Although Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has been able to rationalize her decision to attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles at the height of a city crisis — the shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond by a Minneapolis police officer — the action is unjustifiable ("Hodges faces fire for L.A. trip," Aug. 24).
One of the mayor's stated defenses is that everything she would have done within the city was done while she was on the road; that is, phone calls were made to city residents, Justine's neighbors, City Council members and community leaders. But as previous mayors learned early on, physical presence is a key responsibility of the mayor and a critical part of a community's healing process. This is not a phone-in job. The fact that former Police Chief Janeé Harteau was released from her position largely because of her lack of physical presence within the community during the critical days of the crisis makes Hodges' rationalization that much more hollow. As far as we know, Harteau, too, was working the phones during her long-planned — and, presumably, mayor-approved — camping vacation. Hodges' rationale for not submitting a proposed budget on time was because she was focused on the Damond shooting and the Minnehaha Academy explosion ("Hodges' budget delay to court?" Aug. 23). But yet … Los Angeles.
In Hodges' explanatory statement, she implies the need for out-of-town trips to be due to her fundraising disadvantage vis-à-vis her opponents because she's deeply focused on being mayor while they're free to focus on campaigning and fundraising. It is a rare and brave incumbent who attempts to position incumbency as a disadvantage.
Minneapolis has grown significantly over the past 15 years, both in terms of vibrancy and population. The community deserves stronger and more focused leadership.
Glenn Miller, Minneapolis
TRACY CLAEYS
The former Gophers coach was indeed part of the integrity effort
I was thankful to finally hear former University of Minnesota football coach Tracy Claeys' side of the story, not surprised that he waited this long before speaking ("I'd do some things differently, but we achieved much," Opinion Exchange, Aug. 24). It's been interesting to hear about the university and current coach P.J. Fleck's plans to bring "integrity" to the program. Integrity has been a part of that program for the past several years, starting in 2010 with Tracy's predecessor and mentor, Jerry Kill. Coach Kill inherited a program that was in disarray on and off the field.
Claeys was a part of that impressive and tenacious turnaround, building a solid program where accountability for players was key. I remember attending a spring scrimmage where a few players stood out as they wore "Gopher Loafer" T-shirts for letting their fellow teammates down. As was pointed out in Claeys' commentary, unprecedented increases have been seen in graduation rates and grade-point averages for Gopher football players.
It was shameful to see what unfolded with yet another headline for U athletics making national news. Claeys did what a devoted leader should do: He believed in his players based on the facts and information at hand. It was amazing to witness athletic director Mark Coyle and university President Eric Kaler let Claeys take the fall on this, knowing they wanted a new guy even before the verdict for these players was in.
Claeys may not have oozed in showmanship or rah-rah rhetoric, and perhaps was not the long-term best fit for his position as head coach. But to see him dismissed like he was is another black eye for the university and another reason that I have chosen not to renew my season tickets for Gopher football in 2017. If anyone has shown class and integrity in his demise, it's Tracy Claeys.