John has a conversation with David Wheeler, who's running for Minneapolis Council in Ward 10. What's David's closing argument in the final days of the election? How does electing David Wheeler help fix our city's problems? What role does he see for himself on the city council with regard to public safety? David is against Question 2 on the ballot (the public safety charter amendment), so John asks what role he could play on police accountability in a world where the city council lacks policy control over police. John observes that David has said his foremost passion is ballot Question 1 (mayoral control at the expense of the city council), which is a counterintuitive thing for a city council candidate to say. Does David agree with removing staffing minimums and creating an integrated department of public safety -- which are the parts of Question 2 that even Mayor Frey has said he agrees with? Does he have a sense from talking to voters about whether they understand the MPD staffing situation is a result of hundreds of officers quitting, and not a lack of funding for police? John compliments David for his willingness to say we should be driving less as a city, and not pandering to transportation NIMBYs like a few of the other candidates in Ward 10. John grinds an axe on Carol Becker, David's current colleague on the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation. What committee would David like to serve on? How is he ranking his Ward 10 ballot, aside from Wheeler #1? John asks David to reject and denounce the $1.6 million PAC run by close associates of Mayor Frey, which is spending to support candidates and ballot questions, including David Wheeler. David says he knows a lot of garbage about other candidates but refuses to name names. John asks if it was ethical for David to have led his Facebook friends to believe he had received the Star Tribune endorsement. How did David feel about the infamous "thumbs down" hecklers at a Ward 10 candidate forum held over zoom? As always, we end with David's recommendations.
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