Hennepin County Chief Judge Todd Barnette will become Minneapolis' second commissioner of public safety, a position created in the wake of George Floyd's murder and efforts to change policing.
The City Council on Thursday confirmed Mayor Jacob Frey's nomination of Barnette by a 12-1 vote.
In Barnette, the city gains a known quantity with decades of ties to key threads of the city, including the criminal justice system, those who inhabit the halls of power — and untold numbers of convicts with whom Barnette has been praised for cultivating years-long relationships long after they came through his court. A native of Washington, D.C., whose father was incarcerated, the 57-year-old worked as a public defense attorney before ascending to become the first person of color to serve as Hennepin County's chief judge.
Barnette succeeds Cedric Alexander, who served one year leading the newly formed office before stepping down.
In a public hearing Tuesday, council members alternated between heaping praise on Barnette and questioning how he planned to conduct the office. The lone dissenting vote Tuesday was also the lone dissent Thursday: Council Member Robin Wonsley, who on Tuesday said she was disappointed that Barnette's responses to her questions weren't specific enough.
The Office of Community Safety and the commissioner position were created last year as part of a move to change public safety in the aftermath of Floyd's murder. The commissioner, with a staff of eight or so, answers directly to the mayor and oversees the city's five emergency departments: police, fire, emergency management, 911 and neighborhood safety (formerly known as the Office of Violence Prevention).
After Thursday's vote, Council President Andrea Jenkins wished Barnette luck in what she described as the mission to "transform the public safety system in Minneapolis into a holistic system."
Frey announced Barnette as his choice in September. In brief remarks to the council Thursday, Frey said Barnette embodied "integrity, trust and partnership. These are the kind of values that the soon-to-be commission will instill."
Offered a chance to address the council Thursday, Barnette declined. "No thank you," he said from his chair in the audience. "The mayor said it all."
