Tim Walz Fields Republican Attacks Over Minneapolis’s Post-2020 Turmoil
(Bloomberg) -- It took just moments for Republicans to identify an attack line against Tim Walz, the folksy governor of Minnesota picked by Kamala Harris as her running mate in the presidential election.
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His opponents flooded social media with images of burning buildings in the state’s largest city of Minneapolis in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
Now, a city that’s long been overshadowed by more bustling neighbors to the east including Chicago, is under scrutiny for its struggles to overcome the lingering effects of the pandemic and upheaval from riots and crime — challenges that overshadow Minnesota’s otherwise strong economic performance under Walz.
Minneapolis’ population remains stuck below pre-Covid levels — while downtown vacancy rates have surged to 24.7%, the highest since the late 1980s, data from real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield shows. Target Corp., one of the city’s largest employers, only requires staff to be in the office one week every quarter. Not even government workers are fully back, hindering the downtown’s recovery.
“Office workers, to a greater extent than other cities, have chosen to work from home, and part of that is because of a perceived lack of safety,” said Varadarajan Chari, a professor at the University of Minnesota and adviser at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. “With the riots following the murder of George Floyd, an important area in Minneapolis called the Uptown was basically destroyed and has not come back.”
Minneapolis, referred to as the “City of Lakes,” had 425,115 residents last year, down 1.1% from 2020 levels, according to estimates from the US Census Bureau. The city, which uses a system of enclosed pedestrian bridges to allow residents to escape its harsh winters, is largely known for the Mall of America, State Fair and its vibrant sports and arts scenes.
In 2020, though, a wave of protests and violence hit Minneapolis following the death of Floyd, killed by officers. At one point protesters set fire to a police station in the third precinct, with striking images broadcast internationally.
High crime and tax rates have also contributed to migration away from the city, fueling attacks by Republicans seeking to define Walz, a relatively unknown politician outside his state who became governor in 2018 and was reelected four years later.
GOP Attacks
Representative and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Walz allowed rioters to burn the city, while at a July rally in the state — before Walz was named to the ticket — former President Donald Trump cast the governor as failing to control the protests in 2020.
“When the violent mobs of anarchists and looters and Marxists came to burn down Minneapolis four years ago, remember me, I couldn’t get your governor to act,” said Trump, who picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate for the election.
At the time of the riots, Trump actually praised Walz for his handling of the protests, saying he provided leadership that others should follow.
While Republicans blame Walz for the violence, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has authority over the city. The second-term governor has also said there was a misunderstanding between him and the mayor over what was required to bring in the National Guard to contain the riots.
“Governor Walz deployed the National Guard to keep the city safe, Donald Trump did not,” Walz’s office said in a statement, adding that Trump’s own Secretary of Defense Mark Esper praised the governor’s response at the time.
Frey repeated Walz’s words on authorizing the deployment. “During one of the city and state’s most difficult moments, we collectively tried our best to navigate unprecedented times,” he said in a separate statement.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area was growing rapidly prior to 2020, but concerns about crime have gone up dramatically over the last five years, Chari said. While vehicle theft, burglary and homicides are down in the past year, gunshot victims have increased. Most crime categories are still up from 2019 levels.
Crime is a priority for Walz and “it’s why he fought for the largest public safety budget in state history, with $300 million specifically for cities and counties to address their public safety needs,” his office said.
Downtown Recovery
In a pandemic-recovery ranking of 66 North American cities released in October, Minneapolis was third from the bottom. Adam Duininck, chief executive officer of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, said his group is seeking ways to attract people and encourage local and state governments to have staff in offices more frequently.
Target, which employs more than 7,000 in Minneapolis, requires corporate staffers to work in headquarters just one week a quarter during what it calls “core weeks.” Thousands of Target staffers work in offices each week, with foot traffic rising about 50% in 2023 from a year earlier, according to a Target spokesman, who said the numbers have continued to rise this year.
Unlike in New York, where Wall Street frequently mandates four or five days a week in the office, there’s a more relaxed attitude to work from home in Minneapolis. US Bancorp and Xcel Energy require employees to be in the office at least three days a week. Financial services firm Thrivent permits remote or in-person work, or a combination based on business needs.
The city of Minneapolis said the work-from-home policy is at the discretion of departments, and that about 75% of the workers are back on site due to the nature of their jobs, which include, police, fire and inspectors.
State Finances
The challenges of Minneapolis aren’t a reflection on the whole state, whose finances have improved under Walz. In 2022, the state secured AAA ratings from all three credit companies — a distinction that Walz has touted. Its surplus was so big that in 2023 he was able to send out as much as $1,300 to residents, dubbed Walz Checks. The city of Minneapolis also has two AAA ratings.
Strong finances have enabled some of the governor’s progressive policies. His administration ushered in a new tax credit that’s expected to cut child poverty by a third. He also signed legislation providing free breakfast and lunch to students, and established a state paid family and medical leave program — achievements Democrats hope will resonate with voters.
Walz is also popular with Minnesota’s rural base. The state is home to some of the biggest agriculture companies including crop trader Cargill Inc., the biggest private company in the US, as well as farm cooperatives CHS Inc. and butter maker Land O’Lakes.
Downtown Importance
Minneapolis is one of few cities in the country “where someone can find a really good job and a place to own or rent that they can afford,” said Peter Frosch, CEO of Greater MSP, an economic development organization. Still, entertainment, sports events and restaurants are faring better than offices, he said, adding that the city is studying ways to convert empty towers into homes.
Large cities tend to be on the spotlight for voters, especially those far away from Minnesota. At a meeting of the Minneapolis Downtown Council earlier this year, Walz spoke about the importance of downtowns and how they affect surrounding regions and the state, according to Duininck.
The governor has been engaged with various efforts to revitalize Minneapolis including bringing conferences and conventions to the city, Duininck said.
“It’s a part of his job that he takes really seriously.”
--With assistance from Shelby Knowles, Shruti Date Singh, Isis Almeida, Elizabeth Campbell, Kate Seaman, Josh Saul, Kim Chipman and Amanda Albright.
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