Russ Henry

Russ Henry

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Russ Henry was a candidate for at-large representative on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in Minnesota. He was defeated in the general election on November 7, 2017. Although park and recreation board elections are officially nonpartisan, Henry was endorsed by the DFL.

Biography

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Henry's professional experience includes work as the owner of Giving Tree Gardens and as a consultant for SunShare. He has also served as a cochair of the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council, a member of the Minneapolis Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee, and a board member for Restorative Justice Community Action.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017) and Mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017)

Minneapolis, Minnesota, held a general election for mayor, all 13 seats on the city council, both elected members of the board of estimate and taxation, and all nine members of the park and recreation board on November 7, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 15, 2017.

Incumbents ran for re-election to all but two of the city council seats. Ward 3 Councilman Jacob Frey filed to run for mayor instead, and Ward 8 Councilwoman Elizabeth Glidden opted not to run for re-election.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 4
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Meg Forney (i) - Winner	29.1%	22,506	1,440
Russ Henry - Eliminated	0%	0	−11,014
Devin Hogan	0%	0	0
Londel French - Winner	23.2%	17,947	3,639
Mike Derus	18.1%	13,970	1,121
Jonathan Honerbrink	0%	0	0
Bob Sullentrop	0%	0	0
LaTrisha Vetaw - Winner	29.5%	22,827	2,298
Charlie Casserly	0%	0	0
Scott Vreeland (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Undeclared Write-ins	0%	0	0
Exhausted		7,097	2,516
Total Votes		84,347	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 3
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Meg Forney (i) - Most votes	26.4%	21,066	700
Russ Henry	13.8%	11,014	1,199
Devin Hogan - Eliminated	0%	0	−6,735
Londel French - Most votes	17.9%	14,308	1,493
Mike Derus	16.1%	12,849	514
Jonathan Honerbrink	0%	0	0
Bob Sullentrop	0%	0	0
LaTrisha Vetaw - Most votes	25.7%	20,529	1,387
Charlie Casserly	0%	0	0
Scott Vreeland (Write-in)	0%	0	0
Undeclared Write-ins	0%	0	0
Exhausted		4,581	1,442
Total Votes		84,347	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 2
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Meg Forney (i) - Most votes	25.1%	20,366	1,356
Russ Henry	12.1%	9,815	759
Devin Hogan	8.3%	6,735	489
Londel French - Most votes	15.8%	12,815	410
Mike Derus	15.2%	12,335	1,656
Jonathan Honerbrink - Eliminated	0%	0	−2,617
Bob Sullentrop - Eliminated	0%	0	−1,659
LaTrisha Vetaw - Most votes	23.6%	19,142	616
Charlie Casserly - Eliminated	0%	0	−3,756
Scott Vreeland (Write-in) - Eliminated	0%	0	−3
Undeclared Write-ins - Eliminated	0%	0	−390
Exhausted		3,139	3,139
Total Votes		84,347	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Legend:     Eliminated in current round     Most votes     Lost

This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-Large, 2017, Round 1
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Transfer
Meg Forney (i) - Most votes	22.5%	19,010
Russ Henry	10.7%	9,056
Devin Hogan	7.4%	6,246
Londel French - Most votes	14.7%	12,405
Mike Derus	12.7%	10,679
Jonathan Honerbrink	3.1%	2,617
Bob Sullentrop	2%	1,659
LaTrisha Vetaw - Most votes	22%	18,526
Charlie Casserly	4.5%	3,756
Scott Vreeland (Write-in)	0%	3
Undeclared Write-ins	0.5%	390
Exhausted		0	0
Total Votes		84,347	0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.

Campaign themes

2017

Henry's campaign website highlighted the following issues. Click "show" on the boxes below for more information about his positions.

