Last week the District 6 Commissioner for the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board, Brad Bourn, posted to social media after facing what he calls “victim blaming” at the latest board meeting.
Bourn said he had been made to feel unsafe by an unnamed colleague “twice in the last year” and said that each time he immediately expressed concern to the Parks & Recreation Board leaders, President Liz Wielinski of District 1 and Vice President Scott Vreeland of District 3.
Vreeland tells Alpha News Bourn is referring to Commissioner Jon Olson of District 2, saying there was a “brief but loud exchange about whether such personal insults would be stopped by a point of order” and that following the exchange Bourn, “demanded that Commissioner Olson be removed for his ‘overtly violent and aggressive tone.'”
Vreeland says the dispute started over a referendum debate, saying Bourn is resorting to a “personal attack of his colleagues” and that his allegations are referring to members “saying his analysis was neither compelling nor accurate.” Alpha News reached out to Comissioners Olson and Bourn for comment. Olson did not respond, while Bourn said “I feel like I’ve said everything that needs to be said on the issue.”
Citizens can decide for themselves if the exchange was of a “violent and aggressive nature” – a webcast of the meeting can be seen here (the exchange begins at 76 minutes, subsides, and reconvenes at 82 minutes).