Lisa Goodman’s retirement from the City Council garnered lots of ink in the biggies, and with good reason. Lisa represented Ward 7 for 25 years, longer than some of her constituents have been alive.
The Strib, MPR and MinnPost documented her many achievements, from food trucks, sidewalk cafes and dog parks to her work on historic preservation, affordable housing and the Climate Equity Plan. She has much to be proud of.
The Hill & Lake Press, which has covered her career from swearing-in to signing-off, decided to talk with Lisa about her reflections on being in office and leaving office, and to let her tell it (mostly) in her own words.
The Backstory
Lisa’s background of working on Paul Wellstone’s senate campaign and later as executive director of the Minnesota organization then called NARAL, the prochoice lobbying group, made her appear too radical for some in the ward. Although as she points out, she had the support of many prochoice Republican women who had worked with her on reproductive rights — something unimaginable in today’s Republican party. But she did not have the support of her DFL predecessor, Pat Scott, who endorsed her opponent, Robert Landis, running at the time as a Republican. As is often the case with Lisa’s opponents, he later became a friend.
She attended a meeting of local pols to discuss who should run in the Ward 7 and discovered that she was one of few people in the room (and one of two women) who hadn’t already run — and lost. “I was an accidental candidate!” After defeating a few challengers, she was elected to the City Council in 1997 at the age of 31.
“In that way I’m really not very different from the younger people of today, so I understand them, and I don’t begrudge them for some of the things they do.”
Representing a Complex Ward
Ward 7 has been redistricted three times during her tenure, but it has always remained a diverse blend of neighborhoods from downtown residents and businesses to Loring Park, Elliot Park and Stevens Square, to the neighborhoods around the lakes — including those served by the Hill & Lake Press. “It’s overwhelming the way it’s districted!
“You just do your best to represent the interests of all your constituents…. The city is about basic services, so everything else is an extra. You try to make sure the street is plowed, the garbage is picked up, that it’s safe and that we have fast responses to emergencies.
“People would call me, upset, they often began, ‘I pay taxes!’ or ‘I voted for you!’ and I’d say, ‘That’s great, now how can I help you?’ I liked to make people believe that government will listen to
them and get things done.”
Accomplishments
“There are many! But my passion has always been helping low-income people with housing. It took me five years to convince Project for Pride in Living to partner with Youth Link to build housing to go along with the services that Youth Link was already providing to kids, many of them homeless. It’s now called Downtown View and it’s one of the most successful housing partnerships in the city.”
Uptown
“I have a lot of regrets about not getting more involved in what was going on in Uptown. I was actively involved and very vocal in fighting the street redesign, but regret how Uptown has changed economically, and I regret that I didn’t get myself more involved as I did with all things downtown. I paid no attention to the canary in the coal mine because it wasn’t in my ward, and I didn’t have any say in it. (Three corners at Hennepin-Lake are in the Ward 10, the northwest corner is in Ward 7.)
“One of the problems in that part of Uptown is the ongoing change in leadership in the 10th Ward. There have been six council members representing Ward 10 in the seven terms I served. That’s a whipsaw for business owners, property owners and the city.
“The city does itself no service by considering Uptown and other allegedly more affluent areas to be ‘fine.’ I really think Uptown is in a situation where it is not okay, and it is a challenged part of town. I’m a big fan of market value but I think the government should get involved where the market has failed. In Uptown, for a variety of reasons, the market has failed. That does require additional intervention.”
Public Safety
“The number one job of local government always has been and always should be ensuring the safety of the public. Period. Hard stop. You will never have successful economic development, or redevelopment, without public safety. That is the job of local government. Police, fire, public works.
“As we have moved farther left, we have gotten into all sorts of other issues. It’s convenient to say, ‘our policing system is broken,’ which it is, but that’s true of many places in the country. We have to stop making excuses for our broken policing system and work with other cities who are having success in how to fix that…. Clearly, we have a problem with the way we do public safety, and it’s generally tied up with the unbelievable number of guns in our country, which has made us an embarrassment around the world.
“Everybody wants to work on all these other issues, which is great. But we really don’t have the luxury of doing that until the city is safe…. Public safety, public works, and good schools. And parks. Those are the main things we should be focused on.”
Policing
“For starters we have to pay police officers who are legitimately addressing constitutional policing, meaning doing it right, a lot more money. Minneapolis ranks 18th statewide in starting pay for officers and 21st for veteran officers. We in the community need to invest in the people — including teachers — who do these very important jobs.
“We need to hire more women and more people of color who have experience that gives them a better perspective about what it means to protect and serve. But they are not going to be attracted to our department if they are not paid well.”
“We have 130 police officers who are eligible to retire in the next two years! This is an existential crisis. And that’s why this strategy of ‘we’re going to have all these things other than policing’ is not a long-term solution.”
Leaving Office
“The level of vitriol spewed against elected officials on social media has made it very difficult to handle the stress. We have moved into a government of intimidation, being shouted down at meetings, approached in public and at home. But I’m not walking out sad. Mostly it’s my age and my lack of willingness to be harassed and intimidated every day. Local government is wonderful because you’re close to people, but that takes an emotional toll. Maybe it is a job for the young!