Kids First

"It's time to put the kids first in our parks. We can do this by giving the kids of Minneapolis a safe, fun, supervised place to play. I’d like to see neighborhood parks filled with coaches, teachers, mentors, artists, and chefs, all participating in enriching kids lives. Marshal Terrace Park, Corcoran Park, Fairview Park, Folwell Park, Peavey Park, Logan Park and East Phillip’s Park, and many more all surrounded by families that need opportunities for their kids to play in a safe, mentoring environment. Low income areas of town are the priority for implementation recognizing that wealth affords recreation opportunities both in and outside the park system that can't be afforded by low income families. Sounds great, but how are we gonna pay for it? This and every other road in government eventually lead back to the budget. If we want fully staffed neighborhood parks we’re going to have to have a full, robust discussion around equity in our park budget. Equity is more than just a nice word, equity means growing access to resources for folks who don’t have resources. There may be areas where we could redirect budget, we hire a lot of consultants, we dole out a number of single bid contracts, I believe we have more than enough deputy superintendent positions, these are a few potential areas where we could find some money to put the kids first. It won’t be easy, nothing worth doing is. Our parks are a public health creating resource. They calm us, they inspire us, they give us fresh air and a space to exercise and connect. I want to see us unleash the amazing power of our park system on the biggest problems that we face as a city including race and income related health disparities. When we prioritize staffing of neighborhood park buildings and facilities with a focus on low income neighborhoods first, we’ll be putting the kids first and growing more equitable, people powered parks!"

Equity for All

"Minneapolis Parks system has a major equity problem. While parks in affluent areas have ample resources, parks in low-income areas suffer from lack of programming and facilities. To create equity in Minneapolis Parks, we need to focus programming and facilities upgrades in low income neighborhoods where they’re most needed. Participatory Budgeting To ensure we are working equitably and keeping the Park Board accountable to the people, we need Open Data, and Open Participatory Budgeting. Minneapolis Parks for All Kids After school programming options are limited by budget, but all kids need to have something productive and fun to do after school. Kids whose parents have fewer economic resources should be receiving more support from parks systems in order to thrive. Our Parks should be doing all it can provide mentoring and community building programming for so many Minneapolis kids. We don't need to take away programming from parks in affluent neighborhoods, but we absolutely do need to add more programming to low-income neighborhoods. As a commissioner, I will prioritize work to add programming and facilities in low-income neighborhood parks."

