The Zimmermann Files.

Compiled by Ken Avidor.

Note: This page was last updated in Spring, 2005. A lot has happened since then; Councilman Zimmermann was endorsed by the Green Party for re-election to the council. Zimmermann, however did not receive the Sierra Club endorsement. Zimmermann lost his re-election bid on November 8th, 2005. For more information about Dean Zimmermann's awful record on the environment and transportation and extensive notes on the Zimmermann bribery trial go to the Minneapolis Confidential blog.

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Dean Zimmermann is seeking a second term as council member representing th 6th Ward in Minneapolis. Dean Zimmermann was endorsed by the Green Party in 2001. But, is Dean really Green? here's some things you may not know about the 6th Ward Councilman:

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Did Dean Zimmermann lie to get the 2005 Sierra Club North Star endorsement? Judge for yourself:

From Dean's Website:

(1) Do you support the creation of a Minneapolis-St. Paul LRT connection? What will you do to advance the Central Corridor project linking the two cities by light rail?

Yes, absolutely. The creation of rail lines into and between cities allows us to switch from petrol-fuels to electricity driven vehicles, and electricity can be produced easily and cheaply by the wind.

(2) Will you actively and vigorously support construction of the North Star commuter rail line?

Yes, I have yet to see a commuter rail project that I don't like.

From posts on the Minnesota Green Party List 3/14/04 — only a year ago:

In the one session I attended, I don't believe he [Zimmermann] said anything positive about [LRT] and he noted repeatedly that it was going to kill people."

Zimmermann's own post on that list March 2nd, 2004:

Dean is still shilling for Taxi 2000 and for Mark Olson's PRT bill at the Capitol and in Ward 6:

April 5, Tuesday
6:30 PM
Whittier School Media Center
(26th Street at Grand Ave. So.)
The meeting will feature a presentation by 6th Ward
City Councilmember,
Dean Ziimmermann, on transit and PRT.

In a March 25th Saint Cloud Times article, Dean's right-wing PRT pal, Mark Olson left no doubt where he stands on Northstar and transit in general:

"Long after most Republicans switched to supporting a proposed Northstar commuter rail line that would end in his district at Big Lake, his was the lone area vote against a House bonding bill that included $10 million to get the train up and running."

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Only a month into his term as 6th Ward Councilman, Dean was faced with a decision whether to vote to permit a hardware store to demolish two homes to build a parking lot. Some Green Party members (including myself) begged Dean to help save the homes. The following was part of his derisive response:

"I love cars and I wish everybody else would give up their car so
there would be more room on the road for me."

-5th District Green Party List, Mon Mar 4, 2002 12:26 am

Not only did Dean refuse to help save the homes, but on March 1, 2002 he cheerfully voted to permit the demolition to proceed. On April 22nd (Earth Day!) the first home was demolished and second home was demolished the next day.

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Dean Zimmermann was little or no help to the activists fighting the 35W Access Project. In 2002, he told me it was "a done deal". He appointed a representative, John Kremer to the project PAC who told me he was a supporter of the project. Dean let Robert Lilligren take the lead (and the heat) of opposing the project while Dean spent nearly all his time shilling for the Taxi 2000 Corporation. The weekend before the Council vote on approving the concept of the highway expansion project, Dean announced at a Green Party function that he would vote for the project because the project supporters agreed to help him with his 64 station PRT Project. Dean was convinced by fellow Greens to vote against the Excess Project but he still insists on supporting a new ramp from 35W to 28th Street for Wells Fargo and Allina.

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Dean likes to make a big deal of how much bicycling he does. Yet, Dean has opposed two important bike infrastructure projects. The Lyndale Avenue bike and pedestrian bridge and the completion of the Cedar Lake Trail.

City Councilmember Dean Zimmermann (6th Ward) said he thinks it is "a no-brainer" to keep the trail in the trench. He tried to get the city to revisit the issue a year ago, " but I didn't get very far," he said.

Dean joined with opponents of the Phase III plan who didn't want bicyclists to mix with automobiles on Washington Avenue. Other more cynical observers think opponents were more concerned that the bikeway would interfere with the proposed stadium site.

