Gary Schiff
Gary Schiff | |
---|---|
![]() Schiff in 2012 | |
Member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 9th Ward | |
Assumed office 2001 | |
Preceded by | Kathy Thurber |
Personal details | |
Born | Gary J. Schiffhauer Youngstown, New York |
Died | death_cause |
Resting place | death_cause |
Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor |
Parent |
|
Residence | Corcoran, Minneapolis |
Alma mater | University of Minnesota (B.A.) |
Website | Official, Campaign |
Gary Schiff (born Gary J. Schiffhauer) is an American politician representing Ward 9 on the Minneapolis City Council. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he was first elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 and 2009. Prior to his political career, Schiff was involved with a variety of activist groups and causes ranging from human rights to historic preservation. During his city council tenure, Schiff has worked to ease ordinances prohibitive to small businesses, especially microbreweries, and has strongly advocated against a publicly funded stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. Schiff announced in January, 2013, that he would be a candidate for mayor in the 2013 Minneapolis mayoral election.
Early life
Schiff was born Gary J. Schiffhauer[1] and grew up the youngest of six children.[2] In 1990, the American Civil Liberties Union represented Schiff after he graduated from Lewiston-Porter High School in his hometown of Youngstown, New York. According to The Buffalo News, Schiff had painted a mural along the school's stairwell that referenced "drugs, safe sex, AIDS and racism" in the style of artist Keith Haring.[3] In September of that year, the school's superintendent, Walter S. Polka, decided that parts of the mural's text were objectionable.[3] The American Civil Liberties Union became involved in an extended legal fight over the constitutionality of Polka's censorship, and a New York Supreme Court Justice sided with the Lewiston-Porter School Board.[4] In 1991, the school board voted 5-1 to paint over the mural. The board cited Schiff's involvement in a recent ACT-UP demonstration at the school—where demonstrators gave condoms and safe sex literature to students—as a major influence on their decision.[5]
As part of a transition that included moving from Youngstown to Minneapolis to attend college at the University of Minnesota, Schiff shortened his name from the original Schiffhauer in an effort to move away from the memories of bullying that he said made his youth "an act of survival".[2] In October 1992, he and six other students protested against the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and its compliance with a longstanding ban on homosexuals in the military. The seven protesters interrupted a meeting of the University Board of Regents, demanded the expulsion of the ROTC from campus, and handcuffed themselves to the Regents' chairs. Wearing signs that read "$old," suggesting that their human rights had been traded for Federal grant money, Schiff and the six other students were arrested by University Police and each charged with misdemeanors.[6]
From 1993 to 1995, Schiff directed the Progressive Student Leadership Exchange (PLSE), a program modeled on the Civil Rights Movement's Freedom Summer.[7] The PLSE brought young activists and students to assist with LGBT rights campaigns in Missouri, Maine, and other states.[8] The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) took interest in the program, and invited Schiff to direct it as the newly-named "Youth College for Campaign Training" in Washington, D.C.[9] The HRC-funded program invited people aged 18–24 to participate in workshops, and sent the participants to "target states" where they worked in groups as campaign staff members. The program was still in operation as late as 2006.[10]
After graduating in 1994 with a B.A. in women's studies,[11][12] Schiff moved to Washington, D.C. to work with the Human Rights Campaign.[2] He returned to Minneapolis to work with Progressive Minnesota, "a grassroots group focused on community organizing and electoral politics."[13] In December 1997, he became involved in a fight to save the Shubert Theater, a former vaudeville house on "Block E" in downtown Minneapolis, after the Minneapolis City Council approved a redevelopment plan that called for the theater's demolition.[14] Within days, Schiff organized "Save Our Shubert," a grassroots effort to preserve the theater.[15] After eight months, during which time Save our Shubert acted as a media contact, lobbied the city council, and "kept the Shubert in the public eye",[16] the Minneapolis City Council voted 9-3 to move the theater to a space adjacent to the Hennepin Center for the Arts at a cost of $3.9 million.[17]
