Re: [Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
Unfortunately Michelle, what you've illustrated is the lack of attention to detail or perhaps even laziness on the part of some of the FORMER staff of the Empowerment Zone. What you'll notice at the bottom of that document is the year 2003, which is when the Small Grants program was started. When this document was written, I believe the individual either didn't realize the that the City Council was not a part of the process or once clarified that this was not a step in the process, did not remove that. It is an inaccurate statement and shoddy administrative work not to have removed it or updated it in 2 years. Which is why when I took over in December 2004 I made sure that the guidelines were updated. You can find them on our website (www.ci.minneapolis. mn.us\ez) and will notice they do not have this step. It should not have been listed on the guidelines, but having it written in there or removed does not change the outcome of the process and does not prove your point. What would prove your point is a copy of a City Council agenda or action showing that the Small Grants were brought forward for approval. All of the Council agendas and actions are available on the City website at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/. You can review them at your leisure but you will notice that the Small Grants program does not appear, because it does not go to them for approval as I have previously stated. The document you have, therefore, and not the information I have presented, is inaccurate. The fault, however, also lies with the EZ Your friends situation illustrates why there was a need to clarify and revise the guidelines. As was stated before, the Small Grants program began in 2003 with the original intent of complementing the EZ Small Business loans and technical assistance programs already existing. The original intent was for the Small Grants to be for non-profits as there was no consistent funding mechanism for smaller organizations besides businesses through the EZ except in response to RFPs. The Board saw the need to assist non-profits and smaller projects and the idea for the Small Grant program was born. Unfortunately, as has already been pointed out, the guidelines didn't clarify the fact that the program was for nonprofits. As such it left a loophole for the Empowerment Zone to be approached by two businesses in June of 2004. This raised the question for the Board and they directed the staff to review the feasibility of extending the Small Grants program to include businesses and return with a recommendation. After much discussion and consideration of the capacity of the EZ to review and analyze business proposals and track them, as well as the impact this would have on undermining the current Small Business initiatives the Executive Committee, based on the recommendation of staff, decided not to set aside grants funds for business or include them in the Small Grant program. This was approved at the August 12, 2004. Which would account for your friend's September letter. While it was not stated that being a for-profit was a reason for declination, neither were any of the other reasons. This, again, has been added to the guidelines to try to make things as clear as possible, and why we also provide free technical assistance through the Office of Grants and Special projects to keep people from investing their time only to find out their ineligible. As you can see, we make revisions and quality improvements at every step that we can to ensure the best quality of service. As you have not named your friends business I cannot verify any other information that you claim. Originally, you stated that Don had given her a letter of support, now you state that she has a letter of support from "her Council Member" and that Don was "there" offering letters of support, which indicates that the letter is not from him. Whether he was actually offering letters of support is for Don to clarify, but without an actual letter of support it's secondhand rumor at best. More importantly, I hope this whole thing will lay to rest the misinformation that Don wrote letters of support and then vetoed the proposals, as one is unsubstantiated and the other is impossible. Finally, I answered your question about El-Amin's Fish House in my last email, let me know if you don't see it and I'll repost it. The Empowerment Zone is funding the Minneapolis Urban League for its Uhuru program, the Director of which is Spike Moss. And I don't know all of the businesses that Basim is connected to so without a name, I cannot accurately answer your question. I do know that in 2001 a proposal for an intiative that he was driving was considered but that ultimately it didn't meet the minimum requirements and was not funded. As for who was benefited from EZ funds, I would once aga
Re: [Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
Jonathan Palmer Wrote: I think that either someone is providing you with incorrect information or you may have the Empowerment Zone confused with some other program. The Small Grants program does not go to the City Council for approval. By City requirement, allocations over $50K have to be done through a Request For Proposal (RFP) and have to go to the City Council for approval. The Small Grants allocation maximum is $25K, the Small Grants, therefore, do not go through the City Council, and neither Samuels nor any other City Council Member would have voted on them at the Council. The Council does get other funding allocation requests and that may be what you're thinking of. Michelle Hill responds: I walked over to my neighbors house to get written confirmation on the Empowerment Zone Funding. Under Small Grant Program General Funding Process, # 5 states, "Upon approval by the Governance Board, the request