Updates from Andrew

Early voting starts today! To see what’s on the ballot and to learn how to cast your vote, click here.

New restaurant:
Congrats to Selam Coffee, which recently expanding and is now Selam Restaurant! (3860 Minnehaha Ave). They offer delicious Ethiopian cuisine. It's always exciting to see local businesses growing in our ward. You can find more details on their website here. 

Road closures:
There are several different active projects impacting streets in the ward, mostly in the Standish-Ericsson area. These include 38th Street (a Met Council project), 34th Ave & Minnehaha Parkway, and private utility work. 46th Street is also scheduled for upcoming work. I have been frustrated by what I believe is under-communication with residents and a need for better coordination. I wanted to let you know that I have raised these concerns with department leadership and requested attention so that impacts can be lessened, as well as better communication moving forward. Infrastructure projects are important and necessary, and will unfortunately always have some impacts during construction/work, but with proper levels of community engagement and planning, those impacts can be minimized and clear expectations set with residents.

Supreme Court decision:
The city oversees what is usually a formality: setting the ballot question that is asked of voters for a given charter amendment. So, when a group of citizens met the state’s legal requirements to put their public safety charter amendment on the ballot, the City Council simply approved wording for the question that was drafted by our professional non-partisan attorneys. What happened next was bizarre, with multiple lawsuits and a judge rejecting the question wording each time, even after significant changes per round based on feedback. Thankfully the Supreme Court intervened yesterday, affirming the wording of the ballot question, and ensuring that each vote will be counted. This matter is now settled.

Charter amendments:
Many residents have asked for my opinion on the charter amendments as they consider how to vote. I greatly appreciate you valuing my thoughts and firsthand perspective, thank you. Because these three charter amendments are now on the ballot, elected officials have been advised not to use City resources (such as official email or newsletters) to share thoughts specific to the amendments themselves. Doing so would potentially violate state laws that prohibit government resources from being used to campaign. I respect and will comply with that guidance. What I can do is link you to the City website that has more details on these amendments. I can also encourage you, as part of your civic duty, to do your own research so that you can make an informed decision. There is non-partisan information available through news media and civic organizations, as well as opinions from campaigns, candidates, and members of the public.

Mental health responder update:
Here is an update from City staff received a couple of weeks ago: It is with great excitement that we share the contract with Canopy Mental Health, the partner who will be responsible for providing the mobile behavioral health crisis response, has been finalized and signed. With this milestone reached, we can now start our work in earnest, and are excited to do so. In an effort to continue to be as transparent as possible, we will be posting an update to the City’s website which includes information and documents about the process used to find and work with Canopy, as well as an FAQ for the program based on questions we’ve received over the last couple of months. Due to a couple of technical delays, the launch of the program is being pushed to November. This is a first-of-its-kind program in the country; all similar programs across the country have launched with a mental health provider and an EMS – a factor our residents were clear they did not prefer. While the delay may feel frustrating, rest assured it will result in a high-quality and community-oriented program.

Crime statistics update:
Below is a snapshot of citywide total crime, year-to-date, for the past five years (as of today 9/17, using data from MPD’s public dashboard). This year has the second lowest level of total crime over the past five-years. While total crime is down, violent crime is effectively tied with last year for a five-year high, driven by group violence. However, citywide violent crime week-to-date continues a downward trend, for instance, over the past four weeks, violent crime has dropped sequentially by 12%, 37%, 21%, and 24%, with this past week having the lowest levels of the past five years. Homicides continue to be an exception and are at a five-year high, driven by retaliatory cycles. Important things to remember when interpreting crime data: 1) there are people (victims) behind every number, 2) we look at macro-level trends as a way to reduce statistical noise, and 3) there is no “normal” amount of crime and we should strive towards zero.
   
Catalytic converter ordinance:
I am bringing forward a new ordinance to restrict the purchase of catalytic converters by scrap metal dealers in Minneapolis. This should help reduce this type of auto part theft which can be extremely expensive for victims. I previously authored an amendment to our legislative agenda to support a statewide restriction and worked with our Regulatory Services Department to step up enforcement of existing regulations on scrap metal dealers. While this ordinance will help, we will still need action at a state level.

Dight Ave renaming:
Charles Dight, a former council member, was the chief proponent of the eugenics movement in Minnesota, which resulted in the forced sterilization of hundreds of residents. He also urged Minnesotans to adopt eugenics programs modeled on those in Nazi Germany and praised Hitler for his efforts to “stamp out mental inferiority among the German people.” Having a street named after someone is a significant way to honor their legacy, and given what we know about Charles Dight, we should not continue to honor him in this way. Residents living on Dight Ave were recently invited to choose an individual to honor that better reflects our community, which is one that welcomes and values all residents. The name which received the most votes is Cheatham Ave, in honor of Captain John Cheatham, one of the first black firefighters in Minneapolis who was stationed at the first all-black fire station (located at 45th Street & Hiawatha Ave). The formal legislative action will take place this fall and new street signs should be up this winter. 

Rescue Act funding survey: Please take a moment to fill out this survey, which closes next Friday (September 24th). The results will be used to help prioritize $50 million in COVID relief funding.

Finally, I have really enjoyed the mini town halls I have been having with residents. It’s a great way to spend time with you and your neighbors and talk about the issues on your mind. We’d love to schedule more of these, so if you’re interested in having a get-together on your block, please let me know and I am happy to coordinate a time with you.

Hope you are enjoying these last days of summer,