The debate over racial justice in policing that erupted after Floyd's death has brought national attention to Tuesday's vote, as well as a river of out-of-state money seeking to influence an outcome that might shape change elsewhere, too
, with his two top opponents urging their supporters to leave him off their ballots in the city's ranked-choice voting system.Arradondo, the city's first Black chief, recently urged voters to reject the proposal
“It’s like our voices are not heard — they are hijacking a movement yet again and making it their own,” said Williams, who is Black. “We’ve been extremely intentional because the residents of these neighborhoods are tired of accepting the status quo, both around police brutality and community violence," Bates said.
The ballot question calls for a new Department of Public Safety to take “a comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions” that would be determined by the mayor and City Council. Fletcher and other supporters argue it's a chance to reimagine what public safety can be and how money gets spent. A frequent example from supporters is funding programs that don't send armed officers to call on people in crisis.
That trend is compounded by the fact the city is down about 300 officers from its authorized force of 888, partly due to officers claiming post-traumatic stress disorder after Floyd’s death and the unrest in the city that followed. Rankine's board last week endorsed a vote in support of the public safety question. He said his own neighborhood is divided on the question, and that's fine: "There are no monoliths that cut cleanly across lines, there’s no opinion that cuts cleanly across lines of race,” he said.
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