwrestling
will not be sensitive to our need for hundreds and really thousands of units
affordable to that 40% figure the Nation article mentions nor to the similarly
daunting demand push that arrives as the baby boomer generation comes marching
along behind those few of us who were born before WWII.
Establishing a definition of "affordable housing" by referring to the
metropolitan median income rather than the median income within the City of
Minneapolis permitted city agencies to lavish housing subsidies on households
with many multiples of the much more modest resources of our own indigenous
population.
The rise and fall of the Neighborhood Development Program took place in the
previous two decades, first enabling and then effectively disenfranchising
local neighborhood organizations during the previous Mayor's tenure -
concurrent, incidentally, with the tenure of then City Council Member Betsy
Hodges. R.T. left behind a patchwork of empty advisory planning shells, devoid
of meaningful funding at the city-wide level, and a small - albeit dedicated
handful of city staff advisors - each ostensibly responsible for many square
miles of the cityscape.
Mayor Hodges has a significant opportunity to reconfigure how policy decisions
are reached in Minneapolis. Let us hope that she is able to turn her good
intentions into reality, not just another wave of empty campaign rhetoric.
Fred Markus
Phillips West
Hodges inevitably lands on her flakcatcher's answering machine. This means that
that unelected subordinate and only her decides who shall approach the Queen.
R.T. had a wall of flakcatchers such that campaign promises to give ready
access to the mayor at his seat of power to various communities within
Minneapolis was honored in the breach while Himself was colluding with the
Inspections Department to get a small business out of the way of a grandiose
plan by the Ackermann Group to create a new and inevitably upscale landscape
along Glenwood Avenue North. The development never came to pass, but the
business owner lost a stout building that had displeased the erstwhile empire
builders.
We voters insisted on retaining the independent Board of Estimate and Taxation.
R.T., a member of this board ex officio, couldn't be bothered to attend. His
finance people turned aside any notion of an outside audit - including the
State Auditor in their list of undesirables. They chose to ignore the Charter
requirement that the Mayor's budget proposals be both public and timely. They
threw caution to the wind and struck a blatantly lopsided deal with the Vikings
and Ryan Companies despite widespread opposition in the Minneapolis electorate.
They failed to persuade the voters to eliminate the independent Park Board but
recently - with no doubt the Mayor's acquiescence - earmarked much of the new
stadium park for activities run by and to the financial benefit of the Vikings
organization.
Interestingly, the Vikings now are suing to acquire Ryan Corp.'s share of this
latest municipal pie. Rest assured whoever wins this corporate mudwrestling
will not be sensitive to our need for hundreds and really thousands of units
affordable to that 40% figure the Nation article mentions nor to the similarly
daunting demand push that arrives as the baby boomer generation comes marching
along behind those few of us who were born before WWII.
Establishing a definition of "affordable housing" by referring to the
metropolitan median income rather than the median income within the City of
Minneapolis permitted city agencies to lavish housing subsidies on households
with many multiples of the much more modest resources of our own indigenous
population.
The rise and fall of the Neighborhood Development Program took place in the
previous two decades, first enabling and then effectively disenfranchising
local neighborhood organizations during the previous Mayor's tenure -
concurrent, incidentally, with the tenure of then City Council Member Betsy
Hodges. R.T. left behind a patchwork of empty advisory planning shells, devoid
of meaningful funding at the city-wide level, and a small - albeit dedicated
handful of city staff advisors - each ostensibly responsible for many square
miles of the cityscape.
Mayor Hodges has a significant opportunity to reconfigure how policy decisions
are reached in Minneapolis. Let us hope that she is able to turn her good
intentions into reality, not just another wave of empty campaign rhetoric.
Fred Markus
Phillips West
The new Mayor, Betsy Hodges talks about closing "opportunity gaps," but
not much action. No government agency is empowered to detect and prosecute
those who covertly violate fair employment, housing, and lending laws. Not
unlike the School Board, City officials say they are committed to closing the
gaps, but their actions have the opposite effect.
When the Minneapolis School District asked the Minnesota Board of
Education for a waiver from Minnesota's Desegregation Rule to implement a
neighborhood school assignment plan in 1996, the District promised to minimize
the segregative effects of the plan and to upgrade the quality of education in
high poverty schools where students of color are heavily concentrated. The
Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution pledging to take action to
desegregate Minneapolis neighborhoods.
I learned about how the school district denies students access to a
quality education after I joined the Minneapolis NAACP in 1997. Students of
color are heavily exposed to watered-down curriculum, inexperienced teachers,
and high teacher turnover as a result of actions by the School Board. Policy
makers at the state and federal levels allow and even promote this type of
systemic racism in school districts.
