Minneapolis City Council voted narrowly Thursday to take Council Member Jeremiah Ellison off of several committees for the remainder of his term as he splits his time between Minnesota and Massachusetts to participate in a yearlong Harvard University fellowship.
The move came with Ellison’s support, as he addressed the changing committee structure at the council meeting for the first time publicly.
Some members of the public showed up in support of efforts to have fellow North Sider LaTrisha Vetaw replace Ellison on the committees.
One big sticking point was the council’s decision not to put Vetaw on the city’s Public Health and Safety Committee.
“North Minneapolis is still not represented for public safety, and that’s a big deal,” community advocate Lisa Clemons told Sahan Journal.
Leslie Jackson, who works and grew up on the North Side, said the outcome of the committee assignments made her “sick to my stomach.”
“Look what you just did to the residents of north Minneapolis,” she said after the vote. “It’s very upsetting.”
The vote in the full council came after a meeting Tuesday to find a path forward during the last four months of Ellison’s term.
Ellison started the Harvard fellowship, which will pay him a $57,500 stipend, this month. He also earns nearly $110,000 a year for his City Council duties.
He has stated that he plans to continue making the full council meetings held every two weeks for the remainder of his term.
During Thursday’s debate, Ellison did not address criticisms about whether he should hold both positions for the remainder of his term.
However, he participated in the vote, initially supporting an effort by Vetaw to kill most of the committees for the rest of the year and put most legislation through the Committee of the Whole, which includes all council members.
That vote failed.
Earlier this week, Vetaw pushed to be added to business and public safety committees as a replacement for Ellison.
Ellison said both he and Vetaw collaborate on a lot of issues impacting the North Side, and that he didn’t see a problem with her replacing him on both committees.
“We don’t agree on everything,” Ellison said. “But I think the one thing that we do share is a deep and unabided commitment to the North Side.”
Ellison also defended a statement City Council Member Jamal Osman made earlier this week stating that he’d support Vetaw replacing Ellison on the Public Health and Safety Committee. “If she can commit that she will advance policies that she might not agree with, without recommendation, to the full council.” Osman chairs the committee.
Earlier in the week, Council Member Linea Palmisano criticized Osman’s request as “a litmus test that I have never heard before.”
But Ellison argued that Osman’s statement was misinterpreted and was instead based on how Ellison said he voted in committee. Ellison said he’s often voted to advance legislation in committee that he disagreed with so the whole council could consider it.
“Let’s not hold things hostage in committee,” Ellison said. “If you disagree with them, vote them without recommendation and vote against them before the full council.”
Ellison also claimed criticism of Osman’s statement from other council members on this was “veering into xenophobia.”
Vetaw, however, said Osman’s earlier statement amounted to “I will vote for you if you do what I say” and said her criticism had nothing to do with Osman’s religion.
“I can’t tell you anybody on the North Side who’s going to agree with that,” Vetaw said.
Vetaw expressed frustration with Osman following the vote but refrained from criticizing Ellison for taking the Harvard fellowship while still serving on City Council.
“Jeremiah is an adult who was elected, and he gets to make the decision if he’s going to come to committee or not,” Vetaw said. “What I’ve always cared about, and what I care about in this situation is North Side representation.”
Ellison did not speak about the fact that his Harvard fellowship will prevent him from attending committee meetings, but others spoke in his defense.
“He’s working,” Council President Elliot Payne said of Ellison during the meeting. “He’s doing policy work. He’s meeting with constituents.”
Vetaw also took issue with how she, under the new plan, replaces Council Member Michael Rainville’s spot on the Business, Housing and Zoning committee. Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai authored the new committee structure.
Rainville, who represents downtown and often sides with downtown business interests, said that the new committee structure taking him off the business committee was “personal” and “an affront.”
“I’m being silenced because of my knowledge and my support of the business community,” he said.
Ellison, Chughtai, Payne, Osman, and Council Members Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, and Aurin Chowdhury voted for the new committee structure while Palmisano, Vetaw, Rainville and Council Members Emily Koski and Katie Cashman voted against it.
Both Vetaw and Rainville are seen as moderate members of the council, which is controlled by a more progressive majority.
Chughtai emphasized that the new committee structure was focused on making sure no council member would serve on all four standing committees and that no council member had fewer assignments than they had before.
“This is not personal, this is not an attack,” Chughtai said.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled the names of Council Members Aisha Chughtai and Aurin Chowdhury.