is submitted to the Minneapolis City Council for final approval." #6 states, "After the City Council approval, a contract is entered into between the EZ office and the lead implementing agency." Therefore, your information, that the council is not involved is inaccurate. I could fax you a copy if you need it. Now, I will tell the forum what the goal of the Minneapolis Empowerment Zone small grant Program is: " A ten-year initiative(1999-2009), its purpose is to create jobs and business opportunities in the most economic distressed areas of the cities. The goal is to help disadvantaged communities become stable and sustainable through self-empowerment and economic participation. It is a holistic approach to economic development that recognizes to create sustainable communities we must support activities that make it possible for current residents and business of the EZ to grow and prosper." The small grants program, for request under $25,000.00 has 6 points in the strategic plan. 1. Ensuring that EZ investments contribute to the economic well being, opportunity and self-sufficiency for the people of the EZ. 2. Emphasizing wealth creation in all poverty reduction initiatives for EZ residents. 3. Ensuring that residents and business owners of the EZ are the clients of the EZ and receive the benefits. 4. Engaging in opportunities to obtain multiplying-effect leverage and sustainability of EZ investments. 5. Incorporating the needs of people of color, people with disabilities, people with low income and new immigrant arrivals into EZ initiatives. 6. Creating opportunities to increase communication with EZ business and community members. A letter dated, September 14, 2004, signed by Kim W. Havey sent my neighbor a letter stating, "Unfortunately, due to limited funds and because is a for profit business status, the EZ did not approve the proposal for EZ Small Grant funds." Where does it say that the businesses had to be nonprofit? I have the documents, in its entirety. Jonathan Palmer wrote: Further, we generally do not get the Board members writing recommendations for Empowerment Zone proposals, and I have never seen one from Don or any other Board member that I can recall. Michelle Hill Responds: As to the letter of support, my neighbor does have a letter of support from her council member. I have read and confirmed the existence of the letter. She also said that CP Samuels was there offering letters of support also. Also in attendance, at the Empowerment Zone meeting in the community was CP Zimmerman. I think it is a beautiful thing, when council members support people in their ward attempting to empower themselves and in doing so, adding jobs in the community. As long as the business will help the community and the council member does not directly benefit from the business. Now that I have proven my point could you please answer the questions I have asked in past post, but received no response. I have asked if Alimin's(sic) Fish Restaurant received funding from the EZ and if it is a nonprofit business. Since it would be public information, could you please answer that for me. Also, did the EZ give money to Spike Moss and businesses related to Basim Sabri? A response would be appreciated. If would be great if you could just post the list of who benefited from EZ monies. Michelle Hill Cleveland REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
Michelle, I think that either someone is providing you with incorrect information or you may have the Empowerment Zone confused with some other program. The Small Grants program does not go to the City Council for approval. By City requirement, allocations over $50K have to be done through a Request For Proposal (RFP) and have to go to the City Council for approval. The Small Grants allocation maximum is $25K, the Small Grants, therefore, do not go through the City Council, and neither Samuels nor any other City Council Member would have voted on them at the Council. The Council does get other funding allocation requests and that may be what you're thinking of. RFP recommendation do come to the City Council, but before that there is an independent Review Committee that reads the proposals and makes its recommendation (as a group of fundees), the staff then reviews and brings forward the recommendation to the Executive Committee which reviews and decides whether or not to approve the recommendation. If upheld, it is forwarded to the full Board for approval. If upheld there, it is forwarded to the Ways and Means Committee. If upheld there it is forwarded to the full Council. This recommendation is always a group (i.e. out of the 60 proposals we received we recommend these 10) and only entails those being recommended. The only level that really considers individual proposals is the Review Committee. Individual RFP proposals are not brought forward to the Board one by one. Therefore, neither Don nor any Board Member could "vote against" any individual proposal. Further, we generally do not get the Board members writing recommendations for Empowerment Zone proposals, and I have never seen one from Don or any other Board member that I can recall. I am concerned now that someone may be putting out false letters of support. If you want to provide me with your friend's name or business, I would be happy to investigate it and report back as to whether we have ever received the proposal or the letter of recommendation or if it is, in fact, false. As to why people were not told that they needed to be nonprofits, first of all, it is only the Small Grants program that is reserved for non-profits (this was explained in my May post), for profits are eligible for the small business resources, tax credits and the RFPs. Second, the meetings hosted at the Urban League were not hosted or coordinated by the Empowerment Zone, but rather a group