-Doug Mann, Folwell neighborhood, Green Party endorsed candidate for
Minneapolis School Board (not on the November ballot).
not much action. No government agency is empowered to detect and prosecute
those who covertly violate fair employment, housing, and lending laws. Not
unlike the School Board, City officials say they are committed to closing the
gaps, but their actions have the opposite effect.
When the Minneapolis School District asked the Minnesota Board of
Education for a waiver from Minnesota's Desegregation Rule to implement a
neighborhood school assignment plan in 1996, the District promised to minimize
the segregative effects of the plan and to upgrade the quality of education in
high poverty schools where students of color are heavily concentrated. The
Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution pledging to take action to
desegregate Minneapolis neighborhoods.
I learned about how the school district denies students access to a
quality education after I joined the Minneapolis NAACP in 1997. Students of
color are heavily exposed to watered-down curriculum, inexperienced teachers,
and high teacher turnover as a result of actions by the School Board. Policy
makers at the state and federal levels allow and even promote this type of
systemic racism in school districts.
-Doug Mann, Folwell neighborhood, Green Party endorsed candidate for
Minneapolis School Board (not on the November ballot).
As some of the members may know, my friend and colleague Malcolm Bisson has
been a vigorous advocate for greater respect for and meaningful public postures
about inclusivity issues in Minneapolis. in a recent episode in a continuing
challenge, Malcolm urged the new mayor to resurrect a culturally diverse
council similar to the body that then Mayor Hubert Humphrey established shortly
after the conclusion of World War ll.
There was considerable turmoil in those post-war years as the city’s population
experienced radical changes in composition and lifestyles. By deliberately
casting a wide net that gave standing to minority populations, Mayor Humphrey
moved dramatically to ease harsh tensions that had deep historical roots in
this young city and elsewhere in the United States.
IMHO, nothing meaningful has been ventured by the new mayoral administration
here in 2014 and thereby nothing significant has been gained.
Meanwhile, my Native American colleague has been chastised for declaring his
opposition to the cultural abuse generated by sports images that reinforce
harmful stereotypes of Native American identities and now finds himself
stranded in a legal no-man’s-land regarding suitable housing that is surely
emblematic of other hostile receptions by a declining racial elite who are
routinely indifferent to the needs and aspirations of our increasingly diverse
community.
On his behalf, here is his explanation of his own personal situation while
seeking suitable housing –
DISABLED VET IN NEED OF A 1BDRM SUBSIDIZED UNIT, ASAP. VA STAFF ILLEGALLY
DENIED ME HOUSING 2 YEARS AGO, RIGHT ABOUT WHEN I BECAME ILL WITH AN
UNDIAGNOSED CONDITION OF EXTREME FATIGUE. BUT, MY HOST HERE NEEDS ME OUT, AS
HIS LADY FRIEND IS BEING TREATED FOR STAGE 4 COLON CANCER, AND HE'S NOT WILLING
TO TREK EACH DAY TO WHITE BEAR LAKE AND BACK TO SO. MPLS. TO CARE FOR HER.
PLAN B IS FINDING A ROOM TO RENT, OR A BASEMENT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE HEATED,
SINCE COLD DOESN'T EFFECT ME. MAXIMUM RENT HERE WOULD BE $300 A MONTH, TOTAL.
ONLY CONSIDERATION IS I'M A SMOKER, BUT I DON'T DRINK OR DO DRUGS.
AM LOOKING FOR SOMETHING BETWEEN 38TH ST. TO FRANKLIN, AND NICOLLET TO THE
RIVER, BUT NEAR A BUS LINE, AND NO STAIRS (BASEMENT WOULD BE EXEMPT).
PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA MY CELL, AT 612-886-4581.
MALCOLM <>((:-)
My point to the Mpls. Issues list is that there are countless other examples of
such persons and households “on the outside looking in” throughout this city.
“We don’t rent to disabled people” one rental housing owner is alleged to have
said in reversing a positive decision by his resident caretaker.
Hmm.
Another much larger corporate entrepreneur allegedly stonewalls applications by
low-income individuals even when public subsidies and professional non-profit
support assets are clearly available, routinely finding specious rationales for
their dismissive corporate posture.
I’ve attached a more detailed text from Malcolm that surely would be helpful to
our policy-makers were there a city-wide culturally diverse body more credible
than communication attempts that likely languish on someone’s voicemail in the
mayor’s office.
A blast from the past: “where’s the beef?”. Actions by the new mayor and city
council can and surely must come to grips with this lackluster inheritance.
Fred Markus
Phillips West
been a vigorous advocate for greater respect for and meaningful public postures
about inclusivity issues in Minneapolis. in a recent episode in a continuing
challenge, Malcolm urged the new mayor to resurrect a culturally diverse
council similar to the body that then Mayor Hubert Humphrey established shortly
after the conclusion of World War ll.