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Dean Zimmermann is Sabri's "Biggest Supporter"

"Council Member Dean Zimmermann is considered Sabri's biggest supporter on the council, but even he admits to mixed opinions.
"He's come in and developed areas that had been languishing for a long time," Zimmermann said. Both council members acknowledge that they hear complaints about Sabri, but "we also hear he's really great," Zimmermann said.
He said he doesn't think Sabri is much different than many developers working in the city.
Unlike most developers, however, Sabri will be in federal court in St. Paul today fighting for his future. "

From the Strib (November 29th),

In order to help developer Basim Sabri with his controversial Elroy Block development, Dean ignored a redevelopment plan the neighborhood spent two years working on and which had been adopted by the city council in addition to ignoring two fully executed contracts that required Sabri to follow the development plan he submitted. Sabri's controversial structure would have cast a shadow over the Midtown Greenway bike and pedestrian path making it more icy in the winter.

"Basim Sabri orchestrated a bait-and-switch scheme that sought to
effectively swindle the city out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The bait was the promise of neighborhood jobs. The switch was a
doubling of the size and profitability of his development.
Furthermore, the scheme was perpetrated by someone with a reputation
for corrupt manipulation and bullying. This developer was caught on
tape while bribing Brian Herron (an ex-member of the Minneapolis City
Council now serving time for federal conviction) for the purpose of
getting his hands on NRP funds and gaining favorable treatment in
development proposals. There is an obvious pattern here.
But apparently, it's not obvious enough for Dean Zimmermann, because
he voted to support Basim Sabri."

-Mark Knapp GPM list September 22nd, 2004

Basim was recently convicted of bribing former Councilman Brian Herron.

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Dean's obsession with bogus PRT is explored extensively here and here. This is what Annie Young had to say about Dean's "project" in the Pulse April 28th article on PRT:

Zimmermann’s party, the Green Party, is however, apparently distancing itself from Zimmermann. Annie Young of the party said, “This is not a Green Party issue; this is Dean’s project. I’m concerned about his relationship to Taxi 2000, and about the time he’s spending on the project and whether he’s meeting the needs of the people in his ward. There are potentially some good things that could come from it, and I see what the point is but I’m not sure the timing is right. There are also a lot of questions about it, like why are the Republicans so interested in it? There are a lot of good alternatives that we should be working on, and there are so many transportation needs to be addressed. I’m just not sure this is the best one.

The following message sums up how chummy Dean is with the PRT scam artists. On the internet they openly discuss how he supports their "interests":

"I also think that at the next Board meeting, we should discuss the CPRT strategy for the Public Hearing on the 27th. I know that Dean Zimmerman is planning to attend the hearing. Sometime next week, I plan on meeting with him and a few others to look at the comprehensive strategy for all PRT interests that will be there."

PRT-Talk Message #1217

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Zimmermann supports hi-rise development around Lake Calhoun:

CONTROVERSIAL UPTOWN HIGH RISE GAINS APPROVAL

Developers received approval from a divided City Council on Friday for a six-story, 82-foot-high condominium on East Calhoun Parkway.
On a 6-5 vote, the council sided with the city's Planning Commission, which had earlier approved the increased height, arguing that it did not negatively affect the Lake Calhoun shoreline.

The project, called The Edgewater, has generated controversy because it violates the city's Shoreland Overlay Ordinance, which limits the height of buildings within 1,000 feet of a city lake to 35 feet or two-and-one-half stories. Two neighborhood residents appealed the Planning Commission ruling before the Zoning and Planning Committee earlier last month, which sent the matter forward to the council without recommendation. At Friday's meeting, Council Member Dan Niziolek (Ward 10), who represents the area, noted that city staff and the appellants had come to a compromise on the building's height and recommended a 56-foot-high building. "A precedent is being set here," he said.

But Council Member Dean Zimmermann (Ward 6) disagreed, saying that an 82-foot-high structure would not spoil the lake view, nor would it set any precedent. "The argument that this is going to dominate the parkway and the skyline are just not true," he said"

Zimmermann's support of hi-rise development on Lake Calhoun prompted this comment on the Mpls. Issues List:

"What's up with the Green Party?
Isn't CM Dean Zimmerman a Green?
If so, what's up with his introducing, pushing and voting for making an
exemption to the city’s shoreline height ordinance and Shoreland Overlay
District last Friday (I believe) to allow a building far taller than normally
allowed by law on East Calhoun Parkway, over the objections of the vast
majority of neighbors, concerned citizens and even a resolution by the Park
Board -- where he formerly served as a commissioner?
It looks like a complete sell-out to developers who have but one value in
mind: more profit."

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Is Dean for historic preservation? Not when it stands in the way of a parking ramp.

