Minneapolis City Council
Encyclopedia
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. The City Council is composed of 13 single member districts, called wards. Barbara Johnson (Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
[or DFL], Ward 4) is president of the council. The council is dominated by members of the DFL Party with 12 members. The Green Party
Green Party of Minnesota
The Green Party of Minnesota is the fourth largest political party in Minnesota and was founded in 1994 on the Four Pillars of the Green Party: Ecological Wisdom, Social and Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Nonviolence and Peace...
has one member. The city has never had more than 13 wards, but at one time there were three representatives from each area, for a total of 39 city council members. The council assumed its current size in the 1950s. Because of a quirk in the election cycle, 2005 marks the first Council races since post-2000-Census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
. There were no Republican candidates for either Mayor or any City Council post in the 2005 election
Minneapolis municipal elections, 2005
The 2005 Minneapolis municipal elections in the U.S. state of Minnesota held a scheduled primary election on 13 September and a general election on 8 November...
, however one Republican ran for the Library Board
Minneapolis Public Library
The Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center was a library system serving the residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. It was founded as the publicly traded Minneapolis Athenæum in 1860 and became a free public library in 1885 founded by T. B. Walker...
.
The council elected in 2009, and which took office in January 2010, is composed of:
| Ward | member | party |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kevin Reich | DFL |
| 2nd | Cam Gordon Cam Gordon Cam Gordon is an American politician and member of the Green Party of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council.... |
Green |
| 3rd | Diane Hofstede | DFL |
| 4th | Barbara Johnson (President) | DFL |
| 5th | Don Samuels | DFL |
| 6th | Robert Lilligren Robert Lilligren Robert Lilligren is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council. He was first elected in 2001, representing Ward 8. In 2002, the Minneapolis city council approved a... (Vice President) |
DFL |
| 7th | Lisa Goodman | DFL |
| 8th | Elizabeth Glidden | DFL |
| 9th | Gary Schiff Gary Schiff Gary Schiff is an American politician, member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council, representing Ward 9. He was elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 and 2009.- External links :* *... |
DFL |
| 10th | Meg Tuthill | DFL |
| 11th | John Quincy | DFL |
| 12th | Sandy Colvin Roy | DFL |
| 13th | Betsy Hodges Betsy Hodges Elizabeth A. Hodges is the current Ward 13 City Council member for Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. In 2005, Hodges defeated Lisa Miller to become the first Democrat to represent the Ward in years. She was re-elected in the 2009 Minneapolis... |
DFL |
Council Member corruption
In July 2001, Brian Herron (DFL) pleaded guilty to one count of felony extortion. He admitted to accepting a $10,000 bribe from a business owner who faced numerous health and safety inspections violations. Herron served a one year sentence in federal prison.On November 21, 2002 10 year Council Member Joe Biernat (DFL) was convicted of five federal felony charges, one count of embezzlement, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of making a false statement. Biernat was found not guilty on extortion and conspiracy to extort charges.
In September 2005 Green Party
Green Party of Minnesota
The Green Party of Minnesota is the fourth largest political party in Minnesota and was founded in 1994 on the Four Pillars of the Green Party: Ecological Wisdom, Social and Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Nonviolence and Peace...
Council Member Dean Zimmermann
Dean Zimmermann
Gary Dean Zimmermann is an American politician and member of the Green Party of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council from 2001 to 2005...
was served with a federal search warrant to his home by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. The affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
attached to the warrant revealed that the FBI has Zimmermann on video
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
and audiotape accepting bribes for a zoning change. Zimmermann subsequently lost his re-election campaign, and was convicted in federal court on three counts of accepting cash from a developer and found not guilty of soliciting property from people with business with the city. Zimmermann was released from prison in July 2008.
In 2009, council president Barbara Johnson was accused of misusing campaign funds for personal spending. An administrative hearing was held January 26, 2010, which could have charged her with a civil violation or recommend criminal charges. The administrative judges at the hearing dismissed 6 of the 8 charges against her, and upheld 2 (AAA services were paid for both her & her husband's vehicle, and not all charges for hairstyling & dry cleaning were reasonably related to the campaign). She paid a $200 fine for these violations.
See also
- Minneapolis municipal elections, 2009Minneapolis municipal elections, 2009The 2009 Minneapolis municipal elections in the U.S. state of Minnesota held a scheduled general election on November 3. Because city voters approved a city charter change by referendum in the 2006 election to use a ranked choice voting system , Minneapolis did not hold a primary election on...
- Minneapolis municipal elections, 2005Minneapolis municipal elections, 2005The 2005 Minneapolis municipal elections in the U.S. state of Minnesota held a scheduled primary election on 13 September and a general election on 8 November...
- Minneapolis City HallMinneapolis City HallMinneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse , designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as by Hennepin County, Minnesota...