“Overall, I am very hopeful about the city because I believe that cities are resilient. While working on the Climate Equity Plan, it became clear to me that we are moving to the model of people doubling down on cities. Climate change is real and ultimately flight to the suburbs is not sustainable.
“So, this is a cyclical situation with crime, with development, lack of investment in cities. But I am very positive about the city. Cities bounce back.
“To bring it full circle, I was that 30-year-old person who tried to shake up the status quo, and so I don’t resent the younger members of the council. I just wish they were more respectful — but maybe I wasn’t that respectful at that time either!”
Lisa is a passionate and dedicated person for her constituents, friends and family. She is one who listens and cares deeply about her work. She took the time to learn, do her homework and understand the issues presented and was prepared. Look around Minneapolis and you will see her work across the City. When Lisa talks, people listen — a true leader. It was an honor to be part of her tenure, knowing we made a difference.
– Doug Kress, Ward 7 Policy Aide
My cat Fatima is a gentle and friendly sort: when company arrives, she comes to greet them and will sit primly on a chair across the room. But she's not a sit-on-your-lap-friendly’ with anyone but me. And yet, she was on Lisa's lap in less than ten minutes. The sole exception in her nine years of life — and the lap of an avowed dog person no less! Lisa has that way.
– Thomas Regnier
No single conversation with Lisa stands out more than when I served as communications committee chair of the Strong Schools Strong City Referendum and called for her public support. I got just a few words out before there was a billowing of concerns, doubts, frustrations and let’s just say fury from my phone, reflecting Lisa’s well-informed point of view. Having known Lisa for so long, I just shut my mouth and listened. Point by point we discussed, agreed that her commitment was a part of the solution. She was instrumental in carrying the message to the public that resulted in a 73% passage of doubling the tax levy. It came as no surprise that Lisa came through. Beneath her explosive expression of passionate concern for this critical public issue, Lisa proved to be a wonderfully sound and steady ally.
– Steve Kotvis
Lisa, always the willing matchmaker, introduced me to my husband. At the time, she told me, ‘I expect that I’ll be invited to your wedding.’ She was!
– Tom Hoch
Twenty years ago, I was Lisa’s intern while a grad student at the U. I learned many things from Lisa but the most important was that the best politicians actively listen to their constituents and represent them, not their own personal agenda. I think that’s a key reason why Lisa was such an effective council member.
– Craig Wilson, Editor
Years ago, I came across a brief news item about an effort Lisa Goodman was spearheading to build a dog park on a vacant lot across from my home. My dog and I — we walked. So, I called Lisa. ‘Why do we need a dog park?’ I asked, to which she replied, ‘Are you crazy?!’ Now this is something that you do not want to say to a constituent. And yet, I thought, this is a woman after my own heart. A meeting with Lisa and a group of neighbors followed. We talked. She listened. We got the dog park, but in a nearby park. My dog visited daily. Sometimes Lisa and Sadie, her exuberant moppet of a dog, showed up. Lisa and I talked, and the dogs romped. I can’t remember if I ever told her how right she was, that dogs do, indeed, need a place to run. I do recall that she was too kind to remind me of my resistance. So, thank you Lisa, for your vision, not just on behalf of dogs, but on behalf of all your constituents, crazy and otherwise.
– Miriam Karmel
Lisa Goodman is a gem! She is a public servant in the best sense of that phrase — she communicates with constituents, she listens to them, she made it her goal to provide the best constituent services in the city. When I became Park Board Commissioner, I tried to model Lisa’s public service behavior because I always considered her to be the ‘gold standard’ — and I still do! Those of us who were represented by her, and those of us who worked with her, know that Minneapolis was lucky to have Lisa. And I consider her to be not only a colleague but also a dear friend.
– Anita Tabb, former District 4 Park Board Commissioner
Lunching with Lisa at Milda’s Cafe was always a deep dive into history making and future dreaming — with a dash of here’s what’s next. Pure vitamins for the soul and a great big ‘to do’ list was the logical outcome.
– Mark Ritchie
(Photo Craig Wilson)
There used to be a traffic circle at Fremont and 22nd Street but it was removed due to many complaints. At that point, there were no stop signs on 22nd Street between Irving and Hennepin. Geoffrey and I recall the constant car crashes at the corner of Emerson and 22nd Street. After watching numerous dogs get maimed or killed, and kids (almost) killed and car crashes galore, we emailed Lisa. She arranged a traffic study regarding the corner and fulfilled our wishes to put in a four way stop sign. Of course, folks still don’t do the full ‘pass the driver’s test’ stop, but they do slow down and look both ways. Most likely that’s saved a few animals and humans (and car dents). Thanks Lisa!|
– Geoffrey & Randi Kvam Hellman
Ed Pluimer and I put together a neighborhood group to support a candidate to run after Pat Scott retired. At that time, I think Lisa was running third among the candidates who were vying for the DFL endorsement. We decided to back her. What attracted us about her was that she was smart, had the best interests of the neighborhood and city in mind and it was clear that she would be independent in her thinking. Over the 25 years she was in office, I think she was true to all those qualities!
– Lew Remele
