Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Mayor R.T. Rybak: “A community organizer in the White House”
"I hope when the presidential candidates talk about cities, they stop thinking about us as basketcases, and think instead of the potential of cities to turn this country around."
That's Mayor R.T. Rybak's urban agenda in a nutshell. It's time, he argues, for federal policymakers to get over the outdated notion that cities are a drag on America. Instead, whether you're talking about a better workforce, a stronger economy or a healthier environment, "urban America is the future of America."
For Rybak, that philosophy also means valuing the diversity and inclusivity of cities. "I was elected right after 9/11," said Rybak, "when there were a lot of messages coming out of Washington that attacked immigrants, that attacked the gay and lesbian community. But you can hardly go to a block in Minneapolis where there isn't a significant contribution from the gay and lesbian community. And you can go to streets that were moribund before large scale immigration happened that are now totally revived because of it. My city is stronger because we had different values than the Washington values that have been pushed onto us."
As a prairie populist with community organizing roots, it's no surprise to hear Rybak wax poetic about the 100 different languages spoken in Minneapolis, or the value of listening to community leaders. His hope is that the next president will bring that same sensibility to the White House. Which is why he was the first big city mayor to sign onto the Obama bandwagon.
"We need a person in Washington who understands that leadership often comes from the grassroots," Rybak said. "I want a community organizer in the White House."
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Posted at 9:10 PM, Dec 13, 2007 in Mayor R.T. Rybak | MayorTV
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Comments
Thank you for installing surveillance cameras everywhere in the City. I feel so much safer with the government watching everyone all the time. We never had them before, and terrorism ran rampant on the streets of Minneapolis.
What can I do to get more of your policy of government intrusion in our lives so as to empower workers?
Are there any other ways the City needs to monitor its citizens?
Posted by: Norman | January 10, 2008 08:47 PM
The mayor must be getting confused. I think he means he meant to say he "disorganizes" the community everyday.
How else to you explain the cutting off of neighborhood funds and recentralizing of authority into City Hall and not the neighborhoods. He'd fit in much better with the current crowd in Washington than an Obama administration.
Unfortunately I've listened to a lot of his wax on wax off lingo over the last 7 years. But there's more to running a City than just talking about running a city. Karl Rove is probably looking for help...go hit him up for a job.
Posted by: Justin | September 10, 2008 07:16 PM
“I want a community organizer in the White House, because that's what I do every single day.”
Feh. Rybak has just finished gutting funding for independent community organizers (the "Neighborhood Reinvestment Program", which funded local community organizations), so that he can centralize it under his own (and the City Council's) control. Community organizations are fine, so long as they take their orders from him. Otherwise, he's not too keen on them.
He does have good hair, though.
Posted by: KingDave | October 6, 2008 04:39 PM