Rybak picks Jordan to lead Minneapolis Civil Rights

For the fourth time in just a few short years, Minneapolis is gearing up to install a new Civil Rights Department director. Michael Browne has been serving as the department’s interim director, filling the spot vacated by Jayne Khalifa, who was selected last year to be Minneapolis’ deputy city coordinator.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has chosen Michael Jordan to be the new director, subject to city council approval. Jordan, originally from South Minneapolis, boasts a broad background in both the public and private sectors and believes that his wide range of experience will be a plus in the position.

After graduating from Minneapolis’ Central High School, Jordan went on to earn an undergraduate degree in political science and physics from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in management from Stanford University, and a law degree from the University of St. Thomas.

In addition to 20 years at Honeywell, Jordan also put in time with IBM, Square D, and was at one point vice president of marketing for the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. In the public sector, Jordan also spent four years each as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and as public information coordinator for the St. Paul Police Department.

Although most observers believe Jordan will be confirmed by the Minneapolis City Council on May 25, this nominating process has also been met with the grumbling and criticisms typically surrounding candidates for Civil Rights director in Minneapolis. One critic has been Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Doug Grow, who in his May 1 column aired concerns about the process used to select Jordan.

Grow’s major complaint is that the mayor’s 17-member Search Advisory Committee “never searched and, because only a handful of members participated in interviews, the group as a whole didn’t advise.”

Civil Rights Commission Member Anita Urvina Davis, who was also a member of the Search Advisory Committee, was quoted by Grow as having concerns about the selection process. Davis told the Spokesman-Recorder, “The Advisory Committee met on two occasions. And later, instead of another meeting date, they received a notice that we were to review the “pre-selected” resumes of who would be interviewed. The process was not conducted in accordance with the mayor’s news release.”

Davis stressed that she has no personal animosity to Jordan but still is concerned that “It is the lack of a transparent process that was laid out by the mayor in his original news release,” and further said, “That caused the commission to lodge a formal complaint.”

When asked about the criticism of the process, mayoral spokesman Jeremy Hanson commented, “Unfortunately, the person Mr. Grow chose to quote in his story [Davis] chose not to attend the interviews the committee conducted of the candidates. Those who did participate represented a broad diversity of this community and valued the process and the outcome.”

Hanson added, “Every member on the committee had the opportunity to review the job applicants, interview candidates including Michael Jordan, and provide the mayor with a short list of candidates for his final consideration. The mayor took those recommendations and made his choice.”

Grow also quoted Davis’ and MSR columnist Ron Edwards’ concerns that Jordan has not been visible in the civil rights arena. Edwards commented to Grow, “I’m sure the people on the Chamber of Commerce will like him and the City Council will like him and the cops will love him... But I can’t ever recall seeing him in the community.”

Rybak responded that “The Civil Rights Department is first and foremost about making government work for everyone in the city. Too often, people’s good intentions have allowed them to forget that. This department has to be managed by someone who understands the mission of the department, but also the work it does.”

To that end, Rybak said, “Michael is a person who has managed a large public agency, has worked in the public sector, has private-sector management experience, and knows how to get a result out of the organization. The result this organization has to deliver is fairness for everyone. So, Michael’s values and experience, I think, are exceptional.”

Grow and others have expressed concern about Jordan’s relationship with police, presumably referring to his time as public safety commissioner.

Former St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, who has worked closely with Jordan, called concerns about Jordan’s possible bias “absolute hogwash. He’s a public servant; his interest is the public. Michael is not for or against one group or another — he’s ‘pro-justice.’ He has an intense interest in justice.”

Finney also said of Jordan, “He brought inclusiveness to Public Safety. What difference does it make [that he hasn’t been visible in the streets] as long as he’s out representing the people he serves? I’m very high on him. He will take that office to a level of responsiveness they’ve never had before.”

There also are those who have been very impressed with the job Interim Director Michael Browne has done and would like to see him stay on in the position permanently. Under Browne’s stewardship, the Civil Rights Department significantly reduced its case backlog, complaint response and turnaround times, and has earned the respect of the lawyers and judges that interact with the department.

Browne however, is not interested in remaining as director. “The mayor encouraged me to apply for the position,” Browne explained. But, “While doing the job, I noticed myself getting further and further away from the things I really enjoy doing, which is a lot of the work with the investigations unit, dealing with the actual substance of civil rights.

“I’d really like to focus more on dealing with the substance than with the administrative end,” Browne said. “That was one of the reasons why I advised the mayor I wouldn’t be pursuing the position.”

Next week: Michael Jordan responds directly to his critics.

Isaac Peterson III welcomes reader responses to isaac3rd@comcast.net.