Windom not the only hotbed of political activism

Today's topics: The city's hotbeds of political activism; the City Council green-lights a red-light-for-bikers waiver; a bureaucrat's bureaucrat retires, and the mayor's kids prove fallible.

Hotbeds

We told you two weeks ago about Windom Park, the northeast Minneapolis neighborhood that can claim a currently sitting legislator, a Met Council member, a county commissioner and a City Council member among its residents.

We heard from some other wannabes, but Windom Park is still tops for civic activism in our book.

State Sen. Linda Higgins and former school board member Ann Kaari note that Victory neighborhood has a council member (Barb Johnson), a park board member (Jon Olson) and a legislator (Joe Mullery). Pretty impressive, but the rest of their list is padded with former public officials.

Park Commissioner Carol Kummer puts in a claim for her block of 30th Avenue S. in the Keewaydin neighborhood. Besides Kummer, a former Met Council member, the block claims current Council Member Sandra Colvin Roy and former legislator Wes Skoglund.

Biking on red

The controversial idea still is a long way from becoming law. But the Minneapolis City Council won't be on record as opposing it. A resolution to do just that was rejected by the narrowest of margins, 7-6, earlier this month by the council.

Those who voted to oppose legislation giving the exemption to bikers were Paul Ostrow, Diane Hofstede, Barb Johnson, Don Samuels, Colvin Roy and Betsy Hodges. Voting against putting the city in opposition to the exemption were Cam Gordon, Gary Schiff, Robert Lilligren, Elizabeth Glidden, Ralph Remington, Scott Benson and Lisa Goodman.

A heartfelt goodbye

It's customary for the City Council to bid farewell to city employees with whom it has worked closely with a resolution and applause. But there seemed to be extra emotion recently when Jack Kryst retired.

Kryst left after 26 years with the city, most prominently as a finance specialist who could walk the council and mayor through complicated deals.

He also demonstrated amazing patience with reporters who were attempting to summarize complicated deals in as few words as possible, for which I'm grateful.

The official resolution praised Kryst for his "keen intelligence, steady bearing and quick wit," but Goodman described his real role this way: "He told us where the money was but not whether to spend it."

Kryst fared far better briefing the council than he did trying to join it. He lost a 1979 challenge to incumbent Sally Howard, giving him the distinction of being the last DFLer to lose to a Republican in the 10th Ward.

Quote ... Unquote

"My kids told me not to go on Facebook because I wouldn't have any friends" -- Mayor R.T. Rybak, whose Facebook page has hit its 5,000-friend limit.