Minneapolis Council Member Robin Wonsley should recant claims against Mayor Jacob Frey

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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After seemingly lying about abuses of power supposedly conducted by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, City Council Member Robin Wonsley should offer evidence or recant. If she does neither, her council colleagues should shed their destructive factionalism and unanimously rebuke her.

Wonsley's prevarication and provocation — certainly not her first — came in a recent interview posted on the Unicorn Riot website. Among other incendiary comments, Wonsley, a Democratic Socialist, alleged, "The mayor will like do retaliatory [expletive], be like, 'I'll send, I'll limit cops in your ward.' He'll make threats to council members like that. ... Or make threats to roll back the delivery of services like, you know, entrust his staff, like: 'If you need trash cleaned up, OK, well let's see how you like it or how your constituents like it if trash don't get picked up for a couple of days.'"

Frey, a DFLer, told an editorial writer that "There's zero truth to it. Nothing like that ever happened. Nothing like that was ever said by me or my staff."

Frey spoke from Finland, where he was tightening ties with the dynamic Nordic nation and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the city's sister-city relationship with Kuopio. That's the kind of outreach a mayor from Minnesota's business capital should be doing instead of responding to untruths from an irresponsible council member.

Frey added: "I certainly have disagreements with council members. I have them all the time. But even the council members that I disagree with would acknowledge that I'm a person of integrity and don't lie." Wonsley, he said, "should acknowledge that she lied" and the council "should do something."

Neither has happened since the Unicorn Riot piece was posted Aug. 28.

Wonsley's office responded to a request for comment from an editorial writer with an email saying, "Thanks for reaching out to my office. In July, I was interviewed by Unicorn Riot about the 3rd Precinct process and Government Restructure. I appreciate Unicorn Riot for covering these two major city events, and have nothing else to share about the interview."

None of Wonsley's four most consistently supportive council colleagues — Jeremiah Ellison, Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai and Elliott Payne — responded to requests for comment. Evidently they won't stand up for, and stand up to, a city colleague when it matters most.

Council Vice President Linea Palmisano did respond, and she would embrace more cohesive council action, including potentially a censure of Wonsley. She'd also like to give the city's ethics code more teeth.

Beyond the comments on Frey, Palmisano expressed a deep disappointment in Wonsley's characterization of a "thoughts-and-prayers Council" and "the disposition of this Council — the most useless" in the interview.

"Together we've brought forward, passed policies that generate meaningful improvements for residents across our cities, including things she's been a part of," Palmisano said. Wonsley's comments "are very disrespectful and damaging to the reputation of this body" as well as being "blatant lies."

Along with Council President Andrea Jenkins, Palmisano issued a leadership statement that said Wonsley "made numerous false allegations about the legislative body and the City enterprise as a whole. As a body, the Council has — and embraces — many different viewpoints, but collectively we strive to uphold basic values of decency, respect, inclusion, and truthfulness. Council Member Wonsley's comments represent a sharp departure from those shared values.

"Facts matter," the council members continued. "Telling the truth matters. We have seen the cost of sitting elected officials undermining democratic institutions by spreading misinformation for personal, political gain. As members of this body, we call upon Council Member Robin Wonsley to retract these false statements made against her colleagues on the Council, the Mayor, and City staff."

Among the other costs, Palmisano told an editorial writer, is the willingness of people to work for the city "when people see this dysfunction."

It's not just potential employees who see it. Potential residents, investors, visitors and legislators who the city needs to back it with state funding see it, too. Wonsley's words — and her council allies' silence — damage the city with all of those key constituencies, and that ultimately damages the residents council members claim to want to help.

In a deeply disappointing coda to this episode, Wonsley — despite being elected in 2021 by only 14 votes — has no opponent in November's election.

In the other 12 wards with multiple candidates, and especially in those represented by Wonsley's silent allies or those aspiring to join them, voters should consider if candidates reflect the preamble of the city's Code of Ethics, which begins: "Minneapolis government exists to serve the people of Minneapolis. In order to do so effectively, the people must have confidence and trust in the integrity of their city government. They deserve elected and appointed officials, city employees and volunteers who maintain the highest ethical principles and avoid misconduct and conflicts of interest, apparent or real. Effective democracy depends on a government that is fair, ethical and accountable to the people it serves."

To the mum council members purporting to serve the public, we ask: If you aren't living up to those principles and don't have the courage to call on your colleagues to do so, why are you even running?