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In July I had become involved with the Kenwood sanctuary, spending day after day there. @lisabendermpls gave a long meeting at Mueller Park with myself and someone from LHENA about housing and homelessness solutions. 1/
Nearing the end of the meeting, she got a text from her husband saying it was time for her daughter's piano lesson, asking if she could come home to be with her other daughter. I was grateful for her time and went back to my apartment a block away from her home. 2/
About a half hour later started to hear loud noises and recognized there was a group marching down the street. When I got to the group they had gathered outside her home. 3/
Nekima, who is not for abolishing the police but doesn't reveal this as she leads marches with groups who think that that is precisely something they are fighting for - was leading a passionate chant of "Fuck Lisa Bender". 4/
I'm sure almost none of these people she was leading in this chant knew a thing about Lisa Bender. I sat down on a stoop in the back with some protesters, fuming over what I was seeing. The people I was speaking with, as I suspected, knew nothing about Lisa Bender. 5/
I went through the list of what Lisa Bender had done for this ward and this city. What city government looked like before Lisa came and what it looked like after. People were impressed and wanted to do their own research. Good. 6/
I learned just how easy it is for powerful figures to take advantage of the public for their own interests. Two weeks after Lisa and her daughter heard screams of "fuck Lisa Bender" inside their home, their home was vandalized. Probably by people who knew little about her. 7/
People need to make sure they understand what they are doing and what they are protesting. The only person you should trust is yourself. We have some incredible civic leaders in this city and we have a couple who are interested in using you to attack their enemies. 8/
I will continue to fight for abolition of the police, and I recognize that Lisa has been an ally to this position since I first heard her say it four years ago at a city council forum. That was a pretty radical thing to hear. Not many candidates answered in the affirmative. 9/
As I said yesterday, Lisa ushered in transformational change in city government. Because of Lisa's work, our city is far more equipped to confront the challenges to come. I believe her legacy will show that. She will have tough shoes to fill. 10/10
