Kate Knuth, candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis

05/06/21 • 81 min

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

Watch this episode and view other clips: youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Previous Episode

Sheila Nezhad, candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis

John is joined by guest co-host Jason Garcia, and they begin by chatting about the state of the race for mayor. Then, a conversation with Sheila Nezhad, candidate for mayor of Minneapolis. Sheila's a policy organizer with Reclaim the Block, who's spent the past few years pushing Minneapolis elected officials to divert funding away from police into alternative approaches to public safety. What does Sheila think of Mayor Frey's fear-based framing of the 2020 election? What would a potential department of public safety look like in four years? What do people misunderstand about her positions? What's the alternative to soldiers on street corners during times of civil unrest? We also talk about crowd control weapons, George Floyd Square, a vision for the city's public works department, housing, the strong mayor proposal, a newfound perspective on sexism that women experience running for office, Ruby the dog, and if Sheila was disappointed at losing the endorsement of the DFL Senior Caucus. Among this episode's gotcha moments: Sheila admits she is to blame for the great police horse budget debate of 2020 and that Jessica Simpson is an "inspiration."

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Next Episode

Operation Safety What?

A year after George Floyd's murder by four Minneapolis police officers, rising rates of violent crime (locally and across the country) have created a backlash to the backlash. Demands for a new system of public safety have been met with calls for more police from a reinvigorated law-and-order political coalition. John and co-host Jason Garcia speak with Logan Carroll about his story in the Minnesota Reformer, uncovering coordination between Mayor Frey, Chief Arradondo, and a newly formed pro-police political organization run by "PR pros" called Operation Safety Now (as distinct from the multi-jurisdictional law enforcement and military operation Operation Safety Net which put National Guard soldiers on street corners during the Derek Chauvin trial). Unlike the typical activist-politician relationship, Logan has obtained a giant stack of emails that show some of Operation Safety Now's talking points are flowing out of City Hall. John sees OSN as one piece of a constellation of new and existing conservative business and community groups working to affect the outcome of the 2021 election. But, as Council Member Lisa Goodman asks, is this really so different from activism happening on the other side? John is particularly troubled by the degree to which the police chief, an appointed city department head, has become a political actor in an election year. Logan's story shows Chief Arradondo collaborating on talking points and social media video content (a scripted fake interview) with an organization that is campaigning against progressive members of the city council in favor of a law-and-order slate of candidates. While council members complain about being ignored by the department, layers of MPD staff, including the chief, are turning around requests for information in rapid fashion for OSN. Jason asks about financial incentives for the chief's allies, and what explains Council Member Alondra Cano's rapidly evolving positions on policing. Logan has also uncovered that OSN founder Bill Rodriguez isn't actually a Minneapolis resident and has told two different versions of a home invasion story, neither of which appear to be true. We also talk about one detail left out of Logan's story: an idea to influence Ward 12 Council Member Andrew Johnson by holding a pro-police puppy parade.

Read Logan's story: https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/05/24/with-budget-on-the-line-minneapolis-police-chief-coordinated-with-political-operatives-to-lobby-the-city-council-emails-show/

Listen to Logan's podcast, Unbalanced.MN, which examines "America's burgeoning right wing."

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee