Farmer Labor Association Questionnaire

Doug Mann received the Farmer Labor Association's highest score, with views very closely aligned to those of the FLA on issues of social and economic justice. Other candidates who responded to the survey included Mark Andrew, Betsy Hodges, Gary Schiff, Jim Thomas, Don Samuels, Jackie Cherryhomes, Cam Winton, and Bob Carney.  

Farmer Labor Questionnaire on leadership, vision and principles for candidates for Minneapolis Mayor and Minneapolis City Council

• What are your thoughts on the current and escalating levels of criminalization of homelessness? What if anything would you do to reverse this trend and to provide real meaningful aid to people suffering from homelessness? 

       Survival is a challenge when one is homeless, especially for those without an income. Many who do get into a shelter have only overnight accommodations, per city ordinance. Those who get to stay in the overnight shelters have no place to keep their personal possessions, and they are kicked out of the shelter in the early AM. Most of the homelessness industry, e.g., the shelters and soup kitchens are operated by religious organizations.  

      The city council does have the power to change ordinances to allow and promote more round-the-clock shelter spaces and soup kitchen set-ups that are not under church control. The homeless need income supports. The County spends more money on some of the shelter beds than many people with homes spend on rent or house payments. 

• Would you put items on the city’s legislative agenda to work for :
• increasing the amount of the MFIP (welfare) grant,  
• working towards a Guaranteed Annual  Income at either Federal or State level 
• support for universal single payer health care?

         Yes to all of the above. The city's legislative agenda should also include a big hike in the minimum wage. An hour's pay at the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour only has about half the buying power of the federal minimum wage in 1974. 

• What measures do you think the city of Minneapolis can and should take to combat the foreclosure crisis and the resulting losses to residents of their homes and property? Would you consider exploring the use of eminent domain to acquire homes and then use an affordable scheme to return title back to foreclosed homeowners? And/or to provide foreclosed, abandoned or otherwise unused homes as affordable rental housing?

       I like the idea of using eminent domain to acquire foreclosed homes, and return the title back to the foreclosed homeowners, and in other cases to make unused dwelling units into affordable rental housing or sell them to poor people on affordable terms. The city should not help banks evict foreclosed homeowners. Instead, the city should be applying pressure on lenders to renegotiate loan agreements.  

• Would you support and work for honoring the Charter provisions to have the required referendum before expending any city money on the new sports stadium?

Yes.

• Will you seek an endorsement from the Minneapolis Federation of Police? If not, would you accept the endorsement if they offered it?

         No. I will not seek the MFP endorsement. Nor would I accept an MFP endorsement, given its stances on police accountability measures. I endorse the charter amendment proposed by Communities United Against Police Brutality to require police officers to carry professional liability insurance. I also want an entirely civilian board to review cases of alleged police misconduct, with powers to subpoena witnesses and to discipline police officers. I want police trained to use force appropriately, and to face disciplinary action if they don't. To the degree possible, I want the city of Minneapolis to relax enforcement of drug laws, and push for legalization of marijuana on the same footing as alcohol, and to decriminalize other drugs.

• What is your position on the use of City police resources and other resources to aid banks in the eviction of residents from their homes, resulting directly or indirectly from foreclosures?

         I oppose the use of City police resources to aid banks in the eviction of residents from their homes.  Instead, the city's resources should be used to pressure banks to renegotiate mortgage agreements.

• Do you support the program and efforts of Minneapolis Energy Options to place a question on the ballot about exploring options for municipalizing the energy utilities? Will you campaign for a Yes vote when the ballot question comes up?

       Yes. I will campaign for a yes vote.

• What is your position on requesting a Federal investigation of Minneapolis Police Dept. for its history of racism and acts of brutality against citizens?

        Wasn't there already a federal investigation of the MPD not many years ago? I am interested in requesting a federal investigation into ongoing racism and acts of brutality against Minneapolis residents and visitors.

• Can you envision any events which would warrant the use of the heavy military-style arms and equipment the Minneapolis Police Dept. has acquired since the advent of Homeland Security? If not, what steps would you take to reduce the militarization of the police department and return it to a civilian mode of operations?

         The MPD has been moving in the wrong direction, acting more like an army of occupation than a civilian police police. The MPD should be looking to hire persons with civilian police training, and require its recruits with military experience to take courses in use of force appropriate for a civilian police role. 

• Do you support the resolution introduced by the Committee for Professional Policing to pass laws requiring Minneapolis Police officers to carry their own liability insurance against damages for any acts of unnecessary force or biased law enforcement that they might commit? 

         Yes. The city should pay the basic rate for police officers who take a refresher course on appropriate use of force and have no complaints against them. Police officers required to pay a higher rate for professional liability insurance will have to pay the difference out of their own pockets.

• Are their any circumstances in which you would support making any city or park owned property available for private development?

       I am generally opposed to turning over park land to private developers. Ditto for city-owned properties that are dedicated for public use. I might consider support of a private development project if it involved a land swap that offsets the loss of public land. 

• Are you  In favor of enacting ordinances to encourage urban food gardening and urban farming, including 
• use of vacant lots and other land use 
• use of city water and provision of hydrant
• allowing urban farms to raise chickens
• easing rules for marketing produce of urban farms and gardens?

Please include your position on each item plus any additional ideas of your own.

       I can support initiatives to promote urban gardening / farmer, including the above. I would like to see an emphasis on organic gardening.

• What ideas do you favor and would you pursue in office to improve livability for homeowners, renters and the currently homeless in Minneapolis? Please comment on your position on such alternatives as 
• co-housing  or intentional communities  
• housing cooperatives 
• easing laws to allow more SRO (single room occupancy) living spaces for the very low-income at risk of homelessness
• easing current laws about use of space for homeless shelters
• means for deploying empty houses as either “low-cost homesteads”, affordable rental homes or public-support shelters

        I don't have an opinion about "easing laws" to allow more SRO living spaces and use of space for homeless shelters. What do you have in mind? I endorse the other above-listed housing options.

• For this question, you may indicate any ideas of your own to solve any of the problems enumerated in the introduction, or problems that we have not highlighted here but that you think are vital to the health and livability of our city.

          To address racial disparities in access to employment and housing, I advocate empowering the civil rights department to detect and prosecute employers and landlords (and other actors in the housing market) who engage in covert, illegal discrimination. Enforcement action should also cover discrimination on the basis of age, sex / gender, sexual orientation, and disability. 

        I advocate legalization of marijuana for recreational use on the same footing as alcohol, and decriminalization of other drugs. The so-called war on drugs has been very effective in criminalizing, disenfranchising, and marginalizing people of color. 

        I call for steps to eliminate systemic racism from the Minneapolis Public Schools, including the elimination of watered-down curriculum tracks and reducing exposure of students of color to inexperienced teachers that results from arbitrarily firing and replacing newer teachers before they finish their 3 year probationary period. I also oppose the corporate-style reforms, charter-ization, and de-unionization of the public K-12 school system. 

• Please tell us your vision for Minneapolis and how you would provide leadership toward reaching that vision as a reality. 

         I have been politically engaged most of my life in struggles for social and economic justice. I am calling for definite actions to end racial disparities in access to education, housing and employment. It won't happen by voting for politicians who make vague promises about closing gaps, but are not committed to doing anything.