They’re representing you on the district council

In voting during annual elections in April, Como community members elected three new District 10 board members, re-elected four incumbents, and elevated two current members to officer positions. Elected to two-year terms:
• Chair: Jill Henricksen
• Secretary: Jennifer Nelson
• At Large: Sarah Reuter, Chad Smith (new), and Jennifer Victor-Larsen
• Sub-District 1: Morgan Weinert (new)
• Sub-District 2: Maggie Zimmerman
• Sub-District 3: Matthew Brown (new)
• Sub-District 4: Benjamin Kowalsky-Grahek

Vote by May 18 in special
elections for two positions
The elections of Jill Henricksen and Jennifer Nelson to officer roles on the District 10 board mean two special elections are taking place through May 18 to fill the seats they previously held:
• One At Large seat; any District 10 community member can vote in this special election.
• One seat from Sub-District 3; current board members and community members who live between Victoria, Larpenteur, Dale, and north of the railroad tracks can vote in this special election.
Request an online ballot at www.district10comopark.org/ballot.html

Where we’ve been and where we’re going
At its annual meeting in April, the Como Community Council board gave its annual report on what it achieved (or didn’t achieve) in this unprecedented year – and how you’ve helped. Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/Ss1atcLnsFs
Also at the same meeting, the board adopted a new mission statement and, for the first time, a vision statement.
• The mission (which is the board’s definition of why the community council exists): We connect and empower each other, creating a compassionate community, courageously addressing injustices of the past and present, and forging a bold and inclusive future.
• The vision (which defines the result of what the community council hopes to achieve): A vibrant, diverse, affordable neighborhood filled with a spirit of kindness and belonging.

Help clean up lake your way
The Como Community Council is coordinating two different types of Como Lake Clean-Up events in May.
• An in-person clean-up on Saturday, May 22: Get together with others in the community to clean trash from the lake surface or shoreline between 9 a.m.-noon. We’ll meet near the dock on the lake side of the Lakeside Pavilion.
• A weeklong “do it yourself” opportunity from Saturday, May 22 through Friday May 28: You (and your own circle of friends, neighbors, or family) clean up trash and debris on your own schedule.
Whichever option you choose, register in advance at www.district10comopark.org/lake_cleanup.html.

Much of Como was ‘Whites Only’
At least 350 homes in the Como neighborhood contain racially restrictive covenants, new research by the University of Minnesota’s Mapping Prejudice Project shows. The covenants created impenetrable barriers; for decades, they meant only white people could own – or even live – in those homes (unless they were servants).
Covenants were common in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and nearby suburbs from 1910 through World War II. Though the language now is unenforceable, the covenants created a “system of American apartheid” and a legacy we are still dealing with, says Kristen Delegard, director and co-founder of the project. The covenants’ impacts, she says:
• continue to shape neighborhood segregation, exclusivity, and amenities
• are embedded in a range of private and public housing policies and decisions, such as redlining and low-density zoning
• contribute to massive housing, wealth, and generational inequities between whites and people of color, especially black Americans
Mapping Prejudice previously explored the extent of covenants in Hennepin County; it is now finishing research on Ramsey County. Read more details at: www.district10comopark.org

Call or link into D10 meetings
To obtain links or other access information, send a request by email to: district10@district10comopark.org.
• Board meeting: Tuesday May 18
• Anti-Racism Work Group: Wednesday May 26
• Neighborhood Relations: Tuesday June 1
• Land Use: Wednesday June 2
• Environment: Wednesday June 9
Agendas and more at www.district10comopark.org.