Paula Chesley (Ward 7)
Detailed Responses
If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
My top priorities will be:
1) Public safety,
2) Revitalization of Uptown and Downtown,
3) Affordable housing and homelessness.
We need a modicum of public safety in areas so that businesses can feel confident reinvesting in areas. I'd like to see police numbers return to pre-pandemic levels (~ 900). I want to take proactive steps in police recruitment, and re-appropriate budget funds for the "Imagine Yourself" MPD recruitment campaign again.
The revitalization of core city areas is important not only for livability but also for increasing our diminishing tax base. For this, I support an Uptown Business Improvement District as well as dedicated state funds for the revitalization of Downtown.
We also need to focus on the pressing issue of affordable housing and homelessness. While there are no encampments in Ward 7, they exists in other parts of the city and they create an ecosystem that is difficult and unsafe for the folks in them as well as the neighboring residents. Creating more deeply affordable housing now is a way to ensure fewer encampments in the future.
What should the City do to generate missing revenue as downtown building values fall?
1) We need to be advocating for more local government aid from the state so that we can have grants or tax incentives for businesses to come to Minneapolis, thus re-establishing missing commercial tax revenue.
2) We can do office-to-housing conversions downtown, but because commercial real estate is taxed at a higher rate (~ 2x) than residential and the conversions are very expensive, we do need to be thinking more about how to draw businesses Downtown as a priority.
3) Extend the Downtown tax boundary to North Loop, but the food and beverage tax rate should be lowered to 2.5% from 3%.
4) I would be open to looking at the implications of a very small additional tax (~ $0.50/ticket) to events in Downtown. I do not believe such a small tax would inhibit people from coming in.
5) We also need to be looking at leaner city operations to lower costs in addition to generating missing revenue. I believe there's a lot we can do in terms of making our city government more effective with less.
What is the appropriate role of the City Council in developing policy and providing services under the 'Executive Mayor' system?
Legislative -- Creating policy and ordinances & how to allocate budget.
Oversight -- Ensuring proper functioning and spending; dealing with complaints.
Passing the budget -- Power of the purse. The mayor proposes the budget; the city council ultimately accepts or rejects it.
Services -- Approving contracts
Constituent services -- Meeting with members of the public and their ward and hearing feedback, advocating on behalf of constituents, problem-solving for constituents, helping businesses in their wards get relevant permits in a timely fashion, directing small businesses to appropriate city resources, etc.
What should the City Government do to support small and local businesses?
When I talk to small business owners in the ward, they are consistently saying that safety is their top issue. Some describe having to spend up to 1/3 of their time focusing on issues of safety and cleanliness, or that their bills for security are preventing them from making a profit. The reality is, if businesses cannot make a profit, they will leave in search of greener pastures, and we really want to retain all businesses in Minneapolis. Having small and local businesses is essential to the ecosystem of a city -- they keep our city unique, walkable, and safe. After hearing concerns from business owners in Ward 7, I reached out to the precinct inspector and asked for more patrol cars in that area. This is something I would continue doing if elected.
The city needs to be better at providing safe environments for businesses. This means first and foremost, fully funding the police department. Second, ensuring that the violence interrupter program is working effectively and that it does what it's supposed to do. I support a Business Improvement District in Uptown -- this will help get a long-term presence of safety ambassadors in that area. In some cases, such as at 19th and Nicollet, we need to be looking at changes to the built environment along with ramped-up police. Some business owners I've talked to over there suggested partially closing off road access to 19th street from Nicollet, for example, and I think we should be trying more things in this area given the urgency of the issue.
The Minneapolis City Council needs to lobby the state for more local government aid to provide grants to extant small businesses and also strive to create a welcoming environment for new businesses coming into the city. As of 2021, the city of Minneapolis generates 3.5 times more in tax revenue than we receive (https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/budget/local-government-aid/). Perhaps that ratio worked in the pre-Covid era, but it does not now. Two local businesses in Ward 7 would like to expand but are finding the cost of renovations given ADA compliance to be cost-prohibitive -- I would like to give grants to businesses that want to expand.
The city also needs to provide better access to businesses. I'm hearing consistently in the Uptown part of the ward in particular that people want more parking along Hennepin Ave. S. and in Uptown in general. One way we can do this is by planning our bike lanes to be on residential streets, while retaining parking on the streets. For example, I support an expansion of the Bryant Ave. bike lane into Lowry Hill East as opposed to putting bike lanes directly on Lyndale. Then we can have access signs from the bike lane pointing out local businesses.
We also need to cut regulations and fees for small and local businesses as much as possible, and to streamline the permitting process. Many small business owners have said the cost of doing business in Minneapolis specifically is prohibitive, and we don't want that.
Above and beyond these things, there's also technical assistance the city can provide.
What is an immediate and urgent solution to encampments in Minneapolis?
1) Mandated treatment of severe mental illness and substance use disorder among the chronically unhoused. In Los Angeles, 66% of the chronically unhoused experience severe mental health issues or substance use disorder -- we can infer similar numbers for Minneapolis. While mandated treatment is not the purview of the city, we can work with our county and state partners to ensure more people are going into treatment -- it is effective. We also need to re-frame what are compassionate ways of dealing with the unhoused. It is not compassionate to let people languish on the street, nor is it compassionate to let an encampment be so close to other residences. In 2024, fifteen homicides were within two blocks of an encampment. We need to be compassionate *and* firm in our approaches to encampments.
