Gordon statement seeks to mend the Green’s image after Zimmermann conviction

In the wake of former City Council Member Dean Zimmermann’s conviction on three counts of bribery earlier this month, the local Green Party issued a somber statement supporting their fallen comrade while emphasizing its longstanding commitment to ethical politics. It read, frankly, as a half-hearted effort to salvage some semblance of self-respect after what has clearly been a crippling blow to the party and its loyal core of followers at a time when rising DFL progressives like City Council members Elizabeth Glidden, Betsy Hodges, and Ralph Remington are threatening to strip support from the Greens throughout the city. With Park Board Commissioner Annie Young, the city’s only other Green in elected office, battling various health issues and the party’s only true celebrity, Farheen Hakeem, waging a longshot campaign against Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, the political heavy lifting has fallen to City Council Member Cam Gordon.

Yesterday, Gordon released a statement on the Zimmermann conviction that balanced his affection for the former council member with his own commitment to ethical politics. In it, he vows never to accept campaign contributions from anyone doing business with the city, never to allow anyone to pay for a meal or an event, never to accept money from anyone but his campaign committee, never to serve on the board of any organization except in his official capacity as a council member (a slap at Zimmermann’s membership on the Green Institute board of directors), and to always abide by campaign finance laws.

“As the highest Green elected official in Minneapolis, I will not only do my best to personally exemplify ethical representation, but I will push to strengthen the ethical standards by which we measure all Minneapolis officials,