Minneapolis City Council
Schiff, at the time working as a teaching assistant in the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs[11] on his way to earning a master's degree in urban planning,[16] took a leave of absence to run for a seat on the Minneapolis City Council against Michael Guest and Kathy Thurber in 2001.[18] He won unanimous DFL endorsement on September 11, 2001 and, in a race that was overshadowed by the 2001 terrorist attacks, he ran against Lucky Rosenbloom, an African-American Republican.[19] Schiff received the endorsement of the Star Tribune, which noted his "first-hand knowledge" of light rail systems in other U.S. cities.[19] Elected by a large majority in November 2001, Schiff became one of seven newly-elected members on the 13-member city council, joining two Green Party members, two other openly gay council members, one African-American council member, and four women.[20]
First term (2001-2005)
In his first term, Schiff sponsored and cosponsored numerous legal reforms to the Minneapolis Zoning Code that reduced bureaucratic obstacles for small businesses and housing developers, including a measure that permitted sidewalk cafes to use permanent outdoor furniture[21][22] and a change in city zoning code that facilitated the construction of denser and more affordable housing.[23][24] He also sponsored an ordinance to add domestic partnerships to the Zoning Code's definition of "family" in terms of housing.[25]
In 2003, with colleagues Barbara Johnson and Sandy Colvin Ray, Schiff developed a last-minute plan to restore $2 million in proposed cuts to the Minneapolis Fire and Police Departments, following a $26 million cut from Local Government Aid by former Governor Tim Pawlenty.[26] That same year, he sponsored an ordinance that effectively blocked police officers, city inspectors, and other city employees from inquiring about a resident's immigration status. The ordinance forbids police officers from arresting a suspect solely on the grounds of a suspected immigration status violation.[27]
Second term (2005–2009)
In July 2004, the Minneapolis City Council passed a ban on indoor smoking in bars, restaurants, pool halls, and bowling alleys by a 12-1 margin.[28] In March 2005, the ban took effect alongside other indoor smoking bans passed by other cities in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.[29] Subsequently, during the 2005 Minneapolis City Council elections, a write-in candidate named Dave Shegstad received 10 percent of the ninth ward vote under a "Smoke Out Gary" campaign slogan—a reference to Schiff's role as a co-author of the smoking ban. 59 percent of voters re-elected Schiff to a second term; his main opponent, Green Party candidate David Bicking, won 30 percent of the vote.[29]
In 2006, Schiff sponsored eliminating a cap on taxi licenses in Minneapolis. The move angered some local taxi drivers, who noted that an attending increase in licenses would lead to greater competition in the local taxicab business.[30] The City Council passed the cap lift, and the number of Minneapolis taxis doubled between 2010 and 2012.[31]
Beginning in 2008, Schiff and other city leaders contended with local ramifications of the 2008-2012 global recession, which included spate of foreclosures in economically distressed neighborhoods. In April 2008, the city council approved a pilot mortgage assistance program called Minneapolis Advantage. The program, which passed the council 10-2, offered forgivable loans to homebuyers who were interested in properties on the same block as foreclosed or city-owned properties within targeted neighborhoods.[32] Schiff argued that the initiative was not targeted enough to have the designed effect and voted against it, along with fellow councilmember Paul Ostrow.[32]
The city also strictly regulated non-motorized pedicabs; it first permitted the bicycle-powered taxis in 1984, but there were no active pedicab licenses in the city by 2008.[33] Schiff proposed eliminating some restrictions, and the city council passed ordinances allowing pedicabs to operate on downtown streets, downtown bridges, and on the Nicollet Mall, at anytime except the morning and evening rush hours.[33] In October 2011, when the city permitted pedicabs to operate during rush hours (with new safety regulations), eight licensed pedicab companies operated forty cabs in the downtown area.[34]
Third term (2009–2013)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Gary_Schiff_2009_Ward_9_Candidate_Forum.png/220px-Gary_Schiff_2009_Ward_9_Candidate_Forum.png)
In February 2012, a reporter for the Minnesota Daily wrote that Schiff is "possibly the most active and popular City Council member" and noted that 60 percent of Ward 9 voters reelected him to a third term in 2009.[35]
