The Minneapolis policing ballot measure continues to divide prominent Democrats as U.S. Senator Tina Smith announced on Tuesday that she would vote no on the upcoming ballot question.
Smith shared a statement with the Star Tribune about why she is choosing to vote no on the upcoming ballot after lawmakers have been attempting to address policing issues over a year after the police killing of George Floyd.
"After many conversations, I have concluded that Amendment #2 does not address the core public safety challenges we face, and may well move us in the wrong direction," Smith said to the Tribune.
Minneapolis voters will vote to approve the measure in the city's Nov. 2 election. The amendment would replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new public safety agency.
The question has received mixed reviews over the last month as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey attempted to block it from being on the ballot multiple times. After two district judges ruled it should be removed from the ballot, it took the Minnesota Supreme Court to overrule the decision, leaving the final say up to voters.
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Smith joins DFL Governor Tim Walz and fellow Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who, like Smith, lives in Minneapolis and opposes the charter change.
However, the Democratic party seems to be split as Attorney General Keith Ellison and U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, who both live in the city, have openly backed the change.
Smith has been the only top elected official not to take a public stance until her announcement on Tuesday to the Tribune.
"While there is much I agree with in the Amendment, one component poses a insurmountable problem - the requirement that the new Department of Public Safety report to both the Mayor and the City Council," Smith said to the Tribune.
Smith shared her own background in local government when sharing why she came to her decision.
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She said her time in City Hall "tells me that this change will exacerbate what is a deeply flawed city governance structure, where accountability, authority and lines of responsibility between the Mayor and City Council are diffused and dysfunctional."
She continued, "I believe imposing this dysfunctional structure for public safety would likely have a negative effect on public safety and the operations of the police department."
With election day just two weeks away, Smith called attention to why change is needed in the city but shared that people need to make their own decisions.
"With the murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis became the epicenter of a global reckoning around racial justice and police brutality," Smith said Tuesday. "People need to make up their own minds about the best way forward, and we must engage in deep discussion and action to transform policing and public safety. The status quo is unacceptable."
