Minneapolis City Council clashes over member Jeremiah Ellison’s absences

The Minneapolis City Council voted Thursday to replace Council Member Jeremiah Ellison on two committees, as he’s been missing meetings to take part in a fellowship at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

Since news recently broke that Ellison stopped attending committee meetings to participate in the Harvard program, the City Council has been at odds over whether and how to fill his spot on committees. Some have questioned whether Ellison is adequately representing his constituents in Ward 5, in north Minneapolis.

Ellison’s term ends at the end of the year, and he’s not running for re-election in November. He continues to attend full council meetings every other week and draw a city salary of nearly $110,000 a year.

That has caused a conundrum at City Hall, where the progressive Democrats in control of the council initially moved to leave his seat vacant on the committees, while the more moderate council member who also represents north Minneapolis, LaTrisha Vetaw, argued that she should replace him on the business and public safety committees to keep the North Side represented.

The man at the center of the controversy, Ellison, attended Thursday’s council meeting where the issue was taken up. He supported Vetaw’s move to replace him, even though they don’t always agree on issues. They were outvoted, however.

Instead, the council voted 7-5 to put Vetaw on the business committee and shuffle other committee assignments, including moving Aurin Chowdhury into Ellison’s seat on the public safety committee.

Vetaw was disappointed by the move, telling reporters afterward, “I’ve heard all of my colleagues constantly talk about how representation matters, so I was hoping it would have mattered in the case of north Minneapolis.”

They get a “comfortable stipend” of $57,500 and “modest housing” in Cambridge, Mass., near the Graduate School of Design.

Ellison has already begun traveling back and forth between Cambridge and Minneapolis, where he has said he will attend the last six full council meetings this year.

Loeb fellows are normally required to step away from “any significant roles with their employers and other professional responsibilities” during the fellowship year and stay in the Cambridge area while classes are in session, participating in all fellowship programs, according to the Harvard program website. But Harvard has allowed Ellison to continue to serve on the council, giving him the flexibility to return for council meetings.

While Ellison plans to continue to attend full council meetings every other Thursday, he was missing his two committees’ meetings, and the city doesn’t have the technology for him to participate remotely and comply with state public meeting laws.

During a committee meeting on Tuesday, Council Member Andrea Jenkins said the “elephant in the room” was that Ellison’s fellowship is paid.

The changes made Thursday included taking Council Member Michael Rainville off the business committee, which he called “an affront” as he represents downtown Minneapolis.

Vice President Aisha Chughtai, who made the motion to juggle the committee assignments, said the council has spent enough time on the issue.

“This is not personal. This is not an attack,” she said. “I get it, democracy is messy, but it is time for us to find consensus and get back to the critical work that we have to continue doing.”

After rejecting Vetaw’s proposal that would have put her on both of Ellison’s committees, the council approved Chughtai’s motion to change several committee assignments and put Vetaw on the business committee and Chowdhury on public safety.

Voting in favor of Chughtai’s plan were: Chughtai, Council President Elliott Payne and council members Jason Chavez, Ellison, Robin Wonsley, Chowdhury and Jamal Osman.