of individuals who represented themselves as experts on the Empowerment Zone, but in truth were not. As such, we cannot control nor should we be held responsible for what a group of individuals decides to do on their own. It does a disservice to individuals such as your friend who get the wrong information presented to them and then end up getting hurt because someone gave them this incorrect information and they followed it. I attended a couple of these meetings and did not see any Council Members there, however, none of the sitting Council Members were involved in the original designation of the Empowerment Zone, and only Ostrow and Samuels of the current group have sat on the Board or are involved. Therefore I would not expect any of the others to be experts or know the ins and outs of the Empowerment Zone. Lastly, I have never told anyone that I would help people get low interest loans, that then turn out not to be. If you've heard me on the radio, then it has been recently, and what I've said has been that the Empowerment Zone loans have regular interest rates (10%), but they take a chance on individuals who are a riskier investment (i.e. those with the low credit scores or resources). In fact, through this program 79 EZ businesses have gotten loans of up to $50K which have created or retained 253 jobs and 4,667 technical assistance hours have been provided over 846 entrepreneurial visits, for various services such as business planning, bookkeeping, and lease negotiations. Cafe Tatta Bunna is an excellent example of a business we have worked hard to get started. What I have changed in my tenure has been to negotiate with our lenders to lower their interest rates to 7% and give 6 months deferments (this will rollout this month) as well as to refer people to our Business Finance department which has resources such as a 2% matching loan that goes up to $75K, this would not take the same risk that the Empowerment Zone lenders do, however. There are not areas that are already thriving that receive Empowerment Zone funds, ours are targeted at the key impacted areas and work to improve them. And we have a mix of loans, grants, tax credits and bonding authority the form of which depends on the program and the entity applying. El-Amin's Fish House, for example, is a business and was awarded a loan through the 2003 Commercial Corri
[Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
My response to Jonathan Palmer is simply this: I read the letter of support, from CP Samuels, giving my neighbor his support on her request for empowerment zone funding. It is important to tell the people that these people were not told that they had to be a "nonprofit" organization. That came up after they applied and were waiting for funding approval. Now, as to CP Samuels being able to veto those applying, what I said was..He gave letters of support to those applying, to submit with their applications. When the time came to vote on those applications CP Samuels voted against giving them the money. The City council minutes will reflect that, since they showed the minutes on MTN. Mr. Palmer you offered, and have stated on a radio show that I listened to, that you would help people get "low interest loans"Why would the most impoverished area need to get loans, that you alleged were low interest loans but weren't, and the areas already thriving financially received empowerment zone money? What good would it do them if they do not have high credit scores? That was the same thing offered to help low income people buy homes. They lost out because they did not have high credit scores to get the houses. It doesn't matter how you word it, it was a farce and those people were never going to get the funded. In fact, my neighbor and several others, said that numerous council members spoke at the many meetings at the Urban League regarding empoerment zone funding, and at no time did they say you had to be a nonprofit organization. Hey, I thought you said funding was given to Alimin's(sic) fish restaurant on west Broadway. If that is true, is a fish restaurant nonprofit? (Please note that this is a serious question ). AS AN ADDED NOTE: I'm still reeling from the interview between Politics in Minnesota and CP Samuels. In reference to KATRINA, there was discussion of the depiction of the pictures shown of the victims. CP Samuels stated: Two other thoughts about the pictures. Almost taboo ones, but important to recognize. Those were dark faces on those women, almost bizarrely unblended. They looked like they were from Haiti or Africa. This is part of the unspoken evolution of race. We cannot seem to talk about the reality that lighter-skinned black people are more likely to escape poverty. Michelle Hill Responds: If the same is true now, as it was in past history, that light-skinned blacks fair greater than dark-skinned blacks, that is shameful and CP Samuels should be ashamed of himself for think that it is an acceptable practice. We need to understand, that while most of the people shown may have been Black, there were victims of all races in New Orleans. If light-skinned Blacks escape poverty simply because they are light-skinned, why would dark-skinned Blacks even waste time in college or competing for jobs? Clarence Thomas, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and many others were dark Skinned Blacks, who purported to be nothing but who they are/were. CP SAMUELS STATED: And finally, when I look at those pictures, I see loneliness. Chronic loneliness in the lives of so many black women raising children by themselves, and without the fulfillment of the basic human need for male companionship. MICHELLE HILL: Assumption is a dangerous thing. Perhaps what you saw in their faces was fear, and despair at having lost the only things they possess, as well as family and friends. To assume