Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison accepted a full-time Harvard University fellowship in Massachusetts but will keep collecting his $109,000 annual city salary — even though he will likely not be be able to fulfill all of his city council duties.
The fellowship Ellison is pursuing will allow him to audit classes tuition free at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Additionally, the program allows Ellison to attend various conferences and work on professional development. Participants are given a $57,500 stipend for the year-long program.
However, the fellowship requires Ellison to be in Cambridge, Mass., and Minneapolis does not allow city councilors to vote remotely.
Ellison represents Ward 5 on the Minneapolis City Council and is the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. His current term on the council expires at the end of the year and he is not seeking reelection.
At a committee meeting last month, members of the city council discussed a resolution to change their committee membership to account for Ellison’s absence. That resolution would remove Ellison from his assigned committees and adjust the quorum threshold necessary to conduct business.
Presenting the resolution, the Minneapolis City Clerk said that Ellison would be removed from his committee assignments but would still attend full council meetings, vote at those meetings, and retain his council member responsibilities.
However, city council members made clear at that meeting that Ellison’s arrangement did not sit well with them. Ellison was not present at the committee meeting in question.
Council Member Linea Palmisano said “committees are the workhorses of our city council. I am pleased to hear that he will be expected at council meetings, but I have reservations about this and can’t support it today.”
Another member of the council, LaTrisha Vetaw, was critical of the situation, saying it leaves North Minneapolis without representation on important committees.
“It’s just not fair,” said Vetaw. “Here we go, another moment to disenfranchise the North Side. I get it, he’s got other obligations, but to not even consider that there’s no one on the North Side representing the two most important committees on this council is just absurd”
“I’m not understanding who made this decision, and how, without even talking to the north side council members,” added Vetaw.
Similarly, Jamal Osman said Ellison “will be missed” but stressed that the council needs someone to take his place. Michael Rainville said the proposed resolution hurts Ward 5 residents and a discussion should occur about appointing a temporary replacement.
The city clerk explained that removing Ellison from his committees was the “easy” solution to maintain quorums, but Vetaw said “I’m not okay with us choosing easy over equitable.”
Meanwhile, Council Member Katie Cashman made a motion to forward the resolution to the full council without a recommendation in order to discuss the matter with Ellison present. However, discussion of the resolution was ultimately delayed until the Sept. 9 meeting of the council’s Committee of the Whole.
Earlier this week, Ellison spoke with KSTP about the situation, saying, “I will continue my workload as normal, virtually. I will be present for most full city council meetings. Overall, nothing remarkable happening. No interview required.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
