Keith Ellison’s son, Jeremiah Bey Ellison, described himself as a “artist and organizer” when he announced in 2016 that he would run for the Minneapolis City Council.
Ellison’s campaign website — which makes no mention of his father — calls for “a future for the Northside authored by Northsiders.” The campaign bio makes mention of his experience as a homeless youth counselor and teaching artist, and lays out a campaign platform for the city.
Yang, the first Hmong-American elected to the Minneapolis City Council, won his first term in 2013, which he’s currently serving. The council member faced criticism during the heated debate surrounding the Northside’s 4th precinct occupation last year. Protesters surrounded the Minneapolis police precinct after Jamar Clark was shot and killed by an officer nearby.
Jeremiah Ellison’s name turned up during that occupation after a Star Tribune photo of him circulated on social media.
Riding the BLM wave surrounding the death of Jamar Clark, Ellison won his first election over incumbent Blong Yang. Ellison was then in place to become a leading proponent of defunding the police in 2020 after the death of George Floyd, though he was hardly alone at the time.
Nine out of thirteen Minneapolis City Council members stood up on the stage to announce their intent to disband the city’s police department.
The announcement comes after council president Lisa Bender and member Jeremiah Ellison tweeted Thursday that they plan to dismantle the police department.
Ellison promised a dramatic rethink of public safety.
We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.
And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together.
We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response.
It’s really past due. https://t.co/7WIxUL6W79
— Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) June 4, 2020
None of that happened though. Many proponents of defunding the police lost their jobs, challenged by candidates who opposed defunding the police. Ellison managed to keep his seat, but a majority of city residents, including those in his district, voted against his public safety plans. Eventually, the council’s new members would approve a new police contract giving officers a raise.
The city’s police charter amendment was ultimately struck down by voters in November 2021, and five council members were voted out of office, including Fletcher and Schroeder. Ellison survived and called for unity on the council.
“We cannot have another George Floyd in our city,” Ellison said days after the election. “We have to end this gun violence crisis, we’ve got to move together in this work.”
This July, Ellison was among four dissenting council members in the vote that approved the city’s new police contract, which gave officers historic raises.
To sum this story up, BLM gave Ellison his career on the city council but his plans for a full revamp of public safety were firmly rejected. Last year, he announced he would not be running for office again.
It’s been an honor to represent North Minneapolis—the love and confidence my community has shown me over the years has been truly humbling.
It is with tremendous pride and satisfaction that I announce I will not be seeking re-election.
Full statement below: pic.twitter.com/FpNMVcwyBF
— Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) November 26, 2024
As he pointed out at the time, his term wasn’t over. “I still have a year left, and I plan to serve diligently until my last day in office,” Ellison said. The election to replace him will take place this November and Ellison will be out of office by January of 2026.
But Ellison’s current plan to “serve diligently” is interesting to say the least. He plans to spend the next several months doing his job remotely from Cambridge, Mass. after he received a fellowship from Harvard.
…the fellowship is full-time in Cambridge, which means Ellison will likely not be able to attend his assigned committee meetings.
At a recent city council meeting, council member LaTrisha Vetaw stated that Ellison would likely be absent from the Business, Housing, and Zoning Committee and the Public Health and Safety Committee, which she said would not be ideal for Northside residents…
Ellison intends to keep receiving his $109,000 city salary while fulfilling his paid fellowship.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS requested an interview with Ellison, and he replied, “I will continue my workload as normal, virtually. I will be present for most full city council meetings. Overall, nothing remarkable happening. No interview required.”
This is apparently forbidden by the rules of the city council. You can’t attend meetings virtually.
It’s pretty clear from this follow-up report that fellow council members don’t care that Ellison is not showing up for work. They seem annoyed that they are being asked about it. The rules say he can’t attend meetings remotely but one council member suggests he can still watch the meetings online like any other member of the public.
Sounds like good work if you can get it. Does anyone know if Ellison is even watching the meetings he is being paid to attend? I guess his Minneapolis constituents just have to take his word for it.
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