There was considerable turmoil in those post-war years as the city’s population
experienced radical changes in composition and lifestyles. By deliberately
casting a wide net that gave standing to minority populations, Mayor Humphrey
moved dramatically to ease harsh tensions that had deep historical roots in
this young city and elsewhere in the United States.
IMHO, nothing meaningful has been ventured by the new mayoral administration
here in 2014 and thereby nothing significant has been gained.
Meanwhile, my Native American colleague has been chastised for declaring his
opposition to the cultural abuse generated by sports images that reinforce
harmful stereotypes of Native American identities and now finds himself
stranded in a legal no-man’s-land regarding suitable housing that is surely
emblematic of other hostile receptions by a declining racial elite who are
routinely indifferent to the needs and aspirations of our increasingly diverse
community.
On his behalf, here is his explanation of his own personal situation while
seeking suitable housing –
DISABLED VET IN NEED OF A 1BDRM SUBSIDIZED UNIT, ASAP. VA STAFF ILLEGALLY
DENIED ME HOUSING 2 YEARS AGO, RIGHT ABOUT WHEN I BECAME ILL WITH AN
UNDIAGNOSED CONDITION OF EXTREME FATIGUE. BUT, MY HOST HERE NEEDS ME OUT, AS
HIS LADY FRIEND IS BEING TREATED FOR STAGE 4 COLON CANCER, AND HE'S NOT WILLING
TO TREK EACH DAY TO WHITE BEAR LAKE AND BACK TO SO. MPLS. TO CARE FOR HER.
PLAN B IS FINDING A ROOM TO RENT, OR A BASEMENT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE HEATED,
SINCE COLD DOESN'T EFFECT ME. MAXIMUM RENT HERE WOULD BE $300 A MONTH, TOTAL.
ONLY CONSIDERATION IS I'M A SMOKER, BUT I DON'T DRINK OR DO DRUGS.
AM LOOKING FOR SOMETHING BETWEEN 38TH ST. TO FRANKLIN, AND NICOLLET TO THE
RIVER, BUT NEAR A BUS LINE, AND NO STAIRS (BASEMENT WOULD BE EXEMPT).
PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA MY CELL, AT 612-886-4581.
MALCOLM <>((:-)
My point to the Mpls. Issues list is that there are countless other examples of
such persons and households “on the outside looking in” throughout this city.
“We don’t rent to disabled people” one rental housing owner is alleged to have
said in reversing a positive decision by his resident caretaker.
Hmm.
Another much larger corporate entrepreneur allegedly stonewalls applications by
low-income individuals even when public subsidies and professional non-profit
support assets are clearly available, routinely finding specious rationales for
their dismissive corporate posture.
I’ve attached a more detailed text from Malcolm that surely would be helpful to
our policy-makers were there a city-wide culturally diverse body more credible
than communication attempts that likely languish on someone’s voicemail in the
mayor’s office.
A blast from the past: “where’s the beef?”. Actions by the new mayor and city
council can and surely must come to grips with this lackluster inheritance.
Fred Markus
Phillips West
On 9/12/2014 11:03 PM, Dave Garland wrote:
> http://www.thenation.com/article/181474/one-minneapolis-possible
>
>
Mark Anderson:
It is interesting to see that The Nation has drunk the kool aid.
Spending millions of dollars on a utopian project that will almost
certainly be a total failure, since it has all been done before, is a
good thing (for those who have downed the sweet stuff). For those that
haven't read the link, the short article is mostly a paean to Hodges
professed aim to reduce the various racial gaps in the city.
> http://www.thenation.com/article/181474/one-minneapolis-possible
>
>
Mark Anderson:
It is interesting to see that The Nation has drunk the kool aid.
Spending millions of dollars on a utopian project that will almost
certainly be a total failure, since it has all been done before, is a
good thing (for those who have downed the sweet stuff). For those that
haven't read the link, the short article is mostly a paean to Hodges
professed aim to reduce the various racial gaps in the city.
The Kool-Aid's fine. DON'T DRINK THE TEA!
Sent from my iPad
> On Sep 14, 2014, at 17:47, Anderson&Turpin <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
>> On 9/12/2014 11:03 PM, Dave Garland wrote:
>> http://www.thenation.com/article/181474/one-minneapolis-possible
> Mark Anderson:
> It is interesting to see that The Nation has drunk the kool aid.
> Spending millions of dollars on a utopian project that will almost
> certainly be a total failure, since it has all been done before, is a
> good thing (for those who have downed the sweet stuff). For those that
> haven't read the link, the short article is mostly a paean to Hodges
> professed aim to reduce the various racial gaps in the city.
