Duel of the urban policy maker versus the urban planner. A ward of Obama-style change and quite possibly the gem makeovers of the city, it appears to be a tough race of equals. Don’t count out the Greens yet either.

[img_assist|nid=171|title=|desc=|link=node|align=right|width=200|height=200]Amy Arcand officially announced her run against incumbent Gary Schiff on December 29 via her group, “Citizens for Arcand” who posted on the MPLS Mirror. Former Executive Director of the Corcoran neighborhood, she has led the grassroots movement against ills which continue to plague the Phillips area. She has also worked to ensure that the growing Latino community in the area isn’t ignored. We found some hefty McKnight grants she secured for Corcoran Neighborhood.

Most know Ward 9 for a lot of goodies such as the Midtown Global Market, In the Heart of the Beast Theatre, the MayDay Parade, and a plethora of Lake Street Latino fare. Matt’s Bar on Cedar and the Town Talk Diner are anchors on the culinary landscape. Infrastructure-wise, our lovely LRT’s Lake Street Station is at the heart of this area. For those who bike, the new Martin Olav Sabo Bridge graces the Hiawatha skyline, signaling to residents that indeed investment and dollars will continue to flow into the area.

Ward 9 is in a mixed mode. Most would consider it disadvantaged especially after redistricting in 2005 which expanded Ward 2 and Ward 12, pinching off middle-class to wealthy households from Seward toward the Mississippi gorge. In a very surprising move, Ward 9 extended northwest, absorbing half of Phillips, and lots of problems. Fortunately, the center of the Ward has remained a commercial power in the city ensuring capital flow. Historically, this area was a Scandinavian outpost extending from Cedar Riverside with modest families commuting downtown or working in the mill processing plants along Hiawatha. The remnants exist today as Ingebretsen’s.

Gleaning from Arcand’s quotes, one might deduce that she is implying Schiff is only symbolically leading the Ward and not really getting into the gritty. Amy is also touting her completed Master’s in Public Affairs. According to Schiff’s record he studied at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute in the Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning program (MURP! as they call it). Looks like a Humphrey Institute showdown. In a bit of contention Gary lives in (an amazingly beautiful house) in Corcoran with his partner.

But smoke-screen aside, Schiff has taken long strides in accomplishments for the Ward including finishing now Ward 6 Councilmember Robert Lilligren’s Midtown Exchange work when the redistricting clusterfrak happened. Southside Pride has a great summary of lawsuits and concentrating non-whites.
For starters, I’ve been told the following points from supporters can be attributed to Gary: Midtown Greenway, environmental cleanup, foreclosure prevention, promoting economic development, and getting rid of booting. His involvement in housing with the Twin Cities Family Housing Fund and Central Community Housing Trust are commendale. Most know him as the energetic Chair of Zoning and Planning (Z&P). His enthusiastic attitude and impeccable memory has torn apart many unscrupulous developers (and their lawyers) who are disarmed by his relative youth and shiny smiles.

Who else is running? Why Dave Bicking. His son has some interesting points, pointing out that Dave is a Green Party fiscal conservative. I was also rather perplexed by this in regards to his father:

Think locally act globally isn’t just about NIMBY, it’s about a real culture war, and I for one want places like Minneapolis to win the war for our country’s soul.

I’m not quite sure what culture war is particularly being referenced here. Sounds kind of like Ron Paul Relovution. Bicking will be seeking Green Party endorsement come mid-April and was endorsed by the party four years. The Green Party is many things primarily “committed to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing” with a focus on dealing with corporate interests. The Green Party of MN at 621 West Lake Street, applies their values locally to Mpls via focuses on transportation, infrastructure, and opposing publicly financed sports stadiums.

According to Green Pages, in 2001 Bicking finished in Ward 9 “second of four (25 percent).” A few points stood out to me in his press release. Firstly that he will continue to oppose stadium subsidies or corporate subsidies to that effect and stated any Obama stimulus dollars (calling on Office of Urban Policy) will be “carefully spent” and not on “a few expensive boondoggles.” He also serves on the Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority. Now I won’t go into the CRA here but many know there is a very strained relationship with Minneapolitans and the police. It’s a fact of life in a metropolitan. His point will be received with scrutiny and praise because current Councilmembers have not delivered police accountability nor satisfied naysayers of the CRA.

On a not quite relevant fact to his election but still interesting to the gossip mill, his daughter Monica was arrested during the Republican National Convention and later one of eight actually charged with “conspiracy to riot.” Ramsey County still has not dropped the charges and the RNC 8 continue to speak out. We’ll have comments from Bicking on this at a later date.