Minnesota
Related: About this forumWednesday, April 18 Mpls City Council trying to end 1st Amendment. Call your Council members.
The resolution will be heard once more on Wednesday, April 18 in the City Council Public Health and Safety Committee.
1:30 p.m. - Room 317 City Hall.
Result from Friday April 13, 2012's call-in and packing the hearing room:
We were able to shut down Barbara Johnson's attempt to ram through the anti occupy resolution with 9 city council members voting to send it to committee for a public hearing. A huge thanks to everyone who called, emailed and packed the City Council chambers today. We need your support now more than ever.
This resolution would criminalize all citizens not travelling "without delay" en route to another destination who are on city owned or controlled plazas and Nicollet Mall after midnight.
* read council member Cam Gordon's great letter on his blog for his Ward.
(See:http://secondward. blogspot.com/2012/04/ resolution-targeting-occupy- use-of.html)
TAKE ACTION:
1) Call Mayor RT Rybak to ask him why his Chief of Staff sent out an email urging city council members to ram this attack on our rights through with no public hearing. (See: http://www.startribune. com/local/blogs/147344505.html )
2) Call Samuels, Goodman, Johnson and Colvin Roy to ask them why they voted against sending this surprise attack on our civil rights and liberties to committee for a public hearing.
3) Call Samuels office demanding that he set a public hearing.
4) Pack the next Public Safety and Health meeting. On April 18th (Time TBA). Members are Samuels, Gordon, Johnson, Tuthill, Hodges, Hoffstede
5) Call and thank Cam Gordon, Gary Schiff, Robert Lilligren, and Elizabeth Glidden for speaking up for our rights.
CONTACT INFO
Mayor: R.T. Rybak 612-673-2100, 331 City Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55415.
E-mail: <mayor@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>, <rt@minneapolis.org>
Ward 1 Kevin Reich
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2201
kevin.reich@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 2 Cam Gordon
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2202
Cam.Gordon@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 3 Diane Hofstede
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2203
Diane.Hofstede@minneapolismn. gov
Ward 4 Barbara Johnson
Council President
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2204
Barbara.Johnson@minneapolismn. gov
Ward 5 Don Samuels
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2205
Don.Samuels@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 6 Robert Lilligren
Council Vice President
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2206
Robert.Lilligren@ minneapolismn.gov
Ward 7 Lisa Goodman
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2207
Lisa.Goodman@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 8 Elizabeth Glidden
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2208
Elizabeth.Glidden@ minneapolismn.gov
Ward 9 Gary Schiff
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2209
Gary.Schiff@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 10 Meg Tuthill
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2210
Meg.Tuthill@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 11 John Quincy
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2211
John.Quincy@minneapolismn.gov
Ward 12 Sandy Colvin Roy
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2212
Sandy.Colvin.Roy@ minneapolismn.gov
Ward 13 Betsy Hodges
350 S. 5th St., Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2213
Betsy.Hodges@minneapolismn.gov
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TheMastersNemesis
(10,602 posts)Are we becoming North Korea or something. People need to run that idiot out of town.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)The plaza is a great location for tent activities for example. If you move the tents to say right in front of city hall it changes the jurisdiction.
Sorry for the OT. I have class tomorrow from 11:15 - 12:30 it is my local and state government class. I could make an announcement and maybe get a few classmates to come to pack the meeting. Hopefully it is after 1pm.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)Or something like that. It looks like there will be another hearing on May 2nd. They didn't say what time. I don't think they know yet. A few key people couldn't be contacted, one on vacation. So, they are going to have an announced meeting on May 2nd.
On a side note that Barbara Johnson is a loonatic. She was saying that she wants greater access for the citizens of Minneapolis to exercise their freedom of speech. Just as long as that right is exercised before 12am and after 6 am I guess. Anyway hard to paraphrase crazy. I am going to see if I can get the minutes of the meeting, even though it was an unannounced meeting.
annm4peace
(6,119 posts)By Karen Boros
A resolution that would restrict activities on city-owned plazas aimed at the Occupy protesters got a brief hearing Wednesday at City Hall with another hearing on the same topic scheduled for May 2.
The resolution, authored by Council President Barb Johnson, would establish hours of use for plazas beginning at 6 a.m. and closing at midnight. During the hours when the plazas are closed people would be allowed to pass trough them without delay.
Johnson said Friday that her resolution mirrored action taken last fall by Hennepin County after its experiences with protesters from the Occupy movement.
The resolution would also prohibit camping or sleeping on the plazas, allow unattended or stored property to be removed, and ban portable toilets and cooking except by permit. It would also allow police officers to issue notice of trespass which could eventually lead to arrest.
'You are targeting us'
You are targeting us as American citizens, said Osha Karow, who has been one of the leaders of the Occupy movement. You would restrict our ability to peacefully assemble.
Karow said he has seen police harassment of homeless people during his time with Occupy and called the resolution un-American, un-constitutional and not right.
Michael Katch pointed out what he sees as an unintended consequence of the resolution, which he said would have an impact on the homeless.
A lot of homeless women sleep on the plazas, said Katch, who is not part of the Occupy movement but does work with the homeless. He said the resolution would have dire consequences for the homeless community.
'One of the few safe places'
Peavey Plaza is one of the few safe places a homeless person like myself will go, said Dingane Xaba, who asked council members to be on the right side of history and defend our constitutional rights.
Dave Bicking also asked council members to consider the constitutional aspects if the proposed resolution, which he says is clearly aimed at members of the Occupy movement.
Its dishonest to pretend that this is a neutral resolution, said Bicking. We should not be restricting free speech and assembly.
Dave Cummer recalled the year 1981 and how crazy City Council members made themselves over the prospect of the Gay Pride Block Party. Cummer pointed out that the city has survived and cautioned council members to spare yourself future embarrassment and drop this.
Mary Murphy asked council members if they had received copies of a resolution from the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers denouncing police treatment of Occupy members. The organization represents 75 peace groups and 14 churches.
'We are watching you'
We are watching you and we are watching this movement, said Murphy, and we are here to protect this movement.
After the public testimony, Council Member Cam Gordon said he was looking forward to the next public conversation about the use of plazas and noted that his office has received no complaints about Occupy people at Peavey Plaza.
When you have a city, you have to balance the interests of groups, said resolution author Johnson, who also pointed out that in her 15 years on the City Council there has always been strong support for the homeless.
To say we dont care about the homeless is incorrect and offensive, said Johnson.
This resolution is a solution in search of a problem, said Council Member Betsy Hodges. We all need to be working together on a set of values we share.
Council Members did not vote on the resolution; a vote is likely after the public hearing on May 2.