An avid supporter of microbrewing in Minneapolis, Schiff sponsored the "Brew Beer Here" ordinance that allowed the sale of 64-ounce "growlers" of beer on Minneapolis brewery premises.[36] Passed in August 2010, the ordinance facilitated brewery operation within Minneapolis city limits and led to the opening of Harriet Brewing Company, the first Minneapolis brewery to open in decades.[37] With colleague Elizabeth Gidden, Schiff co-sponsored the "Surly Bill," an ordinance that permits breweries to sell pints of their products on-site.[38][39] Schiff also proposed eliminating zoning constraints against establishments serving alcohol within 300 feet of a house of worship outside of the downtown area.[40] The ordinance change was inspired by a struggle between Rob Miller, a brewer interested in opening a "pico brewery" called Dangerous Man Brewing in Northeast Minneapolis,[41] and the church of Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, located across the street from the brewery's proposed location.[42] Citing his work to ease ordinances prohibitive to the microbrewing industry, Twin Cities Business named Schiff the most business-friendly city councilor in Minneapolis in 2012.[43]
In 1997, before he became a member of the city council, Schiff co-authored an amendment to the City of Minneapolis Charter that mandated a voter referendum on city stadium subsidies that cost taxpayers over $10 million.[44] As of 2009, the Minnesota Vikings were moving forward on a $870 million plan to rebuild a downtown stadium on the site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.[45] The team also considered building a new stadium in other cities, including Anoka, Minnesota[46] and Los Angeles, California.[47] Though supportive of the Vikings remaining in Minneapolis in 2012,[48] Schiff became an outspoken critic of the financing plan for the Vikings Stadium when it came to a vote before the Minneapolis City Council, in part because it bypassed the charter amendment.[49] Schiff also argued that the plan's estimated cost to Minneapolis taxpayers, cited at $150 million in construction costs, failed to account for interest, maintenance costs, and upgrades over the course of the stadium's expected 30-year lifespan.[48] In a Star Tribune editorial, Schiff quoted figures presented by the city's chief financial officer, Kevin Carpenter, which estimated a cumulative, 30-year cost that could range from $675 million to $890 million.[50] Despite Schiff's objections, the Minneapolis City Council approved the stadium financing 7-6.[51] Subsequently, the football team moved forward with plans to demolish the Metrodome and rebuild a new stadium on the site, and Governor Mark Dayton signed a financing plan approved by the legislature.[49]
2013 mayoral bid
Schiff had been considering running for mayor of Minneapolis in the 2013 Minneapolis mayoral election as early as June, 2012, and stated that his ultimate decision would not be contingent upon whether Mayor R.T. Rybak opted to run for another term.[2] Speaking from the Harriet Brewing tap room on January 29, 2013, Schiff announced his official candidacy for the position.[12] On the same day, he also held an event in the Dinkytown area near the University of Minnesota with rapper Brother Ali to kick off his campaign.[11] Schiff was the second City Councilmember to announce his candidacy after Betsy Hodges of Ward 13.[12] He also faces fellow Councilmember Don Samuels of Ward 5.[11]
Personal life
An avid cyclist and AIDS activist, Schiff lives in the Corcoran neighborhood of South Minneapolis. He serves as co-chair of the capital campaign of the Little Earth for United Tribes.[52] He is gay.[12]
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (DFL) | Gary Schiff | 5,704 | 81.84 | |
Republican | Lucky Rosenbloom | 1,229 | 17.63 | |
Write-ins | 37 | 0.53 | ||
Total votes | 6,970 | 100 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (DFL) | Gary Schiff | 2,549 | 59.13 | |
Green | Dave Bicking | 1,315 | 30.50 | |
Write-ins | 447 | 10.37 | ||
Total votes | 4,311 | 100 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (DFL) | Gary Schiff | 1,818[a] | 60.70 | |
Green | Dave Bicking | 816 | 27.25 | |
Independence | Todd J. Eberhardy | 270 | 9.02 | |
Democratic (DFL) | Khalif Jama | 83 | 2.77 | |
Write-ins | 8 | 0.27 | ||
Total votes | 2,995 | 100 |
Notes
- ^ The 2009 election used ranked choice voting; the winner needed a majority (50%+1, disregarding fractions) of 1,498 or more votes, which Schiff clinched in the first round. No subsequent instant runoff rounds were required.[55]
References
- ^ Hudkins, Lonnie (March 29, 1989). "Reporters' Notebook". The Buffalo News.
