When a majority of the Minneapolis City Council took to a Powderhorn Park stage in mid-2020 and vowed to begin "defunding and dismantling" the Minneapolis Police Department, the 13th Ward's Linea Palmisano was one of three council members who wisely refused to take that pledge.
The Star Tribune Editorial Board has already endorsed the other two — Lisa Goodman and Kevin Reich. Palmisano also deserves re-election for standing up to her colleagues on this and other issues that would set the city on the wrong course.
It should be noted that like Goodman and Reich, Palmisano is strongly committed to reforming policing in the city while maintaining an appropriately sized department of sworn officers. Even before George Floyd was killed by an MPD cop, they acknowledged business as usual could not stand.
Palmisano was among council members who unanimously supported Chief Medario Arradondo's appointment in August 2017. Earlier she had said, "I am done with damage control and crisis management. ... I will be pushing for fundamental changes in our Police Department, from top to bottom."
And so she has. Now seeking a third term, the DFL-endorsed incumbent has been a steady voice of reason on the council and has pressed for MPD changes. Notably through her work as chair of the audit committee, she has asked the tough questions to beef up performance and financial assessments of MPD and other city operations.
Palmisano, 45, opposes City Question 2 on public safety and Question 3 on rent control. And she supports Question 1 — the smart change in city governance that she believes would provide the "clarity and accountability that Minneapolis needs and deserves."
Palmisano's southwestern ward has some of the city's highest-income neighborhoods and lowest crime rates. Still, she says public safety is the number one concern of her constituents as they've seen violent crime increase. In response, she says the council must address MPD staffing shortages, invest in violence prevention, and work with the chief and mayor to give the department the resources it needs to succeed.
Challenging Palmisano is Mike Norton, 37, managing partner at Railbox Consulting, a shipping container coordinating firm. He opposes Question 1 and backs Questions 2 and 3.
Candidates Kati Medford, Robert Reuer and Ken Salway did not participate in the Editorial Board screening process.
Opinion editor's note: The Star Tribune Editorial Board operates separately from the newsroom, and no news editors or reporters were involved in the endorsement process. To read all of our endorsements, go to startribune.com/package-opinion-endorsements/.