In this City Council meeting Dean voted against protecting the Guthrie Theater:

  Comm Dev - Your Committee recommends passage and summary
publication of the accompanying Resolution regarding development of the
Walker Parking Ramp using development powers, which will facilitate and
expedite the development of the Walker Parking Ramp beneath the Walker
Art Center expansion.
      Zerby moved to amend the report to add the following paragraph:
      "Passage of this resolution is in no way to be taken as an
inference regarding the demolition permit of the Guthrie Theater." 
Seconded.
      Lost.  Yeas, 4; Nays, 8 as follows:
      Yeas - Schiff, Zerby, Biernat, Ostrow.
      Nays - Johnson, Colvin Roy, Zimmermann, Johnson Lee, Niziolek,
Benson, Goodman, Lane.
      Absent - Lilligren.
      The report was adopted.
      Yeas, 9; Nays, 2 as follows:
      Yeas - Johnson, Colvin Roy, Zimmermann, Johnson Lee, Benson,
Goodman, Lane, Biernat, Ostrow.
      Nays - Schiff, Zerby.
      Declining to Vote - Niziolek.
      Absent - Lilligren.
      Passed July 12, 2002.
      Approved July 18, 2002.  R.T. Rybak, Mayor.
      Attest:  M.  Keefe, City Clerk.
      Resolution 2002R-235, regarding development of the Walker Parking
Ramp using development powers, was passed July 12, 2002 by the City
Council and approved July 18, 2002 by the Mayor.  A complete copy of
this resolution is available for public inspection in the office of the
City Clerk.

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Tif funding for luxury condo development? Zimmermann votes for it:
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The COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT and WAYS & MEANS/BUDGET Committees submitted
the following reports.
      Comm Dev & W&M/Budget - Your Committee recommends concurrence
with the recommendation of the Interim Executive Director of the
Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA) to approve passage and
summary publication of the accompanying Resolution adopting
Modification No 2 to the Minneapolis Stone Arch Apartments
Redevelopment Plan, authorizing the creation of the Minneapolis Stone
Arch Apartments Housing Tax Increment Finance District.
      Your Committee further recommends that this action be transmitted
to the Board of Commissioners of the MCDA to adopt the Plan documents,
approve term sheet, and execute a redevelopment contract.
      Adopted.  Yeas, 10; Nays, 2 as follows:
      Yeas - Johnson, Colvin Roy, Zimmermann, Schiff, Niziolek, Benson,
Goodman, Lane, Biernat, Ostrow.
      Nays - Zerby, Johnson Lee.
      Absent - Lilligren.
      Passed July 12, 2002.
      Approved July 18, 2002.  R.T. Rybak, Mayor.
      Attest:  M.  Keefe, City Clerk.
      Resolution 2002R-236, adopting Modification No 2 to the
Minneapolis Stone Arch Apartments Redevelopment Plan, authorizing the
creation of the Minneapolis Stone Arch Apartments Housing Tax Increment
Finance District, was passed July 12, 2002 by the City Council and
approved July 18, 2002 by the Mayor.  A complete copy of this
resolution is available for public inspection in the office of the City
Clerk.
     
 

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When neighbors of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts learned of MIA plans to build a huge structure that would cast a huge shadow over their beautiful, historic Victorian homes, they contacted their city councilman. Zimmermann , who was of course, little or no help at all.

Construction is nearly complete. Although the building is a few feet shorter than originally planned, it still looks like the back end of a Target Greatland with ugly loading docks. it casts a big shadow over the street.

I was at the City Council hearing and watched Dean attempt to redesign the project, playing with the model the neighbors had meticulously put together... pathetic.

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Though Sears has announced that it will renovate rather than rebuild the 49 K-Mart stores it acquired last month, Council Member Dean Zimmermann (Ward 6) said he was optimistic that a deal could be negotiated. "This is the most optimistic I've felt about opening up Nicollet for a long time," he said. "That somebody who is not in bankruptcy now owns the property is a good thing. We think that we can create a nice situation for them."

The Minneapolis Observer, 10/11/04

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Last, but not least is Zimmermann's lack of serious attention paid to important City Council business. He's often seen dozing through City Council meetings. Dean was also absent at an important City Council Meeting at Washburn High School concerning the Crosstown Project on June 14th. I've heard that Dean relies on other people a great deal to help him make up his mind. Sadly, among those people have included a crooked developer (Sabri) and at least one pro-highway, pro-NRA, anti-abortion, anti-transit right-wing Republican (Mark Olson).

Dean is not Green.

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Thanks to Ned Luddington for much of this information.

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