Pesticide Free Parks

"The Plan The people of Minneapolis deserve pesticide free spaces to live and play. Our parks should be safe for people, pets, and pollinators and that’s why I am serious about the elimination of pesticides in our park system. I have a plan and I’m eager to strategize with staff and experts as we work on pesticide elimination in our parks. Together our community is growing pesticide free, people powered parks! How would you like to be involved with the plan? STEP 1: Pesticide Elimination Committee - Partner with Minneapolis Public Schools By the MPRB’s definition pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and any other chemical used to kill living creatures in the landscape. My first step will be to ask other commissioners to vote with me to establish a pesticide elimination committee. This committee will be charged with developing and implementing a 4-5 year transition plan and will be directed to work with the Pesticide Free Schools committee that was established earlier in the year by Minneapolis Public Schools. The parks pesticide elimination committee will need to include boots on the ground staff as well a [sic] top-level staff responsible for departments that currently use pesticides in our park system. The committee will also include park users and activists who are seeking an end to pesticide use in the city. STEP 2: Data Driven Decisions - Blanket Bans on Highest Risk Applications Once our committee is up and running we will request data from both the parks and school system on the uses of pesticides to date. In order to shift away from pesticides it is important for everyone to be on the same page about the extent of the uses of pesticides currently. After we have the data in hand I will likely move for a blanket ban on 2 pesticides that our park system uses in abundance, Roundup and 2-4d. Both Roundup and 2-4d are highly toxic, controversial pesticides that we can eliminate immediately. Last week the European Parliament voted to support a ban on what is perhaps the most controversial pesticide in the world, Roundup, because it causes cancer. 2-4d is highly controversial because it is spread in pellet form and birds mistake these pellets for seeds and eat them causing the birds to be poisoned. After we look at the lists of pesticides currently being used by our parks and schools there may be additional pesticides that need to be considered for immediate blanket bans. STEP 3: Review Demands - Seek Education & Expertise The next step will be to work with departments to define the problems we face that we currently use pesticides to deal with. As we get a sense of the scope and scale of the landscape management issues faced by our park system, we’ll better understand the areas of greatest need for a transition plan. Determining the scope of pesticide use will also help us determine the appropriate educational resources that will be required to facilitate a transition. STEP 4: Informed Policy & Funding Plan - Uplift Employees with Training - Develop Leaders With our list of landscaping issues and pesticide uses in hand we’ll seek advice and consultation from soil health and pesticide elimination experts. Within 6 months after our pesticide transition / elimination team has begun meeting I will work towards a policy and funding plan for soil health and pesticide elimination training for all staff who work with pesticides currently. As strategies for eliminating pesticides are implemented I will work with the board to support and uplift the MPRB employees who with their new training will become our leaders in pesticide free landscape management. Along the way throughout transition away from pesticides I’d like us to work to educate the community on our efforts and strategies so community members can join in eliminating pesticides from our city environment. My Background Experience - Scientific Research & Hands on Experimentation Planning for a pesticide free park system is only a part of the work that I’ve engaged in towards growing pesticide free parks and schools. Recognizing that we need commissioners who themselves have a background in pesticide elimination and soil health in order to facilitate a full transition I have worked for the last 3 years to become educated in science based strategies for pesticide free management. In the course of my training I’ve learned how to assess and manage soil microbial communities that support plant health and reduce weed and pest pressure. Over the last few months I’ve taken my training into the real world by performing an experiment at home. I haven’t written about this yet, but I’ve been experimenting on my boulevard with natural, soil health based strategies for eliminating pesticides in lawns. Lawns are the biggest user of pesticides in our park system. Golf course and premier ball field lawns are regularly treated with herbicides such as 2-4d and Roundup so they are likely to represent the largest uses of pesticides in our park system. I wanted to be prepared to lead a transition away from these pesticides so I have used my own boulevard as a space for experimenting with the techniques that we’ll likely use as we learn to eliminate pesticides. I chose the boulevard because it’s one of the most difficult spaces to grow healthy, weed free lawns. In my experiment I’ve tracked data ranging from the variety and biomass of living soil microbial creatures such as bacteria, fungus, nematodes, micro-arthropods, and amoebae. I’ve also tracked data that shows water infiltration per minute and soil compaction. Since lawns are all about that clean, weed free look I’ve also been tracking the aesthetic look of the space in photographs. All of these data points have been tracked throughout the growing season because these are some of the same data points that organic farmers who manage soil microbial health utilize in their work. Every two weeks since the beginning of July I’ve gotten up early on Saturday mornings before I go out door knocking and taken microscope, soil compaction, and water infiltration measurements in the lawn on my boulevard. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m nuts for paying such close attention to the boulevard lawn. I’m happy to report that in the course of my short experiment I was able to reduce weeds by more than 90% without using any poisons. I was able to reestablish grass on barren parts of the lawn, and I’m seeing water infiltrate into the ground at rates about twice as fast as when I started the experiment. In other words I’ve transitioned a part of my lawn in much the same way that we’ll need to transition our golf courses and premier ball fields. I did this so that as a commissioner I will be able to understand the methods and desired outcomes of pesticide elimination strategies that we will likely employ if our park board votes to form a pesticide elimination committee. The people of Minneapolis deserve pesticide free spaces to live and play. Our parks should be safe for people, pets, and pollinators and that’s why I am serious about the elimination of pesticides in our park system. I have a plan and I’m eager to strategize with staff and experts as we work on pesticide elimination in our parks. Together our community is growing pesticide free, people powered parks!"

People Powered Parks

"Each year the people of Minneapolis donate thousands of hours to help Minneapolis Parks and Recreation operate through volunteering and serving on Community Advisory Committees. Too many times I’ve been told by these valuable volunteers who are working through advisory committees, parks planning meetings, or as activists working to help enlighten and support the parks that the MPRB doesn’t listen to the community. Many folks have described feeling dismissed, disregarded, or ignored by commissioners when bringing their concerns forward. People need to feel connected to the decision making that occurs for our Minneapolis Parks. But too often, Community members are the last-to-know about new policy changes at the Park Board. Too many MPRB policies are proposed by staff then voted on by commissioners with barely any input from affected neighbors and communities. As a commissioner, I will: listen to and engage voters in order to find solutions that work for the community put community members first in the decision making process to move forward a policy agenda that advances equity, justice, and ecosystem restoration transform the community engagement model of the Community Advisory Committees into citizen led, staff supported bodies Listening to the People It is so rare for governing bodies to know how to listen to people, but it is not impossible. Your vote for Russ Henry for Park Board supports transforming the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board toward deep, authentic community engagement for People Powered Parks."

