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Endorsed by: Progressive Minnesota Sierra Club 8th Ward Black Caucus Somali American Democratic Association Gente de Minnesota DFL Feminist Caucus Minnesota NOW PAC MN Women's Political Caucus Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-60) Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-60B) Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL-62B) City Council Member Scott Benson City Council Member Lisa Goodman City Council Member Gary Schiff Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman Jeff Hayden Minneapolis Star Tribune Somali Business Association of America Insight News Supported by: Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund Acceptable rating: STONEWALL DFL |
Supporting Our Youth
The success of our children is the key to our future. We must work together to ensure children are successful in school and in our community. This includes support for youth services such as after-school programs, mentoring, nutrition and healthcare, and child safety. Strong public schools, as well as libraries and parks, are essential to the strength of our city. Our City must strengthen its partnerships with these independent boards, as well as with business and community members, to effectively serve our youth and support healthy communities.
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I will:
- Advocate for Minneapolis schools along with the school board and our state
legislators. We must work to unite the City, School Board, state
legislators, and community members in support of funding for our public
schools.
- Work to improve partnerships between our City, school board, library
board, and park board. We need to coordinate programming and share
resources where possible, working together to promote early childhood
education and increase youth programming.
- Work to increase public-private partnerships, such as with the business community and other community members, to support our schools and increase youth programming.
Responsiveness
Our ward deserves a skilled advocate who listens to people and knows how to respond to their concerns. As a civil rights lawyer, I know the importance of quickly responding to constituent concerns and I know how to get results – this is how I’ve responded to my clients for over a decade. Because of my work as a leader in influencing national civil and worker’s rights policy, and leadership positions on non-profit boards and professional organizations, I know how to address tough issues and analyze information. I would not be intimidated by other loud voices, including those on the council. I have worked with people of all backgrounds, including projects serving low wage and immigrant workers. These experiences are important for understanding how to work with and respond to different communities within our diverse ward. Residents of the 8th Ward deserve a council member who will respond to their concerns and get results; I have the training and experience to do that.
Crime and Public Safety
Crime and public safety remain of great concern for both the 8th Ward and the City. The up and down “numbers” of police officers adds to public frustration about the City’s focus on redressing crime. These are major concerns that the City must take seriously. The City must ensure that sufficient police officers will be available to patrol neighborhoods and respond to calls. I support the need to maintain sufficient police officers and first responders, including looking for ways to secure funding so that the appropriate number of officers needed to ensure public safety will remain more consistent.
Neighborhood conditions must be addressed as part of the City’s response to crime and public safety issues. Public safety is affected by neighborhood needs for affordable housing and economic development. Providing affordable housing and concentrating on economic development contributes to stable neighborhoods, which in turn leads to safer neighborhoods. Pitting money for police officers against money for economic development and affordable housing presents false choices to the public. As a council member, I will work to communicate the importance of an integrated approach to public safety including a City development policy that recognizes the essential tie between development and safety.
Economic Development
Minneapolis, like many large cities, has experienced a decline in “capital” and job growth in the past two decades, particularly when compared with the suburbs. The City and the 8th Ward need economic development that brings jobs - good living wage jobs. The need to encourage economic development in Minneapolis must be balanced, however, with the need to not abuse or overuse public subsidies and tax increment financing.
Good things are happening in our City. New housing in downtown Minneapolis is a potential driver of additional economic growth and development. In the 8th Ward, the development of the Sears building as a new home for Allina’s corporate office and other businesses has the potential to create positive change in the surrounding neighborhoods. These potential positive impacts include job creation for neighborhood residents, opportunities for small businesses in the planned Global Marketplace which is part of the Sears building renovation, and generally increased neighborhood vitality.
The existing economic development along Lake Street has also created exciting change for the 8th Ward. Small businesses, primarily owned by immigrants and New Americans, have reinvigorated Lake Street from the freeway to Hiawatha.
We must work to sustain and capitalize on economic opportunities in the 8th Ward and the City. The need for living wage jobs is particularly highlighted by the fact that wage growth in Minneapolis has not kept pace with the rise in housing costs.
