Ward 3 Candidate Answers

The following candidates running in Ward 3 filled out our survey. Click a name to see all that candidate’s answers. The score next to a candidate’s name represents their rating, on a scale of 1 to 5. One is “does not align with any values,” and five is “aligns with all values.” Ratings are not endorsements.

• Steve Fletcher (I)

• Michael Rainville

If elected, how do you plan on being accountable to your constituents? Please emphasize ways in which marginalized and oppressed people who have been neglected in the past will be a part of your accountability plan.

I believe in openness and transparency in government. I am always working to find new ways to be accessible. It takes proactive work to reach past the people who have always had access to government processes and ensure our office is hearing the diversity of voices in Ward 3. Strategies we’ve tried this term include weekly public meetings at a variety of locations in every part of the ward, participation in building meetings, especially focused on public housing and low-income housing, participation in student meetings, doorknocking, online meetings, and more. We’ve held meetings on renters’ rights and immigrant rights tailored to reach those constituencies.As COVID has allowed, we’ve been reactivating these public opportunities for constituents to engage directly with local government, and will continue to make sure as many people as possible feel invited and welcome to share feedback and ask questions of me as their elected representative.

How are young people included in your campaign, and how will they be included in your decisions if elected?

Young people have been and will continue to be an integral part of my campaign and how I will govern. My campaign manager, Erik Myster, is 26 years old, a graduate of Hamline University and has significant experience working in youth communities throughout the city. In addition, we have many campaign workers and volunteers that are either current students or recent graduates.

During my first term I worked with MSA to include student housing in our inclusionary zoning ordinance, which will result in the first new affordable student units in decades. I will continue to work directly with young people and organizations to focus on policy that place youth interests at its center.

How would you describe your relationship with mass movement work and non-violent direct action? If you are elected, what will you do to try to protect people who organize and participate in this work?

I come from movement work, and this is why I ran for this office. I’ve learned a great deal and am still learning what that partnership can look like, but I have and will always work to protect the right to non-violent protest and direct action. As someone who has planned protests and direct actions, I’m frustrated by the escalations and lack of restraint shown by MPD and other law enforcement, and have been vocal in calling for de-escalation and peaceful tactics. I’ve attended protests as a participant and observer, in hopes that my presence would encourage peaceful tactics. I authored the city’s data privacy policy and a facial recognition ban which protect people from intrusive surveillance while engaged in free speech activities. I’ll continue to work with advocates to regulate the city’s use of surveillance and crowd control technologies, to ensure the maintenance of free speech in our city.

Last summer in Minneapolis, Uprisings occurred in response to the murder of George Floyd and against state-sanctioned violence and militarized, white supremacist police. How have the events of last summer impacted your leadership and relationship to your community? If you were involved in any way, we would love to hear about it.

I’ve been a leading Council voice calling for justice, and participated in some of the more mainstream rallies, including the rally at Powderhorn, where I was one of the Council Members on stage. I also heard from thousands of constituents, many of whom were contacting city government for the first time, demanding change. With prompting from constituents, I’ve stepped into a leadership role in the effort to transform our city’s approach to public safety, authoring investments in alternative response for things like mental health response and report-only calls, violence prevention to disrupt cycles of violent crime and reform and accountability measures. That role is for better and worse, polarizing and clarifying. Voters have a clear choice to move forward with transformation, or maintain the existing system. Ward 3 constituents are divided on our approach to public safety, and 2021 is critical, both for Yes4Mpls charter amendment and the election.

When you began considering running for office, who did you speak with who helped inform your decision to run? What motivated you most in deciding to run for office?

The first people who encouraged me to run in 2017 were community and labor organizers I had worked with who convinced me it would be valuable to have an organizer on the council. We expanded that conversation to my neighbors, to people I knew in the community, to DFL caucus-goers, and found a really solid base of supporters who share my vision for racial and economic justice, and helped me ultimately win the election.

Why is your campaign more capable of reaching and connecting with voters, and why are you more able to represent your ward than other candidates in the race?

We understand that the power in a campaign comes from the community around us. I’m an experienced community organizer, and I’ve built a team of organizers who are committed to doing the difficult, grassroots work required to win a City Council campaign. We have a solid plan to organize the money and people to run a campaign that gets our message across. Most importantly: we have the winning message. People in Ward 3 are demanding a better future. On public safety, on housing, on climate change - we’re on the right side of history, and with the majority of Ward 3 voters. I showed that our approach works by winning four years ago and I am confident that our approach will work again.

If elected, how do you plan on being accountable to your constituents? Please emphasize ways in which marginalized and oppressed people who have been neglected in the past will be a part of your accountability plan.

One of the top goals I have as Council Member for Ward 3 is a return to the practice of constituent service. I will be accountable to my constituents - whether they do or do not support me - by listening to them, by returning their emails and calls within 24 hours, and by being their voice in City Hall. Following the advice of former Council Member Don Samuels, I will pay special attention to the voices of the disadvantaged as they often experience first the difficulties which the entire Ward experiences later.

How are young people included in your campaign, and how will they be included in your decisions if elected?

My campaign manager has just turned 30 and I have two high school students working on my campaign. I value and seek their perspectives as I am forming my decisions on policy. I will seek to have younger people on my staff when Council Member for Ward 3 as they provide me a vital perspective that my age precludes me from having on my own.

How would you describe your relationship with mass movement work and non-violent direct action? If you are elected, what will you do to try to protect people who organize and participate in this work?

My relationship with mass movement work and non-violent direct action is limited and I will seek to broaden my understanding beyond what I have learned from a campaign member who is engaged in this sort of work with persons from the unhoused community.

Last summer in Minneapolis, Uprisings occurred in response to the murder of George Floyd and against state-sanctioned violence and militarized, white supremacist police. How have the events of last summer impacted your leadership and relationship to your community? If you were involved in any way, we would love to hear about it.

Police brutality is unacceptable. We must reform how we police. We need a “both/and” approach to public safety. Trained social workers to respond to mental health, domestic violence, and drug overdose calls is a very good start. The opportunity to engage and partner with Hennepin County to learn of the effectiveness of its efforts is unlimited, especially with regard to de-escalation. We must explore how additional 911 calls can be diverted to a non-police response. The future of police training must include de-escalation tactics and implicit bias avoidance. Monitoring the use of force, wellness checks after officers experience trauma in the course of their shift, and community outreach through the Police Activities League (PAL), the Citizens Academy and the use of beat cops will contribute to a better environment for all of us. We must support Chief Arradondo in his efforts to reform the MPD.

When you began considering running for office, who did you speak with who helped inform your decision to run? What motivated you most in deciding to run for office?

I spoke with my family, my friends, my neighbors, and with many respected colleagues and partners from my 35 year career at Meet Minneapolis. My primary motivation in deciding to run for office was a love for my city and a determination to help return common sense to City Hall.

Why is your campaign more capable of reaching and connecting with voters, and why are you more able to represent your ward than other candidates in the race?

I am a life-long resident of Ward 3. I have served for 35 years with my neighborhood association. I know the people of Ward 3 and I know that they are generous, caring and well-informed about the community’s needs and issues. I respect the people of Ward 3 and am excited to work to serve the needs of its neighborhoods rather than those of outside interest groups.