>
> Mark V Anderson
> Bancroft, Minneapolis
> About/contact Mark V Anderson: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/markanderson
>
> View full topic:
> http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/6eTe4A7WS7YaPsZGFE8b0y
>
> * Hack4Good - Climate on Change in Minneapolis - Sept. 13:
> http://bit.ly/hackclimatempls
>
> * Civic Innovation Happy Hour in St. Paul - Sept. 10:
> http://civicmixer.eventbrite.com
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Post: mpls@forums.e-democracy.org or "Reply-to-All" to comment.
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Sent from my iPad
> On Sep 14, 2014, at 17:47, Anderson&Turpin <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
>> On 9/12/2014 11:03 PM, Dave Garland wrote:
>> http://www.thenation.com/article/181474/one-minneapolis-possible
> Mark Anderson:
> It is interesting to see that The Nation has drunk the kool aid.
> Spending millions of dollars on a utopian project that will almost
> certainly be a total failure, since it has all been done before, is a
> good thing (for those who have downed the sweet stuff). For those that
> haven't read the link, the short article is mostly a paean to Hodges
> professed aim to reduce the various racial gaps in the city.
>
> Mark V Anderson
> Bancroft, Minneapolis
> About/contact Mark V Anderson: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/markanderson
>
> View full topic:
> http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/6eTe4A7WS7YaPsZGFE8b0y
>
> * Hack4Good - Climate on Change in Minneapolis - Sept. 13:
> http://bit.ly/hackclimatempls
>
> * Civic Innovation Happy Hour in St. Paul - Sept. 10:
> http://civicmixer.eventbrite.com
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Post: mpls@forums.e-democracy.org or "Reply-to-All" to comment.
> Get digest or leave: Put "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in Subject (no quotes)
> Forum Home: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls
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Hosting: http://OnlineGroups.Net
By request, a brief addendum to Malcolm's described plight. He is, I am told,
willing to restrict his domestic smoking to the great out-of-doors.
I wonder - can one be denied housing if one is a smoker? Somehow I don't think
this is actionable on a par with age, race, ethnicity, disability status,
sexual orientation and the like. We mortals are willy-nilly what we are and I
can't see how smoking is fundamentally comparable to these protected classes.
Still, he makes a good faith commitment to clean air of a sort.
Fred Markus
Phillips West
willing to restrict his domestic smoking to the great out-of-doors.
I wonder - can one be denied housing if one is a smoker? Somehow I don't think
this is actionable on a par with age, race, ethnicity, disability status,
sexual orientation and the like. We mortals are willy-nilly what we are and I
can't see how smoking is fundamentally comparable to these protected classes.
Still, he makes a good faith commitment to clean air of a sort.
Fred Markus
Phillips West
Some landlords are requiring substantial cleanup deposits from smoker tenants.
Tobacco smoke saturates everything: carpets sometimes have to be replaced,
woodwork and wall scrubbed, all sides of appliances scrubbed, and everything
deodorized. And sometimes that is not enough and the apartment or house has to
be gutted. Now looking at the practicality of amassing the money, can a refusal
to rent to smokers be wrong.
Sent from my iPad
John Ferman
Kingfield Neighborhood
Minneapolis, MN
Email in header
> On Sep 16, 2014, at 8:05 PM, "Fred Markus" <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
> By request, a brief addendum to Malcolm's described plight. He is, I am told,
willing to restrict his domestic smoking to the great out-of-doors.
>
> I wonder - can one be denied housing if one is a smoker? Somehow I don't
think this is actionable on a par with age, race, ethnicity, disability status,
sexual orientation and the like. We mortals are willy-nilly what we are and I
can't see how smoking is fundamentally comparable to these protected classes.
Tobacco smoke saturates everything: carpets sometimes have to be replaced,
woodwork and wall scrubbed, all sides of appliances scrubbed, and everything
deodorized. And sometimes that is not enough and the apartment or house has to
be gutted. Now looking at the practicality of amassing the money, can a refusal
to rent to smokers be wrong.
Sent from my iPad
John Ferman
Kingfield Neighborhood
Minneapolis, MN
Email in header
> On Sep 16, 2014, at 8:05 PM, "Fred Markus" <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
> By request, a brief addendum to Malcolm's described plight. He is, I am told,
willing to restrict his domestic smoking to the great out-of-doors.
>
> I wonder - can one be denied housing if one is a smoker? Somehow I don't
think this is actionable on a par with age, race, ethnicity, disability status,
sexual orientation and the like. We mortals are willy-nilly what we are and I
can't see how smoking is fundamentally comparable to these protected classes.
