2021 Election

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE 2021 ELECTION TO PUBLIC SAFETY IN MINNEAPOLIS

This webpage focuses on the Minneapolis Public Safety Charter Amendment and its implications for the structure of the City of Minneapolis government and Police Department. FIRM believes true public safety for all needs policies that not only hold law enforcement officials accountable, but also allows access to stable housing, a sustained living wage, health care, and education for every resident.

Studies show that violent crime and violent policing are highly focused in low income communities of color and that the United States’ racial caste system is what truly undermines public safety. A study from Florida International University used the National Incident-Based Reporting System to look at violent crime rates across 91 cities in the U.S., and found that among multiple factors, interracial economic inequality was the strongest predictor of overall violent crime rates in a city. Violent crimes, like homicide, have seen increases only in our poorest neighborhoods while wealthier neighbors have seen increases in property crimes and robbery. Yet the discussion for public safety solutions has been dominated by people from higher income households. FIRM believes that those closest to the problems are also closest to the solutions and we are committed to doing our part to ensure that local Black, brown, and Indigenous communities are engaged and informed voters for this and future elections.

Our partners at Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) have put together a nice voter guide including an overview of the many mayoral candidates, CLICK HERE to access it

WHAT IS A CITY CHARTER?

  • City charters define the composition and structure of the city government, such as which offices and departments exist, and directs which offices take care of the various tasks the city needs to function. For example, the Minneapolis charter outlines a public works department that takes care of waste management, a health department, a police department, and a fire department.  
  • The charter also outlines the “chain of command” for city departments. For instance, the Minneapolis charter says that the fire chief will be nominated by the mayor and appointed by the City Council.
  • The city charter does NOT have to do with how the city carries out their duties, the “how” is determined by ordinances (Minneapolis Code of Ordinances). For example, the Minneapolis charter says that we will have a police department and a police chief who answers to the mayor. It does not say how it will use tools like facial recognition … that may be dictated with a city-wide ordinance.  
  • Why is this important? When we talk about changes to a charter, we’re talking about changes to who has power within our government, not necessarily how they are doing their jobs. This is still VERY critical because “who has power” relates to accountability.

WHAT does the current minneapolis charter say about the police department?

  • The current language in the Charter defines a police department (Section 7.3) where the Mayor has complete power over the establishment, maintenance, and command of the department.
  • The Mayor hires/fires a Police Chief. The Chief hires/fire police officers.
  • The Charter language also mandates a minimum number of police officers (0.0017 employees per Minneapolis resident).
  • The Charter language also says that the city may tax all taxable property up to 0.3% of its annual value to fund this minimum police force. 
  • Because of these requirements in the charter, the Minneapolis Police Force currently consumes approximately one third of the General Funds of the Minneapolis city budget.
  • It is unusual for the city charter to mandate a specific minimum staffing and to stipulate an amount that property can be taxed.  For other Minneapolis city departments, staffing levels are undefined (in the case of the Fire Department, “adequate staffing” is required) and how it is paid for is undefined.
  • It is also unusual that the Police Chief reports solely to the mayor, whereas other departments have department heads who are nominated by the Mayor and approved by the City Council.
  • Why is the Minneapolis police department so different? THIS article gives an interesting history of how the police union lobbied for these changes.  You can see how these differences give the police department greater independence and less accountability than the other departments.

CURRENT CHARTER proposals:

CITY QUESTION 1: EXECUTIVE MAYOR-LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL- THE “STONG MAYOR” AMENDMENT

Full amendment text HERE.

This proposal is to amend the City Charter to reflect a more clear articulation of the different roles of the Mayor and the City Council. It changes language throughout the City Charter to define the Mayor as the chief executive and the City Council as a solely legislative body. Very generally, a legislative body creates a law, and the executive decides how that law is implemented. The Charter Commission, who proposed this ballot measure, argues that the Minneapolis City Charter has experienced patchwork revisions and thus is inconsistent in who has executive and legislative powers. This inconsistency has led to, they argue, inefficient governance and lack of accountability. 

Key changes:

The Commission’s proposal makes several changes throughout the Charter to formalize a strong executive mayor-legislative council structure. Details of all the changes, specifically regarding the police department, can be found in their proposal linked above. The Commission’s proposal:

(1) removes the City Council’s power to appoint the Chief of Police.

(2) removes the 3-year term limit of the Chief of Police.

(3) removes the mandate for the Police Chief to execute the City Council’s orders relating to public health preservation.

