Robert Lilligren answers to Stonewall DFL Caucus Questionnaire

1. Yes, I will list the Stonewall endorsement.

2. I understand the power and importance of the DFL endorsement. I would be honored to run with the party endorsement. I have discovered enough interest in me as a candidate and in my abilities to represent the 8th Ward on City Council to be encouraged to run for office with or without the endorsement.

3. Yes, I am in favor of a woman's right to control her owm reproductive system.

4. Yes. It is important that the City of Minneapolis supports its unmarried, partnered employees and their families with health insurance, pension benefits, sick and bereavement pay. For this city to remain a competitive employer it must offer these benefits. Minneapolis city government needs to encourage responsible and healthy families for all its employees.

5. Yes, I support City funding for MN AIDS Project & the Aliveness Project.

6. Yes. Working against DOMA is a well-chosen battle. Withholding our right to marry is a clear mark of second-class citizenship in the US.

7. Families are like people; they're individuals. No two are exactly the same. I am fortunate to have been raised in a large, supportive and loving family (my biological family - two parents; six siblings; eight nieces and nephews; assorted aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws). I do not think this is the model or ideal family. Within my extended family there are a variety of configurations of families held together by bonds other than marriage and tradition - to raise kids without spouses; because of near kinship; love; etc. Since leaving home and coming out at 18, I have learned the importance of chosen families to the GLBT communities. We are fortunate to have the opportunities to create and define families for ourselves (lover? partner? spouse? mom? mom? dad? dad? sister?). Families define themselves. Our culture and our government need to be accepting of all families.

8. Homophobia is a learned fear of sexual other-ness. Fear breeds hatred. Homophobic hatred expresses itself aggressively (violence) and subtly (discrimination). Historically, homophobia is an easy fire to fan and an easy tool to use against GLBT people - frightened people (homophobes) are easily manipulated. Homophobia can be unlearned. Most reasonably well-adjusted GLBT people alive today are examples of unlearning some of the homophobia in our culture. It is important that we eliminate homophobia (and other fears and hatreds) with education, compassion and an out community integrated into the city as a whole.

9. The attention and cooperation of the Minneapolis Police Department helped transform my neighborhood from a life-threatening battleground to a peaceful, thriving place. The police have been very aggressive in their crime-fighting efforts. This aggression has created an adversarial relationship between the Police Department and many of the communities in Minneapolis - including the GLBT communities. This serious problem needs to be addressed head on. The fact that GBLT people feel targeted by police reflects the same concerns of other minority groups. It is critical that we all work together to rebuild confidence and cooperation between the police and the people of Minneapolis. An ongoing, regularly meeting commission needs to be created by city government to address police and community relations and to create appropriate policies. It should be comprised of police officers, their union representatives, civilian crime fighters, elected officials and a variety of concerned community representatives. The Police Department needs to coordinate regular small group meetings between police officers and GLBT people so that all parties can address concerns and come to greater understanding and cooperation. Also, the police need to become part of the communities they serve. This could be accomplished by creating more beat cops and promoting community interaction. It is important to keep GLBT concerns at the center of the discussion to improve police/community relations while acknowledging that this is one component of a larger, city-wide problem.

10. I came out as a gay man at 18. I marched in my first Gay Pride parade in 1979. My earliest experiences with GLBT issues concerned visibility - living an out life and helping others to come out. I still feel that being out, open, and sharing in the community at large, person to person, is the most effective way of advancing GLBT interests. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was central to my earliest years as part of the gay community. Supporting friends and loved ones through nightmarish tragedy typified these years. More recently the large issues have been gays in the military and gay marriages. As a pacifist and as a person without strong convictions about marriage, these issues are still important to me because they identify GLBT people as something other than full citizens. My activism has been as an out gay man working in the community at large - not gay activism.

11. Affordable housing is a key and complicated challenge. It will be met by hard work, imagination, cooperation and commitment. I am a housing developer on a small, creative and satisfying scale. I have been successful in this by keeping my standards high, seeing opportunities where others do not and being willing to make difficult decisions. My neighborhood activism and volunteerism keep me informed about affordable housing concerns. I am confident that I can contribute to this discussion and do my part on city council to steer our way out of this crisis. Here are some approaches to help create affordable housing:

1. Immediately implement a "one for one" policy. If housing is removed as part of a development proposal, plans to replace the lost units would be part of the city's responsibility. This should be a basic way to stop losing housing and a starting point to develop more affordable housing.
2. Be accountable. The MCDA has not enforced a required 20% affordable ratio on its housing developments. This minimum guideline can and should be enforced immediately. I would also encourage exploring ways of retro-fitting affordable housing components on recent, or in-progress housing developments through down payment assistance, rental subsidies or other programs.
3. Promote truly integrated, mixed income housing. Where I live the range of housing rates and income levels make for a stable community. Too often affordable housing developments keep people of different income levels separate and exacerbate problems in low-income communities.
4. Keep neighborhood residents in their homes. Many people purchased homes in developing neighborhoods when property values were very low. Some of these people will be at risk of losing their affordable housing if their property taxes and/or assessments become too high. As infrastructure, streetscape and services are improved the needs of these at risk homeowners need to be addressed.
5. Extend homesteaded tax rates to landlords living within one half mile of their rental properties. This would encourage local landlords who would actively manage their properties. It would reduce their costs and enable them to rent at a lower rate.
6. Immediately address the housing needs of the population most at risk. The income guideline for "affordable housing" I most often hear used is around 30 to 50% of the metropolitan median. I think that's a lot of money. The needs of those making less than 30% of the metro median income should be a priority.
7. Affordable housing is a metro-wide concern. I would encourage the Metropolitan Council to help create affordable housing in all its member communities. Some outlying and suburban communities restrict the development of affordable housing through zoning and other laws and ordinances. It is necessary that all communities shoulder responsibility to create affordable housing.

I would welcome the opportunity on City Council to use my hands-on experience creating quality housing. I am by nature a planner and I want to leave Minneapolis a more beautiful and thriving community for future generations.

Respectfully Submitted, Robert Lilligren February 17, 2001