Minnesota Independent » Barbara Johnson

AM.MN: Franken jobs bill is state’s best shot at State of Union mention

Chris Steller — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:30:28 +0000

Minnesota’s best chance at a mention during the State of the Union — barring an unlikely shout-out to accused phone-repair impersonator Joe Basel — is Sen. Al Franken’s new jobs bill, inspired by a Minnesota program. But a nod from Obama may not bode so well. Last year in a similar speech, the president praised Minneapolis for saving cops’ jobs with stimulus money — but by year’s end federal grants weren’t enough to save the city from laying off police.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

STATE CAPITOL: Minnesota better get mentioned during T-Paw’s big speech. Maybe those cop lay-offs and school-aid shifts too, when Gov. Pawlenty delivers his State of the State for Feb. 11. [Hot Dish Politics; West Central Tribune]

MINNEAPOLIS: Oh, “No“! Paul Thissen charges fellow DFL gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher with stealing his “Yes-No” refrain. [Polinaut]

ST. PAUL: Lucky 13. The DFL gubernatorial race sounds like so much fun, someone new has signed up. [Associated Press]

MINNEAPOLIS: City Council president defends paying for personal expenses with campaign funds. Barb Johnson’s life is a perpetual campaign, and “one bad-hair day gets published on the Internet.” [Star Tribune]

ST. CLOUD: “I’m scared of this city.” A public forum inspired by the posting of anti-Muslim cartoons could be just another in a string of “kumbaya meetings” if no action is taken.[St. Cloud Times]

ALBERT LEA: Suit filed over abuse at nursing home. The details do not live up to the name “Good Samaritan Society,” to say the least. [Albert Lea Tribune]

R.I.P., Alice Rainville

Paul Demko — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:01:33 +0000

Alice Rainville, the first female president of the Minneapolis City Council, died this morning. She was 80 years old.

Rainville was appointed to the post (then known as “alderman”) in 1975 and spent 22 years on the council, including a decade as its leader. The family’s political legacy has continued in the ensuing years: Her daughter, Barbara Johnson, is the current City Council president. Her nephew, Michael Rainville, is running for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post referenced Rainville’s political legacy in a column last year. Here’s the Strib’s obituary. The flag at City Hall has been lowered to half-staff, and a moment of silence will be observed in her honor prior to the start of the City Council meeting Friday.

Minneapolis moves towards hiring freeze

Paul Demko — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:11:59 +0000

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Barbara Johnson recommended today that the city implement a hiring freeze. The proposal is slated to be taken up by the council’s Ways and Means Committee next Monday and likely will be voted on by the full council on December 12.

“These are among the most challenging economic times that our nation has faced in its history,” Rybak said in a statement announcing the recommendation. “Every sector of the economy is feeling the impact of this financial crisis, and certainly government is not immune.”

The move comes as the city wrestles with the likelihood of serious budget problems owing to the tanking economy. According to the city’s finance staff, Minneapolis already faces a roughly $38 million shortfall in employee pension funds owing to stock market losses.

City Hall Monitor: E.J. Dionne gives Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson a shout out

Chris Steller — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:56:25 +0000

Over the weekend, the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne included Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson in a column on how women in elective office view Sen. Hillary Clinton’s current travails. The nationally syndicated column included Johnson’s quotes alongside those from three U.S. representatives and the president of the Massachusetts Senate, and references to a couple of governors and U.S. senators, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Elevated company, even for a council president in a weak-mayor town? (She’s the only one not hotlinked at washingtonpost.com.)

The piece also mentions that among those preceding Johnson in the president’s seat was her mother, Alice Rainville. Dionne quotes Johnson as seeing in Clinton’s treatment more ageism than sexism. Johnson didn’t have to worry about either in her last election: The council president, who’s occasionally said to harbor other ambitions, ran unopposed.