By Becka Thompson. Becka Thompson is running to represent Ward 12 on the Minneapolis City Council
Our city has faced some questions – let me tell you what I would have done…
“Monday Morning Quarterbacking” is the idea that, after the ‘big game’ would be enthusiasts will lament or cheer what happened, explaining how they would have done it differently. (Vikings fans, can I see a show of hands – should we sign Aaron Rodgers?)
So people have asked me…
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
And I love that question, so let me tell you…
When it comes to specific votes, I’d have to tell you ‘it’s not that simple’.
When you have the levers of power at your fingertips, certain resolutions or ordinances come forward, and some do not. Some city departments see amendments, and some do not.
For example, Wards 4, 3 and 13 largely do not have encampments in them AT ALL. They haven’t seen any in the last three years. There is a reason for that. Their elected Council Member makes sure there aren’t any. It’s that simple. They built relationships with public works and public safety where there is a resolve.
Ward 12 did not have this challenge until after the 2023 election. We all know what happened then. Ward 9 has the worst encampments issue and it doesn’t take much to know why.
So, you should know, if I were a council member NOW, encampments would be taken care of. Not because I am insensitive to the plight of residents, but precisely BECAUSE I am SENSITIVE to the residents.
Encampments are not only a ‘public health hazard’ for the surrounding community – with the burning trash, the feces and the needles – they are a public health hazard MOSTLY for the RESIDENTS. It is not humane or compassionate to let people to suffer and die in our midst (not to mention the human trafficking) while we buy them hand sanitizer and use them as a back drop for our political agendas. It is unconscionable that, after these years, encampments are still a problem. I can discuss the structural and ideological issues within factions of the DFL for why that happens another day. Suffice to say, with a CM at the helm who view them differently, they disappear.
I know this as a Park Board Commissioner. We, as a board, made clear to staff and safety personnel right after being sworn in, in 2022, that we didn’t want encampments in parks – and we don’t have them. If they spring up, they are gone typically within 24 to 48 hours. It’s truly that simple.
Additionally, if I were on the City Council, specifically Ward 12, Lake Street would already be rebuilt. I sit next to CM Chowdhury on the planning commission. She knows, exactly as I do, that the Minneapolis 2040 plan stands in the way of the rebuilding of Lake Street. With council power, I would be able to get variances for businesses and underlying land holders from the obligations of MPLS2040. Also, when I DO become the council member, I will change Mpls 2040, with my fellow council members who want stability in our community, in the new Minneapolis 2050 plan to fix some of the issue inside this comprehensive plan.
Lastly, the big ticket items: the 3rd precinct and GFS. The 3rd precinct site would already be cleaned. That it still sits in barbed wire is a scourge upon our city. That JD Vance and SOH Mike Johnson were able to use it as a back drop to help in their 2024 elections falls directly on the shoulders of this DSA controlled city council. This is the national and international impact of our failure to act at that space.
“But all government is local!” you remind me – and you’re right!
The fact that the 3rd precinct is STILL based out of downtown means that residents of Ward 12 are disproportionately impacted. For example, if someone were to have a medical emergency closer to Bossen Fields, it will add at least 20-30 minutes (depending on the time of day) to have that life saving care arrive. Read that again and imagine you’re in a critical situation where peace officers are needed. This is shocking. It is irresponsible that it has been this way for NEARLY FIVE YEARS.
But I don’t have to tell you that, you’ve lived it.
As for GFS, residents and businesses in the corridor deserve better. This game of kick the can is unacceptable. CM Andrea Jenkins has advocated more than once to move forward. I would follow her lead. I know her to be a thoughtful leader. She has been there since the initial incident, through the violence and attempts to rebuilt. I know that she has been deeply listening. If she advocates to finish the plan, I will follow her on that.
As your council member, I promise these things will finally happen. Get me the election certificate and it will happen very quickly.
An unserious St. Paul City Council fiddles while downtown crumbles
https://replica.startribune.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=c7e389c9-4a96-434e-afc4-fafd0f9ceac8&share=true
Of course this Strib piece could have been written about Mpls. One thing that is worse in Mpls is the amount spent on our City Council. More than 1/4 of a million dollars is spent on each of the Mpls Council seats yearly, with the two aides assigned to each, benefits, etc, etc.
We then get to watch the majority of the 13 on the Mpls Council spend our money, and use their/ our time, while sucking up staff resources, as they try to ruin some of them, all while busy with activities that turn these Council Members on politically, and do nothing else but continue to do damage to the City that they are alleged to be “working for.”
Something positive though, for the Good City of Mpls; early voting begins September 19th.
https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/vote-early-in-person/
There are allegations going around that Becka Thompson does not live in the 12th ward. I would like to see this addressed one way or the other.
She has answered that.
Here is what Becka wrote:
Let’s clear this up once and for all.
I was born at a hospital in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. I learned to swim at Lake Harriet, played golf at Hiawatha, went to the U of M, and yes, I was raised in Ward 12.