that the man makes a woman whole is the worst of all assumptions. It would be funny if every woman seen, in the KATRINA pictures were lesbian, what then would their look have meant? PIM stated: I knew there was a reason I wanted to talk to you. You are so refreshingly unafraid to say what others, particularly others who hold themselves out to be "black leaders," won't say. What you just described, that's what most of white America saw. And yet we can't talk about it. Will the pictures help change anything? MICHELLE HILL RESPONDS: You take a major leap in saying what most of "White America" saw. I think a poll would say that most of White America saw a tragedy. An event that was neither White nor Black, but a tragedy that called upon all mankind. I do not know what the goal of this interview was but hopefully the responses by CP Samuels were said in a different context than portrayed by the interviewer. If not, I'm scared of CP Samuels because I too am a dark-skinned black women, who later in life raised my children alone. I feel blessed to have had God in my life. I put nothing else in front of him. I too would have been a product of my environment if I had not used my right of choice. If I had not had a strong will mother who did not understand the words "I can't do it." Every time I read something from CP Samuels he tends to paint the worse pictures of Blacks, especially black women, while asking for a vote to represent them. But it also
Re: [Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: "When the community asked for Empowerment Zone money to create jobs and opportunities CP Samuels vetoed them, after giving them letters of support." Michelle, While I will not be entering the debate on who is a better candidate, Don or Natalie, as I like and respect both of them and wish we could have both on the Council, I would like to point out that you have raised the point above on the list before back in May and that I provided you with the correct information back then. This statement above is inaccurate. Don did not and CANNOT veto any proposals to the Empowerment Zone. You're original post can be found here: http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2005-May/041432.html. It's a May 21, 2005 posting entitled "Response to socialiost2001", and your specific statement was: "Council Person Don Samuel met with several people with Business proposal at the UL. Even after giving letters of recommendation, Mr. Samuels voted not to approve." My response can be found here:http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2005-May/041436.html. It is the same date with the same title as yours, and my response was: "The proposals you mentioned were small business startup proposals submitted to the Small Grants program, they were ineligible based on not being non-profits, and further, many did not have business plans or other sources of funding. The recommendation and information was presented by the Staff to the full 30-member board, which approved the declination.Don could not single handedly turn them down even if they were eligible. I explained this to Booker when I met with him in December." I believe Booker has another editorial in the Spokesman which states this again, and I am really concerned that despite my clarifying this, people still make the same false accusation. Whatever reasons anyone has for disliking Don, this should not be one of them, because it is completely and utterly false. Don not only did not veto them, he CANNOT veto them, even if they were eligible proposals, which they were not. The proposals for the samll grants are reviewed and recommended by staff and brought to the full board, no one person can veto them. If you have any questions regarding the Empowerment Zone or it's workings, please feel free to contact me directly by email or phone or through this forum. I am happy to explain any situation and provide the correct information. Jonathan Palmer Victory REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
The following is from an interview with CP Don Samuels: PIM:Switching gears. Your reelection campaign. The only two blacks on the Minneapolis City Council facing off. This is some race. As I understand the political intelligence, Johnson Lee is the "black establishment" candidate, and you are the renegade. That you have somehow "sold out." Your response? Samuels: The black establishment doesn't want change. Natalie doesn't want change. She's a product of the reality that exists. But regular people here in this neighborhood? They desperately want change. Not only are the gangs and the crime life-threatening, they are also unbelievably inconvenient to people trying to conduct the daily business of life. To the idea that I have sold out, I say you cannot try to lead the people if you don't love them. There's a deep fear of betrayal in the black community. That's part of the problem. A deep- rooted stereotype that somehow, if you adapt to or manage your way in the larger, whiter world, you've sold out. That's toxic. Michelle Hills Response: Am I misreading this or not? How is CP Johnson-Lee the "black establishment" candidate and CP Samuels the "renegade?" From everything I have heard, read and seen, their roles are the reverse. CP Samuels has always given me the impression that he was a part of the "establishment" and if you want the call that "selling out" then so be it. I would suspect that CP Johnson-Lee is the renegade, since she clearly is not conforming to what the council wants her to be, verses what she needs to be to affect change. I admire CP Samuels for his vigils, but clearly they have changed nothing. I am not clear on the direction of this interview, since it appeared so scattered and was clearly targeted at CP Johnson-Lee and not the victims of "Katrina." An interviewer should be unbiased, and that was