Fred Beukema wins a Spotty™ for this letter in the Minnesota Star Tribune:
When Jacob Frey ran for Minneapolis mayor in 2017, a major claim of his campaign was that he would end homelessness in Minneapolis within five years. While he cannot be blamed for the effects of the COVID pandemic, it is fair to say he has failed miserably at this goal (“City begins clearing Minneapolis landlord’s homeless encampment hours after another mass shooting,” StarTribune.com, Sept. 16).
The response to this week’s mass shooting at an encampment highlights the lack of empathy, imagination and leadership that mark Frey’s tenure. His administration seems to only know how to pull two levers: eviction and fencing. It is reasonable to expect another four years to look like the last eight. The police will continue to play Whac-A-Mole chasing encampments around the city, destroying the possessions, legal documents and medications of our most vulnerable residents. Meanwhile more and more open public and private spaces will be fenced off or filled with concrete rubble, a concession of helplessness that makes our city uglier and less accessible.
Frey has failed, and it is time for an aggressive, housing-first approach that treats the unhoused as clients and a symptom of bigger problems, rather than as the problem themselves.
Fred Beukema, Minneapolis
Remember, a Spotty™ is awarded for an op-ed or letter to the editor that I wish I had written myself.
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