Readers Write: Minneapolis City Council, International Women’s Day protests

If the “wealthy elites” he fears were truly running the show, Minneapolis would not have put forth the slate of candidates for or elected the councils of the past decade. The parallels to GOP tropes are alarming. This is not to say Frey is the best mayor ever, but he does his best to deflect the worst of the council’s ideas and reflect everyday reality. I believe most citizens would rather we returned to a more centrist, merely “liberal” approach. Unfortunately, we have had no such candidates on the ballot for a long time, which again counters Payne’s assertions (exceptions like Linea Palmisano are rare).

Despite the council’s regularly exercised veto power, Payne paints the mayor’s office as “the singular executive in control of local government.” Please recall we citizens voted for this check and balance of City Council power. Payne claims the City Council shows ”fiscal discipline” when they have regularly wasted taxpayer funds, reduced the tax base or both at once, like the Hennepin Avenue redesign in Uptown that eliminates driving lanes and parking, which kills taxpaying, job-creating businesses. Or the grandiose 1,256-page (versus St. Paul’s 304), costly and “progressive” 2040 Plan response that shows us the lengths to which our council will go to pad their progressive resumes at taxpayer expense in both dollars and livability. They favor the voices of tiny minorities like a bike lobby that has given us impassable streets with no parking for shoppers, deliveries or residents and are used sparingly whatever the season. Payne’s attempt to create a boogeyman merely reflects his own elitist, socialist efforts at the expense of common sense and the broader common good.

Daniel Patton, Minneapolis

“Republicans believe the protests are meant to sow chaos rather than create a dialogue between voters and their representatives. They suspect many of the protesters do not live in the districts where they’ve gathered.

“ ‘They’re not actually even advocating the positions that they care about effectively,’ said Jennifer DeJournett, executive director of the Minnesota Republican Party. ‘It’s sort of manufactured outrage in an area where they don’t even live.’ ”