A little less democracy. KSTP’s Callan Gray reports: “Ramsey County officials are looking into whether the position of sheriff should be elected or appointed. The County Charter Commission discussed the agenda item at its Monday meeting. … There are thousands of sheriffs in the U.S., and the vast majority are elected. If approved by voters through a charter amendment, Ramsey County would be the only county in Minnesota to appoint their sheriff. … ‘We are the only home rule charter, no other county can have this discussion,’ said Joe Murphy, the Charter Commission chair.”
In-depth report on the sanctuary created at the former Sheraton on Lake Street during the George Floyd protests. For Harper’s, Wes Enzinna writes: “A few days later, as the protests continued, [Abu Bakr] Bryant came upon one building in the neighborhood that remained unharmed, save for a few smashed windows: a Sheraton hotel. Handwritten signs reading sanctuary had been placed in the ground-floor windows. I don’t think I’m allowed to go into a sanctuary, Bryant thought. But he entered anyway, and inside found dozens of others milling about—mostly street people like himself, their possessions piled in shopping carts or stuffed in backpacks, as well as some harried organizers with clipboards and cell phones. ‘I’d never been in a Sheraton before,’ Bryant said, ‘so I didn’t know if this was out of the ordinary.’ After he used the restroom, he walked up to a woman in a mask and asked her what was going on. She explained that ‘the community’ had commandeered the hotel—did he want a free room?”
Helping out. KARE’s Boyd Hupper report: “The wildfire fight in Oregon is getting some Midwestern help. Seven Minnesota fire departments are sending firefighters and equipment to try to save houses and other structures from going up in flames. … ‘Here in Minnesota we go on mutual aid all the time. It’s just departments helping departments and that’s really what we do,’ Ward Parker, an assistant chief with the Eden Prairie Fire Department said. … Parker is among five firefighters from his department who will leave Tuesday morning with a fire engine and a support vehicle for the 1,700 mile trip to Salem, Oregon.”
Ugh. WCCO reports: “The family of Philando Castile says a memorial garden in his honor was vandalized. … The garden is located in Falcon Heights, close to where Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in 2016. … Castile’s family says that several items are now missing from the memorial. … ‘It’s painful,’ said Clarence Castile, Philando’s uncle. ‘It makes you angry and it hurts that someone would violate this place that we consider to be sacred.’”
In other news…
Keeping jobs: “Delta won’t furlough flight attendants, ground workers” [Star Tribune]
Update from this morning’s story: “Robber who shot Edina doctor remains at large” [Star Tribune]
Sad news: “Teen Killed In North Minneapolis Shooting Was Member Of Republican Candidate’s Outreach Team” [WCCO]
Curd alert: “Minnesota State Fair to hold second set of food parades in October” [Pioneer Press]
As attractive as the idea of removing our current Ramsey County Sheriff might be, it’s probably a bad idea to make it an appointed position.
“Ramsey County officials are looking into whether the position of sheriff should be elected or appointed. The County Charter Commission discussed the agenda item at its Monday meeting. … There are thousands of sheriffs in the U.S., and the vast majority are elected. If approved by voters through a charter amendment, Ramsey County would be the only county in Minnesota to appoint their sheriff. … ‘We are the only home rule charter, no other county can have this discussion,’ said Joe Murphy, the Charter Commission chair.”
To me, appointing vs. electing a sheriff is a 50-50 argument — right now at least. Appointing runs the risk of putting the decision in the hands of a moron (or handful of morons) who taps a corrupt sycophant for the job.
Of course, right now the sheriff position is not very well understood by the general public, so people don’t really know how to properly vet the candidates.
I’m usually in favor of having officials answer to the electorate, but this seems like a special case. Maybe have an independent board to recommend candidates.