R. T. Rybak
| R. T. Rybak | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Rybak in 2009 | |
| 46th Mayor of Minneapolis | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Sharon Sayles Belton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 12, 1955 |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor |
| Alma mater | Boston College |
Raymond Thomas Rybak, Jr. (born November 12, 1955), known as R. T. Rybak, is the 46th and current mayor of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the 2001 election Rybak defeated incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton by a margin of 65% to 35%; the widest margin in city history for a challenge to an incumbent.[1] He took office in January 2002, and won a second term in November 2005 and a third in November 2009.
Before being elected mayor Rybak had worked in journalism, business and activism. The first mayor to endorse Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for President, Rybak has been nominated to serve as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
Rybak grew up in Minneapolis, the son of a pharmacist, and graduated from Boston College in 1978. In the 1970s and '80s he worked as a journalist for the Minneapolis Tribune , then went on to run the Twin Cities Reader, where he also launched Q Monthly, a local gay and lesbian newspaper. For a few years, he headed Internet Broadcasting Systems, which started as an online division of Minneapolis television station WCCO and runs websites for many stations across the United States. Following his job there, Rybak did consulting work as an Internet strategist, and assisted some projects with Minnesota Public Radio and Public Radio International.
During this time, Rybak also worked as a community and political activist. In 1994, he was campaign manager for Tony Bouza, the former Minneapolis chief of police who unsuccessfully sought the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota. Rybak is initially known for being an early member of the group ROAR ("Residents Opposed to Airport Racket"), which campaigned for noise mitigation projects in neighborhoods around the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The group staged a memorable "pajama protest," where area residents wore their nighttime clothes at the airport to show that they were losing sleep because of airplane noise.
Rybak also serves on the Board of Directors of Nice Ride Minnesota, a public bicycle sharing program.[3]
Rybak lives in the city's East Harriet neighborhood with his wife, Megan, and their children, Charlie and Grace.[4]
Rybak sent his children to the Breck School, an Episcopal private school he also attended. His mother was given a job there during a difficult period in his childhood. Rybak, who graduated in 1974, was awarded the "Distinguished Alumnus" award from Breck in 2002. He graduated from Boston College in 1978.
He began a career in journalism, working at the Minneapolis Tribune (later the Star Tribune) in the late 1970s and 1980s, before going on to edit the Twin Cities Reader. He also acted as Development Director for Minneapolis's Downtown Council.[5]
[edit] Mayorship
In 2001 Rybak (57,739 votes for 64.69%) defeated incumbent Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton (30,896 votes for 34.61%).[6] Rybak's mayoralty has dealt mostly with lowering crime, creating jobs, building affordable housing, and balancing the City's budget. He attends public events in the city on a regular basis and participates directly in discussions of city issues on his Facebook page. He is one of probably a very small number of mayors to have ever crowd-surfed, diving from the stage during a "Rock for Democracy" event at the popular Minneapolis club First Avenue in July 2004.[7][8]
In 2002, Rybak developed the City of Lakes Loppet, a 35-kilometer urban cross-country ski race through Theodore Wirth Park and across Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun which ends on the streets of the Uptown Minneapolis. The event attracts nearly 2000 skiers. Rybak, a skier himself, has participated in races.
Rybak has made many public appearances at rallies and protests. In April 2004 he spoke to a rally of striking Metro Transit workers at the Hennepin County Government Center plaza.[9] Like many Twin Cities politicians, he marches in the annual Twin Cities Pride Parade.
In his 2005 re-election campaign he defeated challenger (and fellow DFLer) Peter McLaughlin by nearly 25 percentage points,[10] 61.47% to 36.72% (43,198 votes for Rybak and 25,807 votes for McLaughlin[11]), and performed another crowd-surf.[12]
In August 2007, after the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, Rybak asked Governor Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota state officials to implement its replacement, ensuring that the new bridge would be capable of handling mass transit.[13] Rybak pushed that future needs and policy considerations shouldn't be ignored in the rush to build a replacement.[14] His leadership resulted in a bridge plan which included improvements to carry a future light rail line.[citation needed] Rybak was quoted as saying "we (the City) have a vision that we believe will be for a bridge that will serve us for many years to come."[15] His role also involved authorizing municipal consent of the final bridge replacement.[16]
He was listed as a finalist for the 2008 World Mayor award.[17]
In June 2008 Rybak was elected Vice President for Communications of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.[18]
Rybak was the first mayor in the nation to endorse the presidential campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama.[citation needed] Mayor Rybak campaigned on Obama's behalf and was active in the youth wing of the campaign.
