Who is Doug Mann?
Doug Mann has been involved in struggles for social justice for over 40 years. A union activist in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Mann began to focus on the struggle against systemic racial discrimination in the Minneapolis Public Schools in 1997, when he joined the NAACP.
Mann was a plaintiff in the NAACP's educational adequacy lawsuit against the state of MN in 1998-1999, and served on education advocacy committees of the NAACP at the state and local level. Mann co-founded the Minneapolis Parents Union, an education advocacy group in 1998, and served on its board of directors until 2001.
In 2012, Doug Mann obtained 31,300 votes (25% of the vote) in the general election as a candidate for the citywide seat on the Minneapolis School Board, with endorsement of the Green Party, Lavender Greens (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Intersex-Queer caucus of the Green Party), Democratic Socialists of America, and the New Progressive Alliance.
What does Doug Mann stand for?
Tax money for human needs, not corporate welfare
The city government should use our tax money for human needs, not corporate welfare. Mann advocates a public referendum on the Vikings stadium this fall, a moratorium on home foreclosures, and action by the city to acquire bank-owned, vacant houses that can be sold to poor people on affordable terms.
Police Accountability:
The Police Department has a reputation of shielding police officers who use excessive force, especially against people of color. It seems as if the purpose of internal investigations is to bury the truth rather than uncover it when evidence points to negligence or misconduct. We need a Civilian Police Review Board that is credible and has the power to subpoena witnesses and discipline police officers. Mann supports a charter amendment proposed by Communities United Against Police Brutality that would require police officers to carry professional liability insurance.
LGBT rights
The Marriage Equality Act is a big step forward in the struggle to end systemic discrimination against the LGBT community, but the job is not finished. Hate crimes directed toward LGBT community, especially its transgender members are not uncommon. We need to do much more to ensure that everyone feels safe and has access on an equal basis to housing, jobs, education, and public accommodations.
Demand a just criminal justice system
It is time to end the "war on drugs," which is in reality a war on people of color, who are 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana related offenses, and more likely to face prosecution and imprisonment than whites. The city should take a stand in favor of legalizing recreational use of marijuana, and decriminalize drug use. And to the extent possible, the city of Minneapolis should relax enforcement of drug laws, including use of diversion programs.
Combat covert discrimination in the job and housing markets
It is time to take action against covert, illegal discrimination, including racial discrimination in the job and housing markets that has helped to produce huge racial disparities in income and rates of unemployment and homelessness. We need to set up an agency empowered to detect covert, illegal discrimination in the housing and job markets, and to prosecute the discriminators.
A quality public K-12 education should be available to all on an equal basis.
However, students of color in the Minneapolis Public Schools are far more heavily exposed than white students to inexperienced and provisionally licensed teachers, high teacher turnover rates, and to watered-down curriculum. A large proportion of teachers are fired during their 3 year probationary and replaced with more new, inexperienced, and increasingly less qualified teachers. Doug Mann calls for steps to fix the "struggling" schools that few white students attend, rather than shut down public schools and herd students into charter schools. Mann opposes the reinvention of a separate and unequal school system via corporate-style reforms and charter-ization, a course promoted by federal and state policy makers, and now being implemented by the Minneapolis Board of Education.
Environmental protection / Conservation and energy efficiency
The city of Minneapolis currently has utility franchise agreements with Xcel Energy for electricity, and Centerpoint Energy for natural gas. These agreements, which were signed in the early 1990s, both expire at the end of 2014. Doug Mann supports moving toward city ownership and control of these utilities rather than renew the franchises.
The city should also promote energy conservation, such as through upgrades to its mass transit system, better insulation of buildings, more efficient heating and cooling systems. Promotion of cleaner sources of energy, such as solar and wind. The HERC garbage burner should be shut down. Promote organic gardening in cooperation with the Minneapolis Park Board.
Doug Mann has been involved in struggles for social justice for over 40 years. A union activist in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Mann began to focus on the struggle against systemic racial discrimination in the Minneapolis Public Schools in 1997, when he joined the NAACP.
Mann was a plaintiff in the NAACP's educational adequacy lawsuit against the state of MN in 1998-1999, and served on education advocacy committees of the NAACP at the state and local level. Mann co-founded the Minneapolis Parents Union, an education advocacy group in 1998, and served on its board of directors until 2001.
In 2012, Doug Mann obtained 31,300 votes (25% of the vote) in the general election as a candidate for the citywide seat on the Minneapolis School Board, with endorsement of the Green Party, Lavender Greens (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Intersex-Queer caucus of the Green Party), Democratic Socialists of America, and the New Progressive Alliance.
What does Doug Mann stand for?
Tax money for human needs, not corporate welfare
The city government should use our tax money for human needs, not corporate welfare. Mann advocates a public referendum on the Vikings stadium this fall, a moratorium on home foreclosures, and action by the city to acquire bank-owned, vacant houses that can be sold to poor people on affordable terms.
Police Accountability:
The Police Department has a reputation of shielding police officers who use excessive force, especially against people of color. It seems as if the purpose of internal investigations is to bury the truth rather than uncover it when evidence points to negligence or misconduct. We need a Civilian Police Review Board that is credible and has the power to subpoena witnesses and discipline police officers. Mann supports a charter amendment proposed by Communities United Against Police Brutality that would require police officers to carry professional liability insurance.
LGBT rights
The Marriage Equality Act is a big step forward in the struggle to end systemic discrimination against the LGBT community, but the job is not finished. Hate crimes directed toward LGBT community, especially its transgender members are not uncommon. We need to do much more to ensure that everyone feels safe and has access on an equal basis to housing, jobs, education, and public accommodations.
Demand a just criminal justice system
It is time to end the "war on drugs," which is in reality a war on people of color, who are 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana related offenses, and more likely to face prosecution and imprisonment than whites. The city should take a stand in favor of legalizing recreational use of marijuana, and decriminalize drug use. And to the extent possible, the city of Minneapolis should relax enforcement of drug laws, including use of diversion programs.
Combat covert discrimination in the job and housing markets
It is time to take action against covert, illegal discrimination, including racial discrimination in the job and housing markets that has helped to produce huge racial disparities in income and rates of unemployment and homelessness. We need to set up an agency empowered to detect covert, illegal discrimination in the housing and job markets, and to prosecute the discriminators.
A quality public K-12 education should be available to all on an equal basis.
However, students of color in the Minneapolis Public Schools are far more heavily exposed than white students to inexperienced and provisionally licensed teachers, high teacher turnover rates, and to watered-down curriculum. A large proportion of teachers are fired during their 3 year probationary and replaced with more new, inexperienced, and increasingly less qualified teachers. Doug Mann calls for steps to fix the "struggling" schools that few white students attend, rather than shut down public schools and herd students into charter schools. Mann opposes the reinvention of a separate and unequal school system via corporate-style reforms and charter-ization, a course promoted by federal and state policy makers, and now being implemented by the Minneapolis Board of Education.
Environmental protection / Conservation and energy efficiency
The city of Minneapolis currently has utility franchise agreements with Xcel Energy for electricity, and Centerpoint Energy for natural gas. These agreements, which were signed in the early 1990s, both expire at the end of 2014. Doug Mann supports moving toward city ownership and control of these utilities rather than renew the franchises.
The city should also promote energy conservation, such as through upgrades to its mass transit system, better insulation of buildings, more efficient heating and cooling systems. Promotion of cleaner sources of energy, such as solar and wind. The HERC garbage burner should be shut down. Promote organic gardening in cooperation with the Minneapolis Park Board.