not the case here. To say that CP Johnson-Lee is a "product of the reality that exists," is to say that CP Samuels is a product of his life as the descendant of a "house slave." To say that CP Johnson-Lee does not want change is to imply that CP Samuels does. When the community asked for Empowerment Zone money to create jobs and opportunities CP Samuels vetoed them, after giving them letters of support. CP SAMUELS SAID: To the idea that I have sold out, I say you cannot try to lead the people if you don't love them. MICHELLE HILL RESPONDS: I thought "you cannot try to lead the people if you don't love them," was CP Johnson campaign slogan and not CP Samuels. Perhaps CP Samuels should stop trying to put his shoes on someone else's feet and wear them himself. Michelle Hill Cleveland REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Samuels on New Orleans, Johnson Lee
Some interesting election and national observations from Don Samuels from the Politics In Minnesota newsletter. (www.politicsinminnesota.com). -- If Pictures Paint A 1000 Words, Then Samuels Supplies The Words To The Pictures Your publishers, like the rest of America and much of the world, were glued to the television and watched in horror as the aftermath of Katrina unfolded last week. It's too soon to tell what it all means for Minnesota politics, but we couldn't help but be struck by the haunting images in the New Orleans Superdome. Those images were of mostly black (and mostly poor and uneducated) people, and mostly women (many of them mothers), and their children. There were very, very few men - or fathers. We couldn't help but wonder what Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels thought about the portrait of that part of America captured in the Superdome. That's because Samuels, one of the most intriguing figures currently serving in elected office, has been one lone Minnesota cowboy when it comes to publicly opining on the demise of the intact, black family and what that portends for people who happen to be black, but also for the rest of us. Yesterday, PIM Publisher Sarah Janecek sat down with Samuels at the Bean Scene on West Broadway in the Jordan neighborhood, which is usually characterized as one of Minneapolis' toughest neighborhoods. [Digression: The Bean Scene is more than a good coffee shop with WiFi; it also has hot food, sandwiches and salads and is owned by Bill Rose, who owns Broadway Liquor, and is run by his son, Dean Rose, and former Broadway Liquor manager Lynda Baker. One mile west of I-94 on Broadway, the Bean Scene was once a Burger King (although you wouldn't guess that today), meaning there's ample parking. Contribute to Jordan's economy. Go there. Buy lots of food and coffee.] Samuels has represented City Council Ward 3. But after the 2002 redistricting, his home in the Jordan neighborhood fell into Ward 5, where he is running against that ward's incumbent, Natalie Johnson Lee. The two are the only black members of the Minneapolis City Council. Samuels grew up in Jamaica but has lived in the U.S. since he was 20. PIM: For shorthand, I'm going to call all those women, all those children and so few men in the Superdome, "the dynamic in the dome." As you watched last week, what did you think of the dynamic? Samuels: That reality exists all over the country. In Minneapolis, that's [the fatherlessness] 70% of all black families. But the numbers don't mean anything. They are intellectually empty. The pictures. They are emotional and jolting. And they don't tell the whole story. One station I was watching showed a huge group of prisoners on the road, being transported out of what I presume was a flooded prison. The shot was from a helicopter, so we could not see their faces. I've got to assume those were also mostly black faces, those prisoners. They never became part of the story, but they should have, because that's where too many black men are - in prison. Two other thoughts about the pictures. Almost taboo ones, but important to recognize. Those were dark faces on those women, almost bizarrely unblended. They looked like they were from Haiti or Africa. This is part of the unspoken evolution of race. We cannot seem to talk about the reality that lighter- skinned black people are more likely to escape poverty. And finally, when I look at those pictures, I see loneliness. Chronic loneliness in the lives of so many black women raising children by themselves, and without the fulfillment of the basic human need for male companionship. PIM: I knew there was a reason I wanted to talk to you. You are so refreshingly unafraid to say what others, particularly others who hold themselves out to be "black leaders," won't say. What you just described, that's what most of white America saw. And yet we can't talk about it. Will the pictures help change anything? Samuels: Yes, if there is any good at all that can come out of Katrina, it is those pictures. Maybe that is the gift in this tragedy. These populations are isolated and most of America doesn't see them. N ow, they have, there in the Superdome. Everyone has to admit there's a problem. What we're doing isn't working. Just the admission of the problem is huge. That's why I started my peace vigils, as a way to try to admit we have a problem. PIM: Explain that, please. [But first some background on Samuels' peace vigils. Before he ran for city council he appeared on the political radar screen because he started holding vigils where people were shot and killed in North Minneapolis. He has continued to hold the vigils since his election. At most of them (there have been more than 30), he spends 8-10 hours at the scene of the killing, always fasting for that time. Others are longer. When a two- year-old girl was shot in August 2003, Samuels kept his vigil for four days and three nights. Many others have joined him. Samuels
