Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday.
Sen. Tina Smith will vote no on the Minneapolis public safety ballot question. In a statement she released Tuesday Smith says she wrestled with how to vote, but: “After many conversations, I have concluded that Amendment #2 does not address the core public safety challenges we face, and may well move us in the wrong direction,” Smith wrote, adding that the requirement that a new Department of Public Safety report to both the mayor and the city council tipped the balance for her. “I believe imposing this dysfunctional structure for public safety would likely have a negative effect on public safety and the operations of the police department.”
And one of the most outspoken critics of the Minneapolis police department also came out against the ballot measure to eliminate the force and replace it with a public safety agency. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former Minneapolis NAACP president, spoke against the ballot measure on Facebook Tuesday. She criticized city council members who have called for ending the police department and expressed scepticism that social workers and non-sworn responders in the city would improve racial equity. “I want to see MPD completely overhauled. I want to see a robust system of community oversight. Because the police can't police themselves. Jacob Frey cannot police the police. The city council is in la la land, and the poorest of the poor are suffering the most,” she said. Several other prominent officials in Minneapolis, including Attorney General Keith Ellison and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar are supporting the measure.
The APM Research Lab has the results from a survey it did recently of Minnesotans’ views on discrimination. Benjamin Clary writes: Forty-five percent of Minnesotan adults believe that discrimination “generally speaking” exists against their racial or ethnic group. The same proportion, 45 percent, believes that their racial or ethnic group is either often or sometimes discriminated against when applying for jobs. Roughly one-third of Minnesotans believe that their racial or ethnic group is subject to discrimination by the police or in the housing market, and 17 percent believe their group is discriminated against when trying to vote. Perceptions of discrimination against a respondent’s racial or ethnic group varies dramatically between Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) in Minnesota on the one hand, and White Minnesotans on the other.
MPR’s Tim Pugmire sent me these late notes on Gov. Tim Walz’s reelection campaign announcement: Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan held a Zoom event that featured testimonials from several political supporters. An educator, farmer, nurse and others took turns praising Walz and Flanagan for their leadership during the past three years, and shared their hopes for a second term. Houston White, a small business owner from Minneapolis, praised Walz for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Tim is committed to building back Minnesota’s economy stronger than before,” White said. In his first speech of the reelection campaign, Walz said his priorities for a second term would include education equity, additional law enforcement improvements, a public health care option and paid family leave. “The reason that I’m asking you to help us get another time to work at this job, to give us another term, is the work’s not done,” Walz said. And some Republican candidates reacted to Walz’s announcement: Former Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka called Walz weak and hesitant when dealing with lawlessness and rising crime. He also believes Walz overreached on many pandemic-related policies. "Every state wants their governor to be successful against a pandemic,” Gazelka said. “But every state did not do it the same as Tim Walz." Dr. Scott Jensen, also a former senator, faulted Walz too. “I think that he was slow to act at times, trying to check out what the political winds were telling us,” Jensen said. “I think that was particularly crucial during the riots and the violence in late May and early June of 2020.” Jensen and Gazelka are competing for the chance to run against Walz with other Republican candidates Sen. Michelle Benson, Mike Murphy, Neil Shah and Mike Marti.
If you live in St. Paul and have been getting a lot of mail opposing the rent control measure on the November ballot, here’s why: Opponents of the rent control measure have been outspending supporters by a lot.Max Nesterak of the Minnesota Reformer has the story : The political committee campaigning to stop the rent control ballot initiative in St. Paul raised $3.9 million in two months, rivaling candidates for congress in nearby districts and dwarfing the nearly $215,000 raised by proponents, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday. | 