In January 2009, Rybak announced his intention to run for re-election as Mayor in the 2009 Minneapolis City Council elections.[19]
On November 3, 2009, Rybak was elected to a third term as mayor, winning more than 73.6% of the first-place votes.[20]
Rybak is an avid user of social media, often using it to alert followers to vital city information, and is credited as the first mayor in the United States to use Twitter.
[edit] 2010 gubernatorial campaign
On November 5, 2009, Rybak filed paperwork creating a campaign for governor of Minnesota. A month later, he officially announced his candidacy at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.[21] Rybak won the straw poll on February 2, 2010, at Minnesota's precinct caucus events statewide.
On April 24, 2010, Rybak withdrew his name from consideration for the DFL nomination at the convention after six ballots. Rybak endorsed eventual endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher, and called on Democrats remaining in the race to withdraw and support her.
[edit] References
- ^ "Election Results Archive". http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/results-archive.asp. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^ Smith, Ben (2011-9-7). "Minneapolis Mayor gets DNC post". POLITICO. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0911/Minneapolis_Mayor_gets_DNC_post.html. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^ "About". https://www.niceridemn.org/about/. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ City Mayors: Raymond Thomas Rybak - Mayor of Minneapolis
- ^ U.S. Mayors profile on Rybak
- ^ "Election Results 2001". Ci.minneapolis.mn.us. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/2001-General-Election-Results.html. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ Scholtes, Peter (2004-12-15). "Local Music Yearbook '04". City Pages. http://citypages.com/databank/25/1254/article12779.asp. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ HowWasTheShow Blog: Mayor RT Rybak Stage Dives and Crowd Surfs at First Avenue during Rock for Democracy
- ^ Anderson, G.R. (2004-04-07). "Does This Bus Stop at the Capitol?". City Pages. http://articles.citypages.com/2004-04-07/news/does-this-bus-stop-at-the-capitol/. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Scheck, Tom (2005-11-09). "Rybak cruises to victory in Minneapolis". Minneapolis Public Radio. http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/11/09_scheckt_mnmayor/. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/2005-Official-Canvass-Report-General.pdf
- ^ Aaron Landry » R.T. Rybak at the Ukrainian Event Center
- ^ Brown, Curt; Rochelle Olson and Laurie Blake (2007-08-14). "Monday: Feud forming over function of new bridge". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/local/11593696.html. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ Scheck, Tom (2007-08-05). "I-35W bridge reconstruction could delay other projects". Minnesota Public Radio. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/05/mndot/. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ Foti, Jim (2007-08-21). "State's plans for new I-35W bridge include light rail". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1375093.html. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Thomas, Dylan (2007-08-22). "Pawlenty plan for bridge includes LRT". Downtown Journal. http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?&story=9796&page=65&category=54. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ^ "The 2008 long-list". http://www.worldmayor.com/contest_2008/finalists-2008.html#Anchor-NORTH-47857. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
- ^ "Mayor Rybak to serve as mayors’ key messenger in 2008 election". http://www.democraticmayors.org/press.htm#june26rybak. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
- ^ By Joe Kimball (Tue, Jan 13 2009 1:07 pm). "Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak puts re-election announcement on web". Minnpost.com. http://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2009/01/13/5813/minneapolis_mayor_rt_rybak_puts_re-election_announcement_on_web. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ^ 2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Mayor
- ^ "Rybak Kicks Campaign into Full Swing". MN Progressive Project. http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/4661/rybak-kicks-campaign-into-full-swing. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- Art Hughes (October 23, 2001). Campaign Profile: R. T. Rybak. Minnesota Public Radio. Accessed December 5, 2004.
- Art Hughes (January 2, 2001). R. T. Rybak becomes mayor. Minnesota Public Radio. Accessed December 5, 2004.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Sharon Sayles Belton |
Mayor of Minneapolis 2002 – present |
Succeeded by — |
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