1) Crime. If you tuned in to the City Council meeting last night, you learned that crime is trending upward. People should be able to feel safe in their homes and in the streets.
2) Police Department understaffing. Even if everything develops as intended with the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety Act, there will still be a need for licensed Peace Officers to help enforce the law.
3) Divided leadership. The Council, City Manager, and city staff often seem to be at odds with each other. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” A new Mayor and The Council need to understand the fundamentals of the Council-Manager form of government and work together toward the best interests of the community.
I think 1 and 2 are somewhat connected. If I am elected, I will work via our City Manager to ensure Chief McDaniel and the Brooklyn Center Police Department have the resources they need in order to have a fully staffed police department. A fully staffed police department is necessary to be proactive in the fight against crime. I would continue to support the efforts of making lateral hires to ensure we have qualified and experienced officers on our streets. A fully staffed police department also allows for community engagement which is key to crime prevention. In my words and actions, I will work to dispel the notion that we are for abolishing the police and that we need them and support them even if the public safety model is being changed with expanded responses to 911 calls in our city. I will also work to ensure Chief McDaniel is able to give input to these committees.
As far as the divided leadership issue, I do understand the Council-Manager form of government. In my words and actions, I will do my best to trust our City Manager and city staff and the information and recommendations they bring to the Council. They are selected based on their experience and qualifications and I think Dr. Edwards and his staff are invaluable resources to help ensure a happy, healthy, and safe community.
Unfortunately, if you are looking to government to fix all these issues, your hope is misplaced. Government can certainly help and support solutions but it will take many individuals partnering together based on common values and goals to truly address these problems.