Minneapolis DFL Chair Devin Hogan suggested that the City Council should “refuse” to accept the results of an election that weakens the council’s authority.
“Refuse to cede power!” Hogan urged in a Twitter conversation that involved outgoing Council Member Phillipe Cunningham. The DFL leader aired this anti-democratic position days after voters chose to reduce the City Council’s power in a free and fair election.
Specifically, the citizens of Minneapolis voted for a referendum item known as the “strong mayor amendment.” By approving this amendment, the voters installed what is known as a “strong mayor” system, which is commonly used by other cities. Under this system, Mayor Jacob Frey will have control over all city departments, replacing the City Council as the head of those departments.
Minneapolis residents also voted against a measure to replace the police in the City Charter with a Department of Public Safety and unseated several councilmembers who supported this measure.
Hogan is an ultra progressive who looks favorably on the far-left composition of the City Council. Like many members of this body, he seems dismayed that it will now have less power compared to the relatively moderate Mayor Frey.
Hogan’s call for the council to “refuse to cede power” is not his first controversial remark. He praised the arsonists who set the Third Precinct police station on fire during the George Floyd riots.
“Like it or not, setting the Third Precinct on fire was a genuine revolutionary moment,” he wrote in an op-ed for Southside Pride. According to the Minneapolis DFL chair, overrunning the police station was “an act of pure righteousness to open new worlds of understanding.”
Hogan came under fire for his glorification of a violent season of riots that left at least 18 people dead. In response, he doubled down. “The truth hurts,” he wrote, before accusing those who disagree with him of “fetishizing decorum over substance” and being white supremacists.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