I will work to do the following:
- Prioritize economic development that brings jobs, especially well-paying ones. This includes looking for opportunities to preserve industrial businesses within the city and encourage new business of this type;
- Promote increased technical assistance to businesses and other development aid;
- Enhance connections between neighborhoods and City’s development process;
- Support and sustain small businesses, with a focus on Lake Street. Positive, neighborhood-oriented small businesses have a large impact in terms of reducing blight, increasing public safety, and generally revitalizing neighborhoods.
Transportation
The 8th Ward is practically defined by transportation issues. It is bordered by I-35W, Lake Street, and Lyndale, all of which have upcoming construction projects. It has some of the most traveled bus corridors in the City, including those on 38th Street, Nicollet, Chicago, Lake, and 4th Avenue.
Minneapolis must place greater priority on transportation alternatives, particularly public transit. Our streets are congested. We lag similarly-sized cities in our commitment to mass transit. Improving public transportation creates an incentive for business to locate in Minneapolis, provides equal access to jobs, housing, education, and healthcare for those without other means of transportation, and is better for our environment than our increasing reliance on one car per person. We must work with our regional and state partners to bridge this gap.
I will do the following:
- Ensure a comprehensive transportation policy is adopted, that sets forth a plan for the future;
- Work with regional partners, including the Met Council and state government, to prioritize public transit and transportation alternatives as opposed to single car-single person usage. This includes supporting bus rapid transit (BRT) on I-35W;
- Ensure that the City takes advantage of existing opportunities to encourage transportation alternatives, such modifying lane widths on City streets and educating the public about the true costs of single car usage.
Affordable Housing
Minneapolis must continue to address the need for housing that is affordable. Developing housing and housing policies that support housing that is affordable to a mixture of income levels in turn leads to stable and safe neighborhoods. I will work to support affordable housing by doing the following:
- Supporting the housing trust fund, a dedicated source of funding for housing needs.
- Focusing on the needs of those most at risk, particularly people making less than 30% of the metro median income.
- Promoting increased home ownership and affordability of single-family homes.
- Planning for affordable housing needs of the future - particularly the needs of our increasing population of seniors who live on fixed incomes.
As a civil rights lawyer, I know the importance of advocacy on issues that matter – I will use these skills to make Minneapolis a leader in environmental sustainability. Transparency, communication, and opportunity for public participation are key to formulating sound environmental policy and will drive my work on the council. I will work with our metro legislators to invest in the transportation needs of our future and ensure our city puts into practice policies promoting walking, biking, and bus usage. I will ensure that education and incentives for “green” choices by residents are central in our city’s policies.
Noise, like other pollution, has a great negative impact on our neighborhoods -- and I am determined that the MAC should be held to its promises. I will fight further expansion of the airport. I will also work with communities around the state to create a statewide aviation plan to divert cargo and other air traffic from Mpls-St. Paul. And, I support the lawsuit against the MAC and will continue to hold a hard line with the MAC to hold it to the promises it has made.
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| Ward 8 Information |
Ward 8 is a vibrant and culturally diverse collection of communities located
in the south central area of Minneapolis. Its neighborhoods include Central,
Powderhorn, Bryant, Bancroft, Field, Regina, Northrup, and Kingfield.
 The 8th Ward is bordered on the north by Lake Street, home to the Midtown Exchange and a variety of small thriving businesses. It boasts the successful local business district of 48th and Chicago. Institutions serving community within the 8th Ward include Pillsbury House and Pillsbury House Theatre, Sabathani Community Center, as well as many congregations and faith-based organizations. Issues facing the 8th Ward include transportation planning, reconstruction of I-35W, economic development on Lake Street, 38th Street, Chicago Avenue and Nicollet Avenue, property taxes, community building, and youth development. |
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Elizabeth Glidden Eighth Ward campaign literature (Please note some large files)  General Overview brochure (6.2M) "Tour the 8th Ward with me" brochure(4.6M) |
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