Mayor Jacob Frey said he plans to nominate Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights Director Velma Korbel for reappointment, calling her a "tough leader" who deserves to stay on the job despite complaints about her leadership.
Frey had planned to include Korbel in his first round of nominations a month ago but pulled her name for further review after the Star Tribune reported problems with a city hotline designed to crack down on hate crimes. An ex-employee said Korbel terminated her in November after she raised concerns that the hotline was poorly planned and misled callers from outside the city whose complaints were not investigated.
Frey spent the past month looking into allegations against Korbel and believes her full record is worthy of her continuing as the leader of the department, he said in an interview Wednesday.
"Are there allegations? Absolutely," Frey said. "Does she have a tough style? Yes. But I have to look at the whole body of work."
When Korbel took the position in 2010 under then-Mayor R.T. Rybak, she succeeded a director who'd publicly lost the faith of city leaders, leaving behind a backlog of complaints.
Frey acknowledged that Korbel's tenure has generated controversy as well but touted her record of achievements over the past eight years. He cited her efficiency clearing out the backlog of civil rights complaints and overseeing enforcement of the city's new minimum wage and safe and sick time ordinances.
"Apart from the allegations made, her body of work is strong," said Frey. "It includes some very clear results."
Many of the allegations against Korbel over the years have come from ex-employees who say she's ignored the very labor ordinances her office is charged with enforcing, such as working mandatory overtime without pay.
