Wedge LIVE!

John is joined by guest co-host PeggySue Imihy. The guest is Kate Knuth, candidate for mayor of Minneapolis. We start the show by playing PeggySue's theme song. Then we poke fun at a rival podcast host. John expresses disappointment in PeggySue's late decision to become a city delegate and reveals he takes pleasure in the pain of Ward 10 candidate David Wheeler. Kate and PeggySue bond over their shared heritage in the suburbs of NE Minneapolis. John asks Kate if she thought she'd ever run for office again after three terms in the state legislature (2007-2013), the urgency she felt to run for mayor, and if she's ready for things to get mean. Kate disputes Mayor Frey's fear-based framing of this year's choices for mayor. We talk about what a potential Department of Public Safety would look like at the end of the next mayoral term, why Kate would succeed where all other mayors have failed, her resistance to making big promises she can't back up. PeggySue asks about the Roof Depot site, and pushes Kate to get specific about whether soldiers on street corners was the right approach for Operation Safety Net. As someone who's spent a career working on climate change, what does "Kate Knuth, Climate Mayor" mean for housing policy, transportation, street design, and energy policy? PeggySue demands more housing. I nominate PeggySue for the Planning Commission. John asks, what does rent stabilization accomplish? Does Kate support the strong mayor charter amendment? PeggySue bashes the Charter Commission. We close the show by pressuring (bullying?) Kate into revealing better "fun facts" than the ones on her website. PeggySue: "The fun facts on your website are bad." Here's what we unearthed: Did you know Kate Knuth used to rollerblade along the shore of Lake Michigan to her job sequencing moth DNA at the Field Museum in Chicago? Or that she has an irresistible urge to dance whenever she hears the song Timber by Ke$ha? And something else about a pet millipede named Milton. We hope you'll soon be able to check kateformpls.org for these updated fun facts.

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

John has a conversation with Andrea Larson, former deputy city coordinator with the city of Minneapolis. Andrea spent six years in the city coordinator's office, and has overseen teams working to develop alternatives to traditional police response. This is work that began at City Council direction in the years prior to George Floyd's murder. The planning work is well underway, and includes the 911/MPD work group that analyzed which 911 calls the city could respond to without a police response. Andrea describes how well the city's 911 operators correctly code calls as violent vs. non-violent. She talks about how the city's alternative response and violence prevention work is increasingly spread across seven departments. While we often focus on which elected officials a given department is accountable to, we overlook "the implications of having this [public safety] work spread across multiple department heads." She says what troubles her about the current debate is the lack of focus on what Question 2 is really about: the way city government is structured. What needs to be put in place shortly after (and if) Question 2 passes is the appointment of an interim commissioner of public safety and an organizational chart. We go over the common concerns: Can't we do this without a charter change? What's the problem with housing these non-police functions under MPD or in a newly created department in the coordinator's office? Will it fire the chief? Will it abolish police? We talk about how the current charter's minimum staffing requirement denies budget flexibility to shift money to alternatives that are capable of doing work formerly handled by MPD. She explains her conflicted feelings on Question 1 (strong mayor). John asks about the bizarre situation of MPD Chief Arradondo -- in uniform at a press conference put together with city staff and resources -- campaigning against Question 2 and chastising the council for not having a plan. Months earlier, the work of producing an org chart was cut short by the city attorney's office, who warned the city council to back off, because it would amount to engaging in politics in favor of Question 2. Andrea says, "The people we're not hearing from, and the people I worry about leaving" are the talented staff doing the change work around public safety. We don't hear about how difficult their work is or what would make their jobs easier.

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

A special episode of the Wedge LIVE podcast recorded on bikes in Northeast Minneapolis, with guest Amity Foster.

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

John and Josh Martin have teamed up for the 2023 city election year to cover Minneapolis DFL conventions in all 13 wards. In this episode we recap what's happened so far (aside from Ward 5, whose convention endorsed incumbent Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw after we recorded). What did we learn in wards 3 and 12? Why was the Ward 5 convention cancelled? Josh takes his pundit hat off in Ward 8 (his home ward). John remixes Mayor Frey's "state of the city" address to a classic song. We ponder crime stats and what Mayor Frey is calling the "downtown rebound." Will Josh take the mayor's advice and return to work in the office downtown on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays? We talk about the what's next for the Charter Commission on government structure (more appointment power for the mayor?). John celebrates the unanimous Planning Commission decision to legalize corner stores. The city's rent stabilization work group produced an unwanted result for rent stabilization opponents, but it did serve as a successful delay tactic. At John's urging, Josh reveals a piece of himself and forms a bond with the audience.

Follow Josh Martin on Twitter: @JoshMartinMpls

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Today, we're talking about people who think Roberts Rules is an acceptable form of bullying. It turns out, shouting "Point of order! Point of order!" over and over again is not an excuse to get up in a parliamentarian's personal space. Our conversation is inspired by Deborah Copperud's recent experience at the Minneapolis DFL City Convention. We talk about what's wrong with the DFL process, some potential solutions, and importantly, why those fixes will never happen. In a surprising twist, we agree the current deeply flawed process is still better than a primary.

John's guests are Conrad Zbikowski, new chair of the Minneapolis DFL, and Deborah Copperud of the new substack "Deborah Copperud Shops at Target."

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee