Rejecting Cop City
A few weeks ago, I listened to the Mayor give his State of the City address where he spoke, repeatedly, on the need for the City to focus on the delivery of services. He shared that we are approaching another difficult budget year, and that the community should prepare for the Mayor’s proposed budget having some programs cut or rolled back because he believes we cannot afford them at this moment.
I do not see how a new $40 million dollar building, that will have indefinite maintenance and security costs we have not yet seen or budgeted for, is financially responsible in this moment. I do not see how this kind of new multi-million-dollar purchase that also incurs ongoing expenses needs to happen right now, while simultaneously claiming it to be a tight budget year where we will have to make cuts and hard decisions.
To me, it is the height of hypocrisy to buy a new pet project building, before MPD has even met the new training curriculum requirements in the consent decree while the rest of our departments and employees are bracing for cuts. Ultimately, cop city is a want and not a need.
I know there are a lot of things that all of us in ward 10 need before considering a $40 million dollar building not a single one of us will ever be able to utilize. We need to invest our money in things that increase safety, increase access to housing, provide green spaces and meet our climate goals, increase access to transit, and improve affordability and quality of life for the people who live here.
That is why at the May 21st City Council meeting I, along with a majority of my colleagues, rejected the plan to build a $40 million dollar cop city. I am looking forward to finding ways to spend tax dollars that are focused on delivering services to ward 10 and working-class people across the city.
Via constituent newsletter, May 22, 2026
This is completely short sided and is not progressing the safety of the city or address the police shortage at a time where crime is increasing.
One should be ashamed of saying that crime is too high and cops are overworked without having a plan to address those issues.
Minneapolis needs more officers and better trained officers, a new training center would help.
You have failed your ward; it is the one thing that you are responsible for. It is a wasteland. Your constituency not the DSA is what matters most. Your lack of consensus building amongst those that you disagree with are met with snickers and laughter from your microphone. I mute when you speak now because the rhetoric is short in answers. The time wasted by this council is palatable.
Incompetence, plain and simple
I read this piece of 3rd grade ‘work’ and all I got out of it was a No, What are the actual reasons?? Where are your solutions- what does Ward 10 and the rest of the city need? The rest of us think it needs a modern, centralized public safety center.
Does Chugtai mention supporting businesses and economic recovery? Nope.
No businesses, no jobs for “working people”. No businesses, no tax dollars to “find ways to spend”. (She doesn’t mention what those was are.) No robust and well-trained MPD, no increased safety. No safety, limited bus and bike use.
At a recent meeting about the plans to create a dedicated bike lane on Lyndale Avenue, one of the owners of the CC Club said they run a very bike-friendly business. . But now “kids” aren’t riding their bikes there any more because when they come out their bikes are gone or dismantled for parts.
The DSAers like Chugtai dream of lofty goals, but fail to support the businesses that will pay for them, or the police that will protect them.
DSA sucks