2) Bring back the Navigation Center we had in 2018-2019. The Navigation Center was an indoor, low-barrier service center and shelter with security. While the Navigation Center was not perfect, it was much better than unmanaged and unsecured encampments, and it got people off the streets. In talking with residents of Phillips, I have come to understand that they would like to see a Navigation Center again. It is an immediate and urgent solution to the encampment situation -- the city built the last navigation center in 60 days. I was re-reading the incumbent Ward 7 Council Member's emails from February of 2024, where she talked about actions the Council was going to take around unsheltered homelessness. It has been over a year since then -- the Council has had more than enough time to make a move on this issue, yet there's been nothing.
3) Longer term -- build more projects like Avivo tiny home villages. Create more mental health crisis stabilization centers in the city so that we can avoid the pitfalls of severe mental health issues and substance use disorders. Ensure that the unhoused are getting the gold standard of treatment for substance use disorders, i.e. medication-assisted treatment. That currently is not the case, so there are more relapses after treatment than needed.
What role should the City Council have in improving public safety?
1) The city council can create enforceable ordinances to deter crime.
2) The city council can create ordinances to contain and reduce unsheltered homelessness.
2) The city council can connect police, violence interrupters, and members of the community in their ward.
4) City council members can host regular meetings between the public, the police precinct inspectors, and residents so as to ensure collaboration and communication between the police department and the residents they serve. If elected, this is something I will do.
2) City council members can take a hands-on approach to public safety in their wards, asking police to step up patrols in a certain area.
5) City council members can advocate for certain outcomes for offenders with the police, with the county attorney office, and with the city attorney office, as well as to aid with collaboration between MPD and HCAO. For example, I think it's inexcusable that so many repeat offenders are still on the streets and not getting the help they need. I would advocate for tougher sentences for repeat offenders.
Quick Hits
Property taxes?
Too high and should be reduced.
The City has committed to transforming George Floyd Square in a way that honors community values and vision for the future. What option do you support for this transformation?
A Flexible Open-Street concept that would support development at the People’s Way.
What concept do you support for 3000 Minnehaha Ave, the site of the former Third Police Precinct?
Election and Voter Services/Democracy center plus community space
Do you support the City of Minneapolis moving forward a Boycott, Divestment and Sanction policy against Israel where possible?
No.
Do you support the removal of I-94 through Minneapolis and replacement with a boulevard and/or public transit?
No.
The City of Minneapolis has a Separation Ordinance in place preventing city employees from asking about immigration status. Do you support this ordinance?
Yes.
What would you prioritize in immediate future city budgets?
Focus more on core functions for which the city is currently primarily responsible like police, fire, and road maintenance.
Should a Labor Standards Board be revisited, its composition should be:
Business and Labor have equal representation
Increased vibrancy and activity downtown is important for:
Everyone in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis small and local business owners receive:
Too little support from the City Council.
How important is economic health and the business environment in Minneapolis?
One of the top three most important issues facing our city
Do you believe that Minneapolis currently has a hospitable business climate?
No.
I believe that perception of crime:
Has a real impact on local businesses and should be taken seriously by city policymakers.
Would you support the implementation of a strict rent control policy with rents capped at 3% annual increases, such as was passed in Saint Paul in 2021?
No.
Are you open to supporting a different version of rent control than a strict 3% cap?
No.
In general, what effect do you believe the production of market-rate housing have on other units in the area?
Decreases rent through increasing supply
Do you support the Revised Affordable Housing Right of First Refusal Ordinance?
No.
Do you think we need additional renter protections? If yes, what protections would you support?
No new protections, but there does need to be more enforcement ensuring existing, basic rights of tenants such as heat in the winter -- we've seen in a couple buildings in Loring Park this winter in which tenants did not adequate heat for weeks. The task of housing inspections is now with the Fire Department -- it used to be Minneapolis Housing Inspections, where staff have more housing experience. I wonder if this change has made enforcement more cumbersome. One option would be to evaluate the Fire Dept role, determine whether it would be better for Housing Inspections to do this, and then propose an ordinance to make this change. But overall, we don't want to penalize the vast majority of landlords because of the few with whom there are challenges.
The existence of homeless encampments is (can answer more than one):
A public health and safety emergency. Harmful to those living in and near encampments.
Should encampment closures be halted?
No.
Do you support the minimum police officer mandate of 1.7 per 1,000 residents?
Yes, and I believe the City should continue working to fulfill it.
As a city council member, would you support increasing funding for recruitment, hiring, and retention of officers as the mayor proposed and City Council majority rejected in their 2024 and 2025 budgets?
Yes.
Do you support the Office of Community Safety Department of Neighborhood Safety’s (DNS) RFP process awarding contracts to organizations through a basic competitive bidding process with expert-informed “best practices” proposal evaluations?
Yes.
Do you support the Department of Neighborhood Safety requiring data-driven accountability and reporting by violence interruption/prevention groups?
Yes.
With regard to public safety do you feel like the city's more pressing issue currently is police accountability or staffing levels?
Staffing levels.
The City reached a federal consent decree with President Biden’s Department of Justice. Despite President Trump’s administration indicating it may abandon efforts to finalize the decree, Mayor Frey has stated he will support the city and the MPD complying with the agreement even if it’s not enforced by the federal courts. Do you agree?
Yes.
Do you believe Shotspotter is a valuable tool?
Yes.
Should ShotSpotter be expanded to include additional high-crime areas?
Yes.