- ^ a b c d Roper, Eric (June 19, 2012). "Minneapolis City Council's Schiff: 'Not one to sit on a fence'". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ a b Graves, Neil (September 14, 1990). "Forum Airs Issues in Mural Flap: Ultimate Resolution May Rest With Court". Buffalo News.
- ^ Baldwin, Richard E. (July 17, 1991). "Costs in Mural Dispute Total $24,664: School Board Gets Report on Lew-Port's Legal Fees". Buffalo News.
- ^ Chrzanowski, Ed (July 17, 1991). "Lew-Port Board Votes to Paint Out Disputed Mural: Artist's Participation in ACT-UP is Factor". Buffalo News.
- ^ Pinney, Gregor W. (October 10, 1992). "Seven Students Arrested Protesting ROTC Policy at 'U' Regents Meeting". Star Tribune.
- ^ Vaid, Urvashi (1993). Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation. New York: Anchor Books. pp. 399–400. ISBN 0385472994.
- ^ Greenman, Jessica. "Youth Jobs!". Email forwarded from Gary Schiff (April 11, 1995).
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "HRC Launches First Youth College for Campaign Training". Human Rights Campaign. February 29, 1996. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- ^ Corner, Matt (March 8, 2006). "HRC Youth College for Campaign Training; Applications Accepted". Interstate Q. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Arola, Brian (January 29, 2013). "Schiff joins race for Minneapolis mayor". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Roper, Eric (January 29, 2013). "Schiff officially announces bid for mayor". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions: When, and why, was TakeAction Minnesota formed?". Take Action Minnesota. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ Mack, Linda (December 19, 1997). "The Shubert's Next Act: A Stroll Down Hennepin?". Star Tribune.
- ^ Peck, Claude (December 19, 1997). "Moving the Shubert Seen as Possible but Pricey". Star Tribune.
- ^ a b Roscoe, Robert (1998). "Interview With SOS Director Gary Schiff" (PDF). The Minnesota Preservationist. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 23 March, 2013.
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ignored (help) - ^ Brandt, Steve (August 22, 1998). "Shubert to take its show on the road". Star Tribune.
- ^ Olson, Rochelle (February 9, 2001). "Thurber Won't Seek Reelection to Minneapolis City Council". Star Tribune.
- ^ a b Star Tribune editorial staff (October 21, 2001). "Minneapolis City Council". Star Tribune.
- ^ Brunswick, Mark (November 7, 2001). "Minneapolis City Council". Star Tribune.
- ^ Nelson, Rick (June 28, 2002). "Proposal Would Prettify City's Sidewalk Cafes". Star Tribune.
- ^ Keefe, Merry (November 5, 2002). "Regular Meeting of August 9, 2002" (PDF). Minneapolis City Council Official Proceedings. City of Minneapolis. pp. 683–684. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Olson, Rochelle (November 23, 2002). "Minneapolis City Council: Bonuses to Boost Housing Approved, Higher Density, More Low-Cost Units Sought". Star Tribune.
{{cite news}}
:|first=
missing|last=
(help) - ^ Keefe, Merry (April 28, 2003). "Regular Meeting of November 22, 2002" (PDF). Minneapolis City Council Official Proceedings. City of Minneapolis. pp. 1153–1157. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
- ^ Ristuben, Steven J. (January 30, 2003). "Regular Meeting of December 13, 2002" (PDF). Minneapolis City Council Official Proceedings. City of Minneapolis. pp. 1204–1205. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ Olson, Rochelle (March 4, 2003). "Some Fire, Police Jobs Spared: In Adjusting and Approving Budget Cuts, the Minneapolis City Council Finds a Way to Save Positions". Star Tribune.
- ^ Brandt, Steve (July 12, 2003). "Minneapolis OKs Rule on Immigrants: City Employees are Now Limited in What They Can Do to Turn People in for Possible Immigration Violations". Star Tribune.