(4) maintains the minimum staffing and fundings

This proposal has wide-ranging effects on the way that our city is governed, which of course includes the Police Department. Essentially, it gives our mayor greater power to carry out city governance. 

What is the Charter Commission?

The Charter Commission is the 15-member body that maintains the City Charter. Individuals are appointed to the Commission by the Chief Judge of the Hennepin County District Court for 4-year terms. The Commission can only make recommendations on amendments, these recommendations have no binding power. 

FIRM believes that a stronger mayor would make our city government less accountable to the citizens, as the Mayor will generally be beholden to campaign contributors and the most privileged and vocal part of the electorate.  FIRM recommends a “No” vote on City Question 1.

CITY QUESTION 2: PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT

Full amendment text HERE. 

This amendment, championed by a coalition named Yes 4 Minneapolis, would remove language concerning the city’s police department from the city charter, including provisions requiring minimum funding for the department and giving the mayor control over the department. It would replace the police department with a department of public safety. Under the initiative, the mayor would nominate—and the city council would appoint—the commissioner of the public safety department. 

Key changes 

This amendment would create a new Department of Public Safety, which would:

(1) Combine public safety functions of the City of Minneapolis into a comprehensive public health approach to safety, with the specific public safety functions to be determined by ordinances.

(2) Include licensed peace officer/ police officers who would serve the function of law enforcement

(3) Be led by a Commissioner nominated by the Mayor and approved by the City Council

This amendment would also remove staffing and funding stipulations currently in the City Charter.  

Who is Yes 4 Minneapolis?

Created by leaders from Reclaim the Block (RTB) and Black Visions Collective (BLVC), Yes4Minneapolis now consists of over 30 community, faith, and professional organizations. FIRM is an organizational member of Yes-4-Minneapolis. More information about the coalition can be found at: yes4minneapolis.org

FIRM believes that true public safety requires a holistic definition of what makes communities safe and a proactive approach to addressing the underlying causes of criminal activity, primarily economic inequality along racial lines and a lack of supportive resources to deal with issues like homelessness, substance addiction, and mental health crises. We believe a Department of Public Safety will allow Minneapolis to shift from a reactive, punitive, and racist view of public safety to a proactive, restorative, and equitable view of public safety.  FIRM recommends a “Yes” vote on City Question 2.

CITY QUESTION 3: RENT CONTROL AMENDMENT

Full text of the 2021 Rent Stabilization ballot measure HERE 

This charter amendment would give the City Council the power to implement rent control measures or put them on a ballot for Minneapolis voters to decide on.

FIRM considers access to adequate, affordable housing a key component of safety for our city residents and our communities. We believe allowing the City Council to implement rent control measures is appropriate and beneficial. FIRM recommends a “yes” vote on City Question 3.

FUTURE PUBLIC SAFETY PROPOSALS:

MINNEAPOLIS FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL OF THE POLICE

In March 2021, Minneapolis for Community Control of the Police (MCCP) launched its petition drive to add a ballot measure that would create a Civilian Police Accountability Commission (CPAC) which would be in charge of the Minneapolis Police Department. Full details of the Charter amendment and accompanying ordinances HERE.

In brief, the ballot measure would add the CPAC to the City Charter. CPAC is an elected body that would:

  • have hiring and firing power over abusive police
  • set policy and protocol for interacting with civilians
  • Review complaints against the police

MCCP includes Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar and is supported by Black Lives Matter Twin Cities Metro, Blue LIES Matter, CAIR Minnesota, Families Supporting Families, Justice for Marcus Golden, Native Lives Matter, AFSCME Local 3800, AFSCME Local 2822, Anti-War Committee, FRSO Twin Cities, MN Workers United, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Student Movement Activists of South High, Twin Cities Omega Zuluz (Zulu Union), UMN Students for a Democratic Society, Women Against Military Madness.

How do 2021 charter proposals interact with a future CPAC proposal?

  • City Question 1 – Executive Mayor amendment – If passed, would not influence the current MCCP petition drive 
  • City Question 2 – Department of Public Safety – Because the language of the MCCP proposal refers to control over the Police Department, the CPAC proposal would need to be re-written if this amendment passed, to reflect the Department of Public Safety structure. This would require MCCP to begin their signature collection again with a new petition.

GET INVOLVED WITH FIRM

If you’d like to get involved and help FIRM reach out to Asian voters in Minneapolis, CLICK HERE to sign up for an event.