Downtown Voices: So why'd you decide to run?

Elizabeth Shaffer: My park district overlaps Ward 7 completely, except for one neighborhood. I have been very attuned to my park constituents, and I heard this growing frustration within the constituency about the majority on the Council. They’re frustrated that there’s more of a focus on peripheral issues than on city services and core city functions that are the basis of the long term health of our city. 

I have become a proven and trusted leader by being pragmatic, focusing on action, and being responsive. I think I could bring that same kind of leadership to the City Council, and I think there's a need for that. I'm going to miss the parks if I am elected, but I'm not going away, and I think my style of leadership is what the city council needs.

DTV: What are the most important issues you’re focused on in this race?

Shaffer: I really think there hasn't been a real authentic voice for Ward 7. That’s the overarching umbrella. But underneath that, I think that the number one issue, which we all agree on in one mode or another, is public safety, and the whole ecosystem of public safety. We need to get our officer numbers up. Currently, there is very little traffic enforcement in our city. Whether that's running red lights, whether that's speeding, we don't have the officers to do that, so we need to get back up to the charter minimum number. 

We also need to understand that public safety is functioning infrastructure. The Chain of Lakes has been in the dark since this winter. And we're still in the dark, and when I talked to the mayor last night, he said it would maybe be fixed by the end of the year, and that was because of a cut that was made by the City Council. So we need to focus on functioning public infrastructure that's safe, including things like protective bike lanes – safety is a very wide term in my book. 

I think, the other part of safety, beyond infrastructure, beyond the police, is the other tools in the toolkit. Things like the violence interrupters, which is something I fully support. But at the same time, we need to have proper procurement, and we need to have strong accountability around it. We’ve seen the headlines recently of double dipping and some of that. We just don't have the budget to do that. So the tools that we choose to use are really important. They're multifaceted and they're strategic. And I think we have to not just view it through one lens. In my role in supporting Ward 7, I think that public safety is kind of the bedrock underlying issue that a lot of people have. 

Secondly, of course, is economic vitality, especially Uptown and Downtown. Public safety plays into those. They go hand in hand. I'm very committed within my time, if I'm elected the next four years, to really make it a priority to cultivate relationships with small business owners, with corporate leaders, and begin with showing that a council person can be pro-worker and pro-business, and that we need our business investment in order to drive their jobs. 

That's a priority need I think that we have in Ward 7, and I'm excited to support all the things that are bubbling up already like the Uptown Farmers Market and this discussion of a business improvement district. I'm a cheerleader for the people who are on the ground and have the ground-level view of what's needed. My husband is an entrepreneur, and so I have a sweet spot in my heart for people who are trying to step up. Those kinds of initiatives that are creative, I think, are what Minneapolis is all about. We have to figure out a way to make that happen, for more access, for more people. 

Thirdly is that we're really headed into this area with our budget where we're going to have to lead with compassion and real sensitivity and yet be willing to make tough decisions. We cannot keep seeing our property taxes increasing at the rate that they have the last few years, and we cannot expect that being number one in commercial real estate distressed properties is going to work. It hasn't worked its way through the cycle yet. We can't put that revenue that we're losing in that category back on the residents. We just can't. It won't be sustainable to live in our city. 

It's going to take some real creativity. I'm willing to dig into the details of the budget. I did that at the Park Board, whether that's looking at categories of zero-based budgeting and kind of rebuilding all of our tasks, or starting in small buckets of work in the city, I'm excited about the behind-the-scenes grunt work. That's what our city needs at this point. We don't need a lot of drama. We need to dig into the details and really figure out, how can we support the long term stability of our city?

DTV: Let's dig in on the budget stuff for a second. One of the biggest areas of the budget that’s grown is the police budget, which is up more than 20% since George Floyd was killed. Why do you think that is, and is that an area that you would look at for budget cuts?

Shaffer: Whenever you're doing budget work in your own personal household, you have to look at everything. So I believe that's only fair. I would say, yes, we need to understand where those increases came from. My understanding is that it was because we were not competitive with our salaries in comparison to other communities. And we needed to have our police officers be competitive with other communities to maintain and grow our force. But no area is off limits for looking at and studying. 

