Ward 2 candidates square off on West Bank issues

Questions and answers assembled by Joan Scully, Robert Johnson, Carol Cochran and Nancy J. Plath in August of 2001

Would you ask the attorney general’s office to perform a thorough investigative audit of the West Bank Community Development Corporation?
Gordon: While I will not rule this out, I will first offer the CDC the opportunity to open their books and their own audits to the community. I am also interested in allowing the current litigation to continue and while that is in process it may be in everyone’s best interest to allow it to follow its course. I also will make an effort, if elected, to bring community, business and CDC members together to see if there isn’t a chance to mediate some of their concerns. If all these efforts fail to resolve the difficulties, and upon further review and with advice from the city attorney’s office, it is my belief that an investigative audit may be called for.
Zerby: As a council member and, under the current structure, a commissioner of the Minneapolis Community Development Assocation, I would require that the MCDA be accountable for the proper expenditure and accounting of funds it disburses through organizations like the WBDC. Calling on outside agencies should not be necessary if there is strong leadership from the city council, but if there were the slightest doubt that the council could adequately perform its watchdog role, I would not hesitate to call upon the attorney general’s office, State Auditor or other independent investigative or audit assistance.

As the elected representative, how would you deal with the West Bank’s diversity?
Gordon: This is one of the largest challenges and greatest opportunities facing our area. I will advocate for more support to help recent immigrants understand and succeed in Minneapolis. I think that we need to also provide support for neighborhoods especially in the area of translation services as we work to make neighborhood-based planning. The city itself must also provide information and signage printed in the languages people read in the area, as well as educational opportunities provided in native languages, especially so new immigrants understand their civil rights. I also think that a focus on affordable housing, better public transit and living wage jobs will benefit everyone in the community. I will also advocate for better postal services on the West Bank. The most important thing will be to listen to the concerns and ideas of the new immigrants and use those to implement policy and programs.
Zerby: We must reach out to the new immigrants in every way possible to bring them into the broader community while celebrating the diversity they bring to us every day. We must recognize that people who have escaped political turmoil and persecution to reach our community may have special problems in establishing credit, employment and housing histories and seek ways to assist them in overcoming these difficulties as well as those stemming from cultural differences. We should provide language training and support for the immigrant communities in attaining citizenship and the right to vote.

We want our neighborhood to be an attractive, clean, friendly, safe and healthful environment. What would you do to help achieve that goal?
Gordon: This is a large question and involves both ensuring that we have the best city services possible and that the neighborhood has the power and support to define and work towards its goals. Some specific things I would work for include banning dangerous lawn chemicals which harm our lakes and river and preserving funding for the city to maintain trash receptacles in public places, targeting needed areas. I want to increase efforts to keep streets and sidewalks snow and ice free in the winter, supporting efforts at community based policing with a review of the CCP/SAFE program and consideration of other models that really put community first. I would support efforts to create and maintain more “beat” officers and substations in the area. I would also work hard to clean up polluted lands and make sure that future projects do not do more harm than good by creating or releasing more toxins into the area. I believe that we must not give up on some kind of neighborhood revitalization program for the West Bank area, and through that we could develop and support a number of programs that will support the community in reaching its goals for a cleaner, safer, friendlier and healthier environment.
Zerby: This question spans the many areas of city responsibility that are being addressed in this campaign and I can’t reasonably recite all of them here. I have stressed that I will place emphasis in building a budget from the ground up to provide the basic services we expect from our city: timely response to 911 calls; fair community policing; prompt and curb-to-curb snowplowing; trash collection and graffiti cleanup; safe and reliable public transit; greenways, bikeways, walking paths and parks; early help and safe schools and houses for our kids. Beyond specific goals as a council member I will work for continuous neighborhood involvement in all aspects of the neighborhood’s life and well-being through programs such as NRP.

What are your thoughts regarding development of the immediate area around the Hiawatha Corridor station, near 7th Street and 16th Avenue? What are your views concerning the location of the Minneapolis-St. Paul line, and do you believe our neighborhood should have a station on it—if so, where?
Gordon: First, I support neighborhood approval of all plans. This includes location of stops, location of lines and development plans. The city and county ought to be holding public informational hearings about the central corridor now and people need to understand the risks and issues involved in any line. I am very concerned that a rail corridor will be chosen and the community will not have the information and time to provide input and approval. I am especially concerned about any construction at the Superfund site. One of my biggest concerns about the Mpls-St. Paul line is that the community will not be informed and will not approve a location for the line and for stops. I do support full service stops in the West Bank area, however, that can serve the Cedar Riverside community and will not raise health concerns. Priorities should be put on making these safe and making them accessible to all other modes of transportation.
Zerby: I have not yet had opportunity to study development of the immediate area around the Hiawatha Corridor station. I opposed and was pleased to see the defeat of a proposal in the last legislative session to create a special taxing district for development along the LRT line, excluding interestingly enough the Megamall and the airport. There is a danger that developers and special interest groups will be over-represented in making such decisions. I want to know the neighborhood’s wishes.