OK - So let's see if I can respond to all of these.
Mr. Brauer, the Mayor is not the equivalent of a Council Member. Council
Members legislate. The Mayor can only veto or sign legislation. What we
saw and continue to see is a lack of city-wide vision in the creation of
legislation. The 2040 Plan became a plan of 13 fiefdoms, each ramming
through their own special goodies for their own wards. That is bad
policy. Instead, we need people who legislate with a city-wide
perspective. And that is not a mayor.
Also, we have Council Members running their wards like their own fiefdoms.
I was amused to see, again, that the number of snow emergency tickets
people get vary by ward. This is, in part, dependent on the Council Member
and whether they want more or less enforcement. When we think of
government, we want it to treat everyone equally. But instead, it is about
what fiefdom you live in. Fewer fiefdoms would be better for the City.
Ward-based fiefdoms depend on vote-trading, where Council Members trade
votes so they continue to act like kings and queens of their own kingdoms.
Vote trading would be reduced with some city-wide council members not
needing to trade votes. This would also lead to better policy overall.
Again, a mayor has nothing to do with this.
Mr. Skrenes: I would have agreed with you that this change would reduce
elections of people of color 20 years ago. But our own real world data
shows that is not true. The winning city-wide vote getter for the Park
Board was an African-American woman. Likewise, the composition of the
School Board shows this is no longer true. Ilhan Omar shows this. And data
beyond Minneapolis supports this. Studies show that black women in
particular do quite well with city-wide races, and women in general. So I
would respectfully disagree with you - data shows that at-large seats favor
people of color.
I also think that yes, having people worrying about the city overall vs 13
people worrying about 13 fiefdoms would result in more attention for
North. It is not surprising that we adopted a plan that does nothing for
North. It is a plan for Lisa Bender's district, for the Wedge, because she
was Council President and had the most power. North had only two votes and
North got nothing. Imagine instead having someone look across the City and
saying, "Where do we have the most need?" I can promise you the most
important thing would not be building more market rate housing in Uptown
and the Wedge. But that is what we got.
Mr Steele: I have refuted the "Everyone loves the 2040 Plan" about a
thousand times here. Suffice it to say that it was rammed through by a tiny
number of people, some paid, using social media to drown out the voices of
thousands of citizens. With the help of outsiders online. And a whole
bunch of deceit by the City. But we rise. Literally every day now I am
being contacted by someone wanting to organize a new group or start a new
conversation to oppose what is going on. That is why I haven't had time to
do much posting. But you probably don't see that, living in a social media
world where internet trolls and out blocking people have created a world
where everyone thinks the same way. But there are a really large number of
people out there and we are organizing that old fashioned way. We rise.
Mr Wyscopal: This is about trying to create better government. What we
have today is tyranny of the super-majority by a tiny number of people on
social media. Having people who have to be accountable to more than just a
1/13th of the City should mean we have a wider vision and more
accountability to citizens. Also, do you know Wally Wyscopal? I teach
with him.
Mr. Gordon: In your list of who could possibly get someone elected,
"Republicans, Socialists, Neighbors for more Neighbors, Minneapolis Works,
Renters Unite, Homes for Homeowners", you missed the Green Party!
Mr Miller: I guess I don't know what you mean by "electoral college" other
than to try to link this proposal to something unpopular. I would note
that the Park Board, School Board and Ilhan Omar herself all refute your
idea that this would be just about the rich getting elected.
I expect the entrenched elite who currently hold power to oppose this plan.
I expect the current city council members don't want to have to actually
sell their ideas beyond their borders, even though their votes extend
beyond their borders. But we need to have more elected officials
accountable to more people. We need more voice as citizens. And literally
being able to vote for more people will do that. This is a good change for
our democracy.
Carol Becker
Longfellow