Restorative Justice

"When I moved to Minneapolis in 2002, I loved being surrounded by the vibrant culture and amazing neighbors. After getting to know how unsafe many of my neighbors felt and after learning that a neighbor had been attacked, I joined a local restorative justice program in order to do something positive in the face of the complex problems our neighborhood was experiencing. As a volunteer in restorative justice for 7 years, I took part in hundreds of these conversations between concerned community members and offenders in the program. I learned how to mediate, negotiate, and resolve conflict. I was amazed to see the transformation that occurred when offenders were given a chance to restore the harm caused by their crime and I want that chance for transformation to offered by our park system. As a commissioner, I will work to make sure that all misdemeanor cases within the Park Police system are handled with Restorative Justice. Restorative Justice Transforms During restorative processes, neighbors have a chance to speak directly with offenders while working together. These real and challenging conversations open the door to healing by bringing community and offenders together to share the experience of knowing each other as people."

Lake Hiawatha & Hiawatha Golf Course

As a candidate for park board, one of the top questions I'm hearing from voters is; what is my stance on the future of the Hiawatha Golf Course? In order to be clear for voters I'd like to lay out my stance and open a discussion and dialogue on the issue. "Natural Treasure Lake Hiawatha is one of the greatest natural treasures in Minneapolis. Lake Hiawatha and the land around it are critical habitat for waterfowl, fish, and migrating birds. Thousands of of [sic] people use the lake and park space at Hiawatha for recreation, year round. Lake Hiawatha, formerly known as Rice Lake was dredged in the 1930’s and the dredgings were dumped into the large wetland adjacent to the lake. This new arrangement of the lake was then named Lake Hiawatha. Hiawatha Golf Course Situated adjacent to Lake Hiawatha is the Hiawatha Golf Course. Four intersecting bodies of water come together in this area; Lake Hiawatha, Minnehaha Creek, a large area of storm sewer that empties into Lake Hiawatha, and underneath the lake and golf course is the massive Prairie Du Chien Aquifer. These intersecting bodies of water and the low elevation mean that the space where the golf course was built is actually a floodplain. The rice-growing portion of the lake (original namesake) was at one time a food producing wetland and habitat. This habitat was drained and filled in to create the space where the Hiawatha Golf Course sits today. Groundwater Pumping In order to keep the golf course above water the Minneapolis Park Board is pumping more than 240 million gallons of water every year out of the golf course and into Lake Hiawatha. This groundwater pumping exceeds state groundwater pumping limits permitted by the MN DNR. Annually the Hiawatha Golf Course sinks about 1/4 of an inch as soil subsidence exacerbated by groundwater pumping dissolves and eats away at the land that forms the golf course. Flooding Due to being situated in a floodplain the Hiawatha Golf Course has flooded several times throughout its history. Most recently, in 2014, the course flooded which led to it being partially closed for two years. Every time the golf course floods the MPRB spends huge sums of tax dollars to re-make it. Further exacerbating flooding issues is the fact that Hiawatha Golf Course is actually lower in elevation than Lake Hiawatha and the golf course is getting lower every year. Street / Sewer System The street / storm sewer system that drains into Lake Hiawatha acts as a vast dry creek bed that rushes rainwater and run-off into Lake Hiawatha every time it rains. An area of land that is bordered by Chicago Ave on the east side, 28th Ave on the west side, and Lake Street on the north side all drains into Lake Hiawatha with no mitigation or pollution traps. The 'north pipe' that carries the street sewer runoff into Lake Hiawatha runs directly underneath the golf course on the north side of the lake. Pollution I joined with the Friends of Lake Hiawatha on a couple of pollution cleanup days around the lake. During the pollution cleanup I personally found diapers, hundreds of cigarette butts, syringes, condoms, and all manner of personal hygiene products in the water. These macro-pollutants are one part of the pollution problem at Lake Hiawatha. Phosphorus and Other Pollutants Another part of the problem is micro-pollutants such as phosphorus from fertilizers and road salt. The state of MN sets limits on how much phosphorus can be present in lakes, and Lake Hiawatha regularly exceeds the limit. In fact, Lake Hiawatha has the highest level of phosphorus of any Minneapolis lake. Racial Justice Looking at all of these issues, one might conclude that the simple answer is to close Hiawatha Golf Course, restore the wetland, and