My family laid roots in this community (ward 12) over the course of the last 70 years. The house I grew up in was sold to dear church friends who still live there, and my mom’s best friend — a friendship that’s lasted since 1979 — still calls Ward 12 home. My uncle lives near Brackett Park, where my aunt — at 80 years old — was out defending her neighbors during the uprising, and that week cost her her life. No 30-day election law will ever change that.
And while we’re on the topic of Minneapolis, I’d love to share that my great-great-grandfather settled his family here in 1880… Isn’t it okay to care about this city, its children, its businesses, its financial picture and its future? It seems incredible to me that those who continuously attack me are themselves unmoved by the children at risk, the neighborhoods unmoored and the families priced out of their homes.
I love serving on the Park Board and have done so with dignity and respect for my neighbors. I won’t betray their trust by stepping down before I absolutely am required to.
So here’s what is going to happen: I’m staying in my neighborhood in North Minneapolis through the school year, and I’ll be moving into Ward 12 before the start of the 2025-26 school year. That’s not about politics — it’s about keeping my promise to my son and myself.
People want to accuse me of “moving in to run.” Fine. But where’s that same energy for Council Member Chowdhury, who did exactly that — and, by all accounts, still doesn’t actually live here? Meanwhile, I’m here daily, volunteering in our parks, supporting local churches, and showing up for my community. Where is she?
The reality is, no one knows. And it seems clear that CM Chowdhury could live absolutely anywhere and still not care about the plight of the city.
That’s why countless residents came to me in the last year and said, with a pleading in their eyes, “Becka, can you please come back?”
And I said “yes”.
Why? Because I’m not here for a title. I’m here because I care about this city, I care about its residents, I care about its children and its businesses. I care about its survival. I always have and I always will. And I’m not going anywhere.
I’m not sure what else needs to be said.
Very helpful thank you.
I think it is great that Becka has decided to continue to do the work of a Park Board Commisioner, as long as she can for District 2, leading up to this transition. Some info from the Park Board site below
Email: bthompson@minneapolisparks.org
Board Committees
View Committees and Vote History
Park-Related Appointments
Administration & Finance Committee
Internal Audit Committee
Lake Street Greenway Partnership
Legislation and Intergovernmental Committee
METRO Blue Line Extension LRT Corridor Management Committee
Minneapolis Planning Commission
Planning Committee
Recreation Committee
I so appreciate this publication and all the contributors and commentators. Becka is who our ward needs to improve our community with compassion and common sense. Looking forward to this election!
If I was in Ward 12 you would definitely have my vote. This is a pretty short but inspirational post. I think these kinds of statements about things like George Floyd square and the third Precinct are important. And your example of an incident at Bossen Park with potential wait times is a good one . Best wishes against the socialist in power in Ward 12 !
I support her positions, but claiming that you can ‘guarantee’ these changes is a bit disingenuous (or perhaps arrogant). I’d still vote for her if I lived in that ward, however.
Thanks for publishing this piece. It’s helpful hearing directly from candidates.
Great analysis and summary. Thank you! Very much hoping for a substantial change for our entire City, and we can start this by retiring and replacing CMs Wonsley and the 3 Chs, (Chowdhury, Chughtai, and Chavez.)
Best of luck to Ward 12 AND to Becka Thompson. 👍
I live in ward 8, which has had encampments. They’ve been across from my house. Does that mean Council Member Jenkins has failed me and all other ward 8 constituents? I didn’t know that CMs had direct control over where encampments exist, or that they could just order public works to ensure an encampment never forms.
Yeah actually Council Members are not just powerless lampreys stuck on the side of the Mayor. They actually set policy and decide the budget of the city. Their policies dictate what the Mayor can and cannot do.
For example, did you know they funded permanent encampments in the most recent budget? Wonder if they will pick the site across the street from your home for it. Thoughts?
They picked the site across my house because it’s an empty lot and there were encampments a couple blocks away that were removed, so it was close and convenient. These people are homeless without cars, so it’s not like they are going to travel far when they are forced out of a space. I’ve seen firsthand for years what our policy is – it’s shuffling people around. And your point about setting budget and policy is not what Becka is arguing. She is saying that a CM can order public works around and they personally can stop encampments from forming. CMs can’t just order city staff around, especially under our strong mayor system. It is as silly as Trump saying he’d stop the war in Ukraine in one day. How’s that working out?
I think you may misunderstand what is happening at the encampments. First off, these people have been offered shelter repeatedly and refused it. There are literally homeless encampment teams who work to try to get these folks into shelters. And they refuse.
Why would they not take shelter? If you live across the street, you should know that drug dealers are making a lot of money off these spaces. That they have an economic interest in keeping the encampments. And rumors are that some of these “activists” working to keep them in place are being paid by drug dealers to do so. And the people in them are being paid to keep them too.
And what is your solution for the people who refuse shelter? Just let them die? 14 homicides last year. 15% of drug overdoses. You good with that?
Can CM’s order around city staff? Well they set policy so yeah they do.