Today’s StarTribune story about Southwest LRT contains a serious misrepresentation.
The only on-the-record quote that my spokesperson Kate Brickman gave reporter Pat Doyle about mediation was that the City is respecting the confidentiality of mediation. Because we are.
On background, Brickman made the point that there were a lot of crazy rumors out there about what’s happening at the mediation table, but that they are just rumors and we shouldn’t respond to them or treat them as valid.
Unfortunately, Doyle misrepresented her on-background comments to do exactly the opposite: he reported her as spreading one of those rumors — when in fact she used it as example of precisely the kind of wild rumor that shouldn’t be believed. It’s hard to understand why he would do that.
Everyone who is actually at the mediation table from Minneapolis and the Met Council is respecting the confidentiality of the process. And let me be clear: Minneapolis is not holding out on Southwest LRT to force the Met Council to build a streetcar. That doesn’t even make sense.
We are working to see if a resolution can be found that addresses legitimate concerns raised by residents about how freight and LRT will affect them, and protect a precious regional corridor in the process.
I will not let Doyle’s irresponsibility affect this important work.