find other uses for the remaining dry land. This is however not only a simple story of environmental injustice, the story of Lake Hiawatha also has important racial justice components. The golf course not only brings up environmental issues but also equity and historical significance issues as well. African American golfers were historically not allowed by the racist white power structure to play at most American golf courses. Hiawatha Golf Course however was historically a space where African American people were allowed to play golf. More recently Hiawatha Golf Course has also been home to student golfing programs that encourage students from local schools to learn and play golf. In addition to it’s history as a golf course welcoming to African American people, prior to the creation of the golf course this space was a food source for Native American people where wild rice and fish could be harvested. This space is under the jurisdiction of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, a board that for most if its history has been focused on serving the interests of wealthier white people to the exclusion of people of color and low income residents. There are many intersecting racial, economic, social, and environmental issues at play and none of these is simple or easy. Here are my bottom lines: 1. Dry Houses: The houses that are being kept dry due to pumping must be kept dry. If we slow down the pumping we can only slow it down to the point of still ensuring that houses and the basements under them are kept dry. The current plan recently adopted by the MPRB would slow down pumping to 94 million gallons per year. This continuing pumping will ensure that basements in this floodplain stay dry. Since these houses are in a floodplain, over time it would be wise for the MPRB to purchase the houses at fair market rates in order to remove them from the housing inventory. 2. Clean Water: The water flowing into Lake Hiawatha must be cleaned via mitigation channels and pollution traps. This means that at a minimum the golf course will need to be rearranged. The space for creating the mitigation channels and pollution traps is currently a golf course fairway. Without mitigation we will continue dumping pollution in the form of garbage and hazardous chemicals into the lake from the 'north pipe' connected to the street sewer every time it rains. Once we create a mitigation channel and pollution traps we must work to remove the toxins and trash that shouldn’t be in our lake. 3. Recognition of Historical Significance: Whether the golf course ultimately stays in a modified form or goes altogether we need to publicly and permanently recognize the historical significance of the Hiawatha Golf Course as a place welcoming to all people. 4. Expanded Habitat: As a stop off zone for migrating birds and a home to fish, reptiles, pollinators, and mammals the habitat area around Lake Hiawatha needs to be expanded. If golf is going to be present still at Hiawatha the course will need to incorporate much more habitat than the current design allows for. 5. Eliminate Pesticide Use: According to the MPRB’s own documentation Hiawatha Golf Course is one of the biggest users of pesticides in our park system. Whether the golf course stays or goes, the use of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides in a floodplain adjacent to a lake and a creek is highly irresponsible. These toxins also put the amazing park staff in harms way by exposing them to carcinogenic chemicals. If the golf course can’t be managed without pesticides then it has no place near the intersecting bodies of water at Hiawatha, because we have no business continuing to put employees, park visitors, and wildlife in harms way. 6. Expanded Recreation: Lake Hiawatha has a path around less than half of the lake. Thousands of neighboring residents would like to utilize the land at Hiawatha but don’t play golf. We need to offer more than one type of recreation opportunity at Lake Hiawatha. Some neighbors are working for a Food Forest to be developed in a portion of the remaining dry land after the pumps are turned down. This idea has the potential to create a native habitat for pollinators, birds, wildlife, and people to enjoy. 7. Equitable Recreation: In the Minneapolis park system, we have to provide recreation opportunities for all Minneapolis residents. While it may be appropriate to maintain some golf courses within our park system, currently we maintain 7 golf courses including Meadowbrook, Gross, Fort Snelling, Columbia, 2 at Theodore Wirth, and Hiawatha. Hiawatha Golf Course is 140 acres. I’d like to see an equity analysis by size of land used and type of sport played so that we can get a sense of how many square feet of our parkland is dedicated to each sport and how many square feet of parkland an average soccer or basketball player gets to utilize compared to an average golfer. Future of Lake Hiawatha and Hiawatha Golf Course The MPRB recently voted to reduce pumping which would fill much of