- ^ Scheck, Tom (July 23, 2004). "Minneapolis City Council Passes Smoking Ban". Minnesota Public Radio.
- ^ a b Stellar, Chris (September 7, 2009). "Ward Nine: Schiff, Bicking Vie Again". Minnesota Independent.
- ^ Giles, Kevin (October 10, 2006). "Hailing, Howling Follow New Cab Rules: Everyone Agrees that Minneapolis' New Taxi Ordinance Will Mean Changes". Star Tribune.
- ^ Roper, Eric (May 9, 2012). "A Bumper-to-Bumper Crop of Cabs". Star Tribune.
- ^ a b Brandt, Steve (April 5, 2008). "Minneapolis City Council authorized a pilot loan program Friday to try to prop up foreclosure-sapped neighborhoods". Star Tribune.
- ^ a b Pease, Steve (September 8, 2008). "Greasing the Wheels: Pedicab Hours Expanded". Downtown Journal.
- ^ Brandt, Steve (October 9, 2011). "Keeping Tabs on Pedicabs". Star Tribune.
- ^ Sudheimer, Nick (February 20, 2012). "Map Would Pit Ward 2's Cam Gordon against Fellow Councilman: The Green Party is Concerned About the Proposed Map". Minnesota Daily.
- ^ Brandt, Steve (August 3, 2010). "City Council Could Open Doors for Brewers: The Changed Ordinance Would Allow Microbrewers to Sell Products directly, Instead of Relying on Distributors". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
- ^ Horgen, Tom (February 4, 2011). "Brewing Comes Home: After a Change in the Law, Harriet Brewing is the First New Brewery in the City of Minneapolis in Almost a Decade". Star Tribune.
- ^ Brandt, Steve (August 8, 2011). "Minneapolis Plan to Aid Fledgling Brewers Advances". Star Tribune.
- ^ "Rybak signs new 'taproom' beer ordinance". KARE-11 News. August 24, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Editorial (November 14, 2011). "Church-Spirits Rules are Outdated, Unfair: Relaxing Minneapolis Ordinance Would Help Small Businesses". Star Tribune.
- ^ Agnew, Michael (January 5, 2012). "It's boom time for breweries: It's a good time to be a beer lover in Minnesota". Star Tribune.
- ^ Roper, Eric (November 7, 2011). "City Explores Easing Church-Spirits Separation". Star Tribune.
- ^ "Government & Public Policy". Twin Cities Business. November 21, 2012. Retrieved 23 March, 2013.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Roper, Eric (May 29, 2012). "Anti-Vikings Stadium Crowd Silent". Star Tribune.
- ^ Associated Press (December 12, 2009). "New Vikings Stadium Proposal: $870M, No Pay Plan,". The Street. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Buchan, Cliff (November 23, 2011). "Anoka County/Vikings' Stadium Proposal Gone, not Forgotten". Forest Lake Times.
- ^ Belden, Doug; Salisbury, Bill (April 19, 2012). "Vikings Stadium Movement Afoot; NFL Boss Arriving; Wilf's Plane Spotted in L.A. Area". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.
- ^ a b Schiff, Gary (May 22, 2012). "Send Vikings Bill Back to the Legislature". Star Tribune.
- ^ a b Nelson, Tim (May 14, 2012). "Dayton's Signature Will Set Vikings Stadium Preparations in Motion". Minnesota Public Radio.
- ^ Roper, Eric; Kaszuba, Mike (May 22, 2012). "Minneapolis' Slice of Stadium Funding Could Jump". Star Tribune.
- ^ Melo, Frederick (May 25, 2012). "Vikings Stadium Wins Minneapolis City Council's Final Approval". St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ^ Berger, Gideon. "Gary Schiff". Urban Land Institute. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ "2001 General Election Results" (PDF). City of Minneapolis. 2001. p. 7. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ "Official Canvass Report CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS GENERAL ELECTION" (PDF). City of Minneapolis. 2005. p. 9. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ a b "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Council Member Ward 9". City of Minneapolis. September 21, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ "City of Minneapolis Minnesota Election Results 2009". Minnesota Public Radio News. 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2013.