Jim Meyer is B.E.St for Ward 11 in Minneapolis
Make checks of any amount (up to $600) to Elect Jim Meyer, c/o P.O. Box 19106, Mpls., Mn 55419
Many Minneapolis leaders have seemed stridently anti-business and we're feeling the effects. Business owners are shutting down or finding our near suburbs far more attractive. Will labor really grow strong if there are fewer and fewer jobs? Let's find a sensible balance here, or Minneapolis will no longer be the economic engine of the state. I retrained as an LPN in my early 40s and I can't stress enough how much we need aggressive workforce development.
In cities where violent crime has dropped dramatically, analysts credit (among other things) a very strong community + cops collaboration. In Minneapolis, we have leaders with great personal stake in sowing dissent. That's not helping; It's a danger in and of itself. I grant that thanks to decades of dogged critique Minneapolis police oversight is now dense and multi-faceted. It will require strong vigilance, but it also deserves room to operate. The movement to fire Chief Brian O'Hara is unimpressive, and I wonder if the silent majority feels the same.
Minneapolis needs to greatly streamline its missions and prioritize methodically. We can't do much of anything if we try to do everything. Past and present council members I respect have stated that we need much better program evaluation. City government has grown so quickly in the past decade that we may need a step back to move forward.
The caucuses and endorsing conventions seemed flawed at best. It feels like gatekeeping in a city where Ranked Choice Voting is already in place. I'm reaching out to those who feel left out of the democratic and governmental process.
I was born in Ward 11 and attended the Hale/Field pairing as the youngest grade in the first year of the switch in 1971. From there, Susan B. Anthony Middle and old single-grade Ramsey (now Justice Page) for 9th. I graduated Washburn in 1980, but most rewarding was three years at the MPS radio broadcast magnet at old Vocational Tech, 88.5 KBEM-FM. Yet somehow I ended up in light newspaper journalism, writing about Twin Cities musicians (even Cam Gordon) for local papers and then working for Sam Goody/Best Buy Corp. until 2002. I tried to start a baseball legacy at Phelps Park. We beat McRae in a play-in game, and had Bottineau on the ropes until their ace pitcher suddenly drilled Edward square in the back. THIS AIN'T OVER BOTTINEAU!!! Fun Fact: I lived 10 years in Farmington/Dakota County/CD2 with in-laws. I was a year-round sports official working from Niemen Fields Fort Snelling to Frank Quilici Field in Shingle Creek. I umped a game with ex-mayor R.T. Rybak in the stands and son Charlie on the field. In 2008 I retrained as an LPN. If I can do it, anyone can. Since about 2017 my latent interest in Mpls. City Hall has become a primary passion. I'm no expert, but I have some ideas, and I hope to learn from others on the trail. I know I'm starting the race in last place, but if all goes as planned, I'll `peak in the playoffs'' on November 4.
I hate to spoil their fun but opposition researchers are bound to find photos of me in the company of Southwest Minneapolis Republicans. (The younger ones were pro-pot before it was hot.). For the record, I’ve been a small part of many parties. As a long time worker in state sector, I have friends in both majors because the party OUT of power can be your best friend. And yes I voted in the 2020 Presidential Primary, for ex-GOP and relentless Trump critic Joe Walsh just to break the shut out. My first political lean was actually the bright green Movement for a New Society. Hippie violinist-about-town Warren Peterson was my substitute history teacher. He sent me by bus to Savran’s on West Bank (now Mayday Books) with a reading list, and I did news broadcasts for the SWP when KFAI-FM was still in Walker Community Church in Powderhorn. On the night of the 1980 presidential election we sat in the Blaisdell/Lake White Castle thinking the world was coming to an end. Of course, 45 years later we can all admit. . .we were right. So much illness with American politics and economic stability unraveled that day. As a former music critic, my political mentors include Kinky Friedman and Screaming Lord Sutch. (Locally, Cam Gordon and Spider John for Mayor!) Sutch is the mess-enger of the UK's very unofficial Official Raving Monster Loony Party. After 40-plus years they've never won the needed 5% to regain their filing fees, but ole Screaming came close with 4.2% (1114) in a 1994 Rotherham by-election. HOPE! I’ve just never been a group thinker. More like a ``one-man group thinker’’ to steal a line from local late-night comic Laird Brooks Schmidt. Independent political appetite is growing nationally. I may not be a perfect flag-bearer, but we'll see on November 4.
Have questions or suggestions? I would love to hear from you!
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