I will be genuinely supportive of opportunities that come forward to support our MPD. I think the Chief has had a difficult job. He's been trying to bring down crime and bring up safety in our city with fewer officers. He's been trying to reform our department, and he's also been placed with a very antagonist, maybe that’s too strong of a word, but very reluctant City Council and suspicious City Council around his leadership. I don't think any of the people sitting on that Council know how hard of a job he has, and so I think we need to support him, but I'm not afraid to ask questions. That's what I do all the time. 

On the Park Board, the staff are like, okay, here comes Elizabeth Shaffer again. But that's how that's how the public begins to understand what's going on, and that's how we as Councilmembers can make the best decisions. Asking questions out of that spirit of support and better understanding what's going on and bringing the community perspective to a staff perspective.

DTV: Let’s focus on public safety. Crime in Minneapolis is up compared to 2019, but it's down compared to 2021. Homicides were up last year, but robberies are down 36% this year. What's your general view of the situation where we're at right now and the City Council's role in that?

Shaffer: We have to be following the data closely. We also need to be aware of the of the instances that are people are experiencing in our Ward, day in and day out, because sometimes those two have a little bit of a disconnect, and so I will definitely be paying attention to the data and promoting the good data, highlighting the bad data for solutions, but at the same time, never belittling, never giving no response to people in my Ward who have become victims of crime. We need to be responsive. We need to have that authentic place where we're understanding what people in our Ward are experiencing. I think we have to pay attention to that. That's one of the key roles.

DTV: What do you think the Mayor could be doing better, or the next Mayor could be doing better? 

Shaffer: I’m sensitive to criticizing elected officials. I've seen that from the City Council around the Chief, I've seen that around the City Council around the Mayor. So first of all, I just say I value relationships. So if I had a difference of opinion with the Chief or difference of opinion with the Mayor, I would go directly to them in private and try to explain my perspective, because I think that's how we bring people together. I think that how I can have the most influence as a Councilmember is in promoting those relationships and valuing those relationships more than soundbites. So I'm sensitive to answer that question.

I would say, if I were Mayor, I would really want to be realistic, and I'd want to be transparent with the public. I think as politicians, we have the tendency to want to sugar coat things in some ways, and I don't think that's beneficial to any of us. So if I were Mayor, I would want to actually be transparent, realistic, and be able to share as much information as I can with the general public to let them know how hard of a job some of these roles really are.

DTV: Let's talk about small businesses. What should the city be doing to help small businesses that it's not doing right now?

Shaffer: Again, I think everything starts in relationships, whether it's a larger business or whether it's a smaller business. When I read in the news about the Graco closing, it was like a punch to my gut when I read that it was a surprise to the city staff. Myself as a Councilmember, I want to make sure to have a relationship with those leaders. I want to know what's going on on the ground, what difficulties they're having, what successes they're having, so that I can cheerlead where it's going well and advocate where it's not going so well. And so number one for me is, I'm trying to develop a database of all of the small business owners and corporate interests within Ward 7. 

We have a huge diversity between downtown and all of the corners of Ward 7. So I'm really hoping to start with relationships to support small businesses. Then I will hear about road construction concerns. Then I will hear about, hey, I'm having trouble justifying my lease amount, and I'm seriously considering not renewing that. Whether I can do anything practically from the Council dais, in those situations, might be difficult, but if I have a network of people who are in the same boat, I connect this person to that person, and we might have ideas, or I develop a group of Ward 7 residents who want to invest philanthropically in making our small business owners succeed in Minneapolis, and then I can connect them. 

I think first and foremost, I would put it on myself as a leader to know them, and then from that, have programs and policies, whether they're official city policies or informal networks of support to be able to bring to business owners that are struggling.

DTV: Let's talk about Downtown. What would you do in your first year to help support Downtown?

Shaffer: I think part of that starts with building those relationships. I already have some of those on my calendar with corporate leaders. Secondly, I think one area that we could think about more strategically is this idea of positively promoting our city across silos of work. 

I really feel like in Minneapolis, one of the number one things we have, in comparison to other cities, is our parks and our park system. Planning events Downtown, planning things that connect to the Pride festival or are connected to the [Lake of The Isles] pencil sharpening festival should be promoted by Meet Minneapolis or by the Downtown Council. I would really cheerlead their efforts to promote the overflow of those great events that we currently have, and then also develop other events that can draw people around sports or other things like the pencil sharpening. 

I mean, I loved the pencil sharpening. It was so beautiful. There was no monetization. There was just people showing up and having fun. That's what this campaign is about. That's what is exciting about our city, is individuals out of their own initiative, doing these public benefit kinds of things that we need to try to use to really figure out how to draw those people for a weekend. Stay Downtown, see the Twins, all connected to the pencil sharpening. I think it’s about working together to promote our city in a positive way. 

DTV: Going back to something you mentioned earlier, it feels like there's real forward momentum for Uptown right now. How would you keep that going and hopefully expand on it?

Shaffer: Yeah, I'm thrilled with the momentum that we're seeing. And I think a lot of people need to take credit for that. That's not just one person, that's a whole group of people, including our current City Councilmember. I had a question last night from the gentleman who said he was crying about Uptown. I'm like, you know, I get where that's coming from, but it's time to wipe the tears and get your boots on. The Uptown Business Association has gotten the Farmers Market going. They've got this initiative to try to draw in a group of small businesses, not just onesies and twosies, but a group, you know. They’re considering this business improvement district. So I guess I would see my role as coming along to just keep them going.

DTV: What about housing? Minneapolis built a lot of housing for a couple years, and that's really slowed down when it does seem like the city desperately needs to keep some momentum going. What would your plans be for housing in the city?

Shaffer: We need to continue building our density and following the direction of the 2040 Plan. It’s climate positive, and we need to continue to make it attractive for people to take advantage of housing opportunities. I mean, we have a lot of empty affordable housing and hotels, right? And I think once we start to bring up staff, when we have some more safety protocol in place, I think people will begin to take more of that affordable housing that we do have available.

So we need to continue being creative in ways to build it out. We've had success around a lot of areas, and the Mayor talks about that a lot, so I think we need to continue to support his initiatives in that area. 

DTV: Park Board question. We got a lot of comments about your Minnehaha dog park vote, which put a fence in the middle of a place where dogs often play. That was done in conjunction with the federal government under a different administration. Now that there's a new administration that has been much more hostile towards the city, is that something that you think the Park Board should revisit?

Shaffer: The Minnehaha Dog Park is a treasured spot, and that has been a really favored spot by many people. Unfortunately, if you go on to our Park Board website, our native consultant park staff has been in dialogue with the various land owners and native tribes in that area. And there is a feeling that I don't want to speak for what is happening, but I would encourage you to go on our website and read. There is this feeling that there is something more even potentially disruptive than the fence coming our way. Can I go off record? [speaks off the record]

DTV: Of all the current Councilmembers, who would you say that you would vote most closely to? 

Shaffer: Linea Palmisano

DTV: Any other issues we didn’t cover that you want to bring up? 

Shaffer: I guess the only other thing I would say is that I'm really optimistic, because this is not about Elizabeth Shaffer. What happened at the caucus, what happened at the DFL endorsing convention, when I won the DFL endorsement, was about the people who showed up for the first time in this political process and decided to get engaged and make a difference. And so I think what this momentum that we're seeing, not just in my Ward, but in some other Wards, is about people who have not normally engaged in the process beginning to pay attention because they care about our city. 

I'm thrilled to have the DFL endorsement. I did not anticipate that. It was a surprise, I'll just put it that way. I knew we were close, but with three candidates in that process, it was never a guarantee. And so to get it, I am humbled. I'm honored, but I think it's not about me. 

When we have more competitive races, when we have people engaging on the issues more deeply, that's a win for everybody, right? So to me, it's exciting. I'm really excited about what will happen in November, because I think people are going to start paying more attention now, and it's about us as a city standing up.

Downtown Voices also interviewed Katie Cashman, the incumbent Ward 7 Councilmember that Shaffer is running against. Our election tracker is keeping tabs on everyone in the mayoral and City Council races.