Elizabeth Peterson "Lisa" Bender is an American politician,city planner,and a former member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 10th Ward. In 2018,she was unanimously elected president of the Minneapolis City Council.
In 2001,she moved to New York City and worked as the Communications Director for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy,traveling across the world advocating for biking,walking,and non-motorized transportation.
Bender worked for the City of San Francisco as a city planner before returning to Minnesota in 2009 where she worked for Hennepin County before moving to the Minnesota Department of Transportation to manage Minnesota's Safe Routes to School program. She co-founded the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition,an advocacy organization working to make riding a bike safer in Minneapolis.[2][3]
In 2012,Bender decided to challenge incumbent Meg Tuthill for the DFL endorsement for a seat on the Minneapolis City Council representing the city's 10th Ward.[4] After six ballots and five hours,she secured the party's endorsement over Tuthill and two other challengers. She defeated Tuthill in the general election on November 5,2013 with 62.4% of the vote.[5][6]
Minneapolis City Council
Bender was sworn into office on January 6,2014.[7] She was named chair of the city's Zoning and Planning Committee,one of only two first-term council members to chair a standing committee of the council.[8]
Bender being interviewed by a reporter on November 19,2015,outside the Minneapolis Police Department's Fourth Precinct during the fifth night of demonstrations following the shooting death of Jamar Clark.
During her first term,Bender focused on creating a safe transportation system for pedestrians,expanding affordable housing choices,fighting for workers protections and higher wages,supporting community and environmental health,and restructuring the public safety apparatus.[9][10] She authored the city's complete streets ordinance,protected bikeway update to the Bicycle Master Plan,accessory dwelling unit ordinance and landmark paid sick leave ordinance,establishing Minneapolis as the first city in the Midwest guaranteeing workers the ability to accrue up to 48 hours of sick and safe time each year.[11][12][13] In 2015,she authored an ordinance eliminating or reducing the minimum parking requirement for new residential developments along high-frequency transit routes.[14][15] The Obama Administration highlighted Bender's parking reform ordinance in its 2016 Housing Development Toolkit as a successful initiative to lessen housing costs,reduce pollution,traffic congestion,and improve economic development.[16]
In addition to serving as the chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee during her first term,Bender sat on the Committee of the Whole,the Elections and Rules Committee,the Health,Environment,and Community Engagement Committee,the Taxes Committee,the Transportation and Public Works Committee,and the Ways and Means Committee.[17]
She was named L'Etoile Magazine's MVP of the year in 2015.[18] In 2016,she was named one of Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal's People to Watch.[19][20]
On April 22,2017,Bender was endorsed by the DFL for a second term.[21] Bender won her re-election campaign on November 7,2017,making her the first incumbent in over 20 years to do so in the ward.[22]
Following the 2017 elections,Bender was unanimously elected by her colleagues as the new President of the Minneapolis City Council.[23]
Bender also sat as the vice-chair of the Transportation and Public Works Committee,the Elections and Rules Committee,and the Executive Committee,along with being a member of the Zoning and Planning Committee,the Budget Committee,the Housing Policy and Development Committee,the Committee of the Whole,and the Intergovernmental Relations Committee.[24]
After the city sent warnings to homeowners about a crackdown on shoveling enforcement,Bender accused the Star Tribune of sexism when their reporter found she was the only City Council member who had complaints against her (seven were recorded) and a fine ($149) for un-shoveled walks. The city had sent and paid a shoveler to clear her sidewalks.[25]
In June 2020,in response to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests,Bender and a veto proof majority of the City Council attended a community meeting at Powderhorn Park. At the meeting,Bender said,"Our commitment is to end our city's toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department,to end policing as we know it,and to re-create systems of public safety that actually keep us safe."[26] From that meeting,she started a process to dismantle and abolish the Minneapolis Police Department.[27] The police abolition movement in Minneapolis,as with similar movements nationally,remains controversial. Steven Belton,the Black CEO and President of the Urban League Twin Cities,called the move irresponsible and accused council members of failing to consult with the Black community,particularly those on the North Side.[28]
Bender also received criticism for an on-air interview with CNN's Alisyn Camerota in which Bender called for "a future without police." Camerota then asked:"What if in the middle of night,my home is broken into? Who do I call?" Bender replied:"Yes,I mean,I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors. And I know–and myself,too,and I know that that comes from a place of privilege. Because for those of us for whom the system is working,I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done."[29]
Bender was one author of a proposed charter amendment that would have replaced the "complete control" over police policy granted to the Mayor by the charter with the same structure that allows for council oversight of other departments.[30] The city's Charter Commission,a county-appointed board,voted to delay 90 days to propose alternatives,effectively delaying the ballot measure until the 2021 city-wide election.[31] Despite her efforts,the proposed charter amendment did not get voted in during the 2021 Minneapolis City Council election,and her attempts to disband the Minneapolis Police Department failed.[32]
Bender announced she would not seek reelection to the city council in 2021,[33] and was replaced by Aisha Chughtai.[34]
The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members,elected from separate wards to four-year terms,via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections,council membership has been dominated by the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). As of 2022,12 members identified with the DFL,while one identified with Democratic Socialists of America. Until the 2021 Minneapolis City Council election,the city's government structure was considered a weak-mayor,strong-council system. However,a charter amendment was passed that gave the mayor more power and reduced the council to purely legislative duties.
Cameron A. Gordon is an American politician who was a Green Party member of the Minneapolis City Council from 2006 to 2022. He was a co-founder of the Green Party of Minnesota and was called "the most prominent Green elected official in the US."
