fredmarkus

About me

Retired geographer, strongly interested in Minneapolis politics since 1969. Chaired Nicollet Island PAC in 1970-71, Lambda Sobriety Center Board in 1988 (or thereabouts - lengthy involvement), SD 61 DFL Chair in 1996, Board officer roles in Whittier and Lyndale neigborhoods 1993-2002, Green Party Redistricting Commissioner in 2001, Charles Horn Resident Council President in 2002, various MHRC committees and task forces. Big on GIS mapping in CD 3, CD 5 and Minneapolis.

workaround

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Will informed expert opinion be set aside?

By fredmarkus, Free Speech Zone

A further and compelling insight is brought to light at Minneapolis Issues, compliments of fire fighters Local 82. One assumes this letter passed across the desk of City Council Vice-President Robert Lilligren and it is worth quoting in its entirety:

August 23, 2011MORE »

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Will Basic Health and Safety Concerns Prevail?

By fredmarkus, Free Speech Zone

The Minneapolis City Council is expected to revisit the recent 8-5 vote that failed to override the Mayor's veto of the Council President's own proposal to keep 10 fire fighters on the City's payroll until the end of the year. The Council Vice-President's vote to sustain the Mayor's veto was crucial in that tally.MORE »

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Redistricting may be greatly changed.

By fredmarkus, Free Speech Zone

November 2, 2010. Election Day. The grand finale on the Minneapolis ballot asks the Minneapolis electorate to vote on a major change in how we implement the ward and park district boundary changes in the aftermath of the US 2010 Census.MORE »

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Redistricting Changes in Minneapolis

By fredmarkus, Free Speech Zone

There's a bumpy road ahead concerning redistricting the ward boundaries in Minneapolis.MORE »

About the Pool in Phillips: A Matter of Perspective

By fredmarkus

Some notes from my own experience.

The Whittier Neighborhood had its troubles in years gone by. No need to go into that laundry list of bad news. But we also had some determined stakeholders and the wherewithal for some creative problem-solving. IMHO, money is nice, but creativity is nicer!MORE »

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Minneapolis elections matter

By fredmarkus, Free Speech Zone

We are getting pretty close to the end of the municipal election cycle that will be Minneapolis' first use of the Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) method of choosing our Mayor, the thirteen members of our City Council, 6 district-based and 3 at-large members of our independent Park Board, 2 members of our Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET), the balance of which latter independent body currentlMORE »