The actual relevant bit is, "[Be it resolved that] the City Council [of Minneapolis] will commence a year long process of community engagement, research, and structural change to create a transformative new model for cultivating safety in our city." There is nothing in there about funding levels or even the structure or presence of the department. I don't think you can characterize that as a resolution "to completely defund and replace the police department."
> As a side note, calling Mayor Frey a conservative is hilarious in the US
Everything is relative. Within the politics of the city of Minneapolis, Frey's positions are pretty far on the conservative end of the spectrum, which is still to the left of national politics, yes. He opposes police reform, he vetoed full-time bus lanes over the recommendation of the designers, he opposes rent control, big business owners fund his campaigns, his biggest wins are in the richest areas of the city. He wins thanks to Republican voters, who don't otherwise have a feasible candidate to vote for here.
By the time this was voted on, 9 or so of the council members had already stood on a stage at a protest and promised to defund the police.
There was no one in the city who had any delusion that the "research" would produce anything but the amendment to the city charter. The only real surprise was that they had done such a terrible job at writing the amendment - it was very vague and hand-wavy.
OK. And so nothing has changed. We still have the exact same public safety system we did before May, 2020. MPD still employs many Derek Chauvins. I will cheer when MPD can't meet its staffing goals because that means fewer Derek Chauvins in my city. And I will continue to vote for local politicians who will try to reduce the harm MPD can inflict on my city by reducing MPD's budget and influence. It would be great if we could have something better. I will keep striving for that, against the conservatives who want to keep Derek Chauvin on my streets.
https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/File/3806/Transformi...
I found that link here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/us/minneapolis-city-council-r...
The actual relevant bit is, "[Be it resolved that] the City Council [of Minneapolis] will commence a year long process of community engagement, research, and structural change to create a transformative new model for cultivating safety in our city." There is nothing in there about funding levels or even the structure or presence of the department. I don't think you can characterize that as a resolution "to completely defund and replace the police department."
> As a side note, calling Mayor Frey a conservative is hilarious in the US
Everything is relative. Within the politics of the city of Minneapolis, Frey's positions are pretty far on the conservative end of the spectrum, which is still to the left of national politics, yes. He opposes police reform, he vetoed full-time bus lanes over the recommendation of the designers, he opposes rent control, big business owners fund his campaigns, his biggest wins are in the richest areas of the city. He wins thanks to Republican voters, who don't otherwise have a feasible candidate to vote for here.