Margaret Anderson Kelliher is an American politician,Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works,former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation,and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,she represented District 60A,which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County,located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. First elected in 1999,she served until 2011,also serving as the Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She is the second woman to hold the position of House speaker. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 gubernatorial election,losing to former Senator Mark Dayton. Anderson left the Minnesota House of Representatives at the conclusion of her term in 2011 and re-entered politics when she ran for the DFL nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2018,losing to Ilhan Omar. Since 2019 Kelliher,has worked in transportation management roles for the government,first as Commissioner of MnDOT,and later as Director of Public Works for the city of Minneapolis.
Elizabeth A.Hodges is an American politician who served as the 47th Mayor of Minneapolis from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represented Ward 13 on the Minneapolis City Council from 2006 January 2014.
Gary Schiff is an American politician and activist who represented Ward 9 on the Minneapolis City Council. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL),he was first elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 and 2009. Prior to his political career,Schiff was involved with a variety of activist groups and causes ranging from human rights with the Human Rights Campaign,to historic preservation with Save Our Shubert.
The 2013 Minneapolis mayoral election was held on November 5,2013,to elect the mayor of Minneapolis for a four-year term. This was the second mayoral election in the city's history to use instant-runoff voting,popularly known as ranked choice voting,first implemented in the city's 2009 elections. Municipal elections in Minnesota are nonpartisan,although candidates are able to identify with a political party on the ballot. After incumbent Mayor R. T. Rybak announced in late 2012 that he would not seek a fourth term,35 candidates began campaigns to replace him. Many of these candidates sought the endorsement of the Minneapolis unit of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),though the convention ultimately ended with no endorsement.
Mohamud Noor is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),Noor represents District 60B,which includes parts of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
Andrew Johnson is an American politician and systems engineer from Minneapolis,currently representing the city's 12th Ward on the Minneapolis City Council. Formerly President of the Longfellow Community Council,Johnson was first elected in 2013 as a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) and became the council's youngest sitting member at 29 years old. During his first term,he focused on ridding outdated,contradictory,and burdensome rules from the city's code of ordinances.
The 2017 Minneapolis mayoral election was held on November 7,2017,to elect the Mayor of Minneapolis. This was the third mayoral election in the city's history to use ranked-choice voting. Municipal elections in Minnesota are nonpartisan,although candidates were able to identify with a political party on the ballot.
Jacob Lawrence Frey is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis,Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,he served on the Minneapolis City Council from 2014 to 2018.
The 2017 Minneapolis City Council election was held on November 7,2017,to elect the members of the Minneapolis City Council. The political composition remained unchanged,with the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) retaining 12 seats and the Green Party of Minnesota one seat. Three DFL incumbents were defeated by intraparty opponents. The new City Council convened on January 8,2018.
Linea Palmisano is an American businesswoman,non-profit executive,and politician serving as a member of the Minneapolis City Council for the 13th ward,and as the council's Vice-President.
A mayoral election was held on November 2,2021,to elect the mayor of the U.S. city of Minneapolis. Incumbent DFL mayor Jacob Frey won reelection to a second term,becoming the first Minneapolis mayor to win a second term since R. T. Rybak in 2005. Minneapolis mayoral elections use instant-runoff voting,also known as ranked-choice voting. All candidates appear on the same ballot and there is no primary election,nor is there a runoff. Minneapolis's twin city,Saint Paul,also held a mayoral election on the same day,using the same system.
Lisa Ruth Goodman is an American politician serving as a member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 7th ward. Elected in 1997,she is the longest-serving member of the council. The 7th ward holds some of Minnesota's wealthiest neighborhoods,including Bryn Mawr,Cedar-Isles-Dean,Downtown West,East Isles,Elliot Park,Kenwood,Loring Park,Lowry Hill,and Stevens Square.
Esther Agbaje is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),Agbaje represents District 59B,which includes portions of north and downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County,Minnesota.
The police abolition movement gained momentum in the U.S. city of Minneapolis during protests of the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and culminated in the failed Question 2 ballot measure in 2021 to replace the city's police department with a public safety department. The measure would have removed minimum staffing levels for sworn officers,renamed the Minneapolis Police Department as the Minneapolis Department of Public Safety,and shifted oversight of the new agency from the mayor's office to the city council. It required the support of 51 percent of voters in order to pass. In the Minneapolis municipal election held on November 2,2021,the measure failed with 43.8 percent voting for it and 56.2 percent voting against it.
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Robin Wonsley is an American activist and politician of the Democratic Socialists of America who has been a member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 2nd Ward since 2021.
Aisha Chughtai is an American community organizer and politician serving on the Minneapolis City Council from the 10th Ward. A member of the DFL,she was elected in 2021 to succeed retiring Council President Lisa Bender. She is the youngest person and first Muslim woman elected to the Council.
The 2023 Minneapolis City Council election took place in the city of Minneapolis,Minnesota,United States on November 7,2023. The Minneapolis City Council is made up of 13 members serving four-year terms,with one council member representing each of the city's 13 wards. The 2023 election was the first election since the city's form of government moved to an Executive Mayor-Legislative Council structure. The change was prompted after voters narrowly approved a ballot measure in 2021 to shift certain powers from the city council to the mayor. Topics surrounding public safety,affordable housing,rent control,and racial justice were at the forefront of the campaign.
↑ "Housing Development Toolkit"(PDF). whitehouse.gov. September 2016 – via National Archives. Cities such as Denver, Minneapolis and New York City have also demonstrated success in taking on minimum parking requirements – Denver lowered parking minimums for low income housing, Minneapolis reduced requirements near transit stops, and New York City eliminated parking requirements for affordable housing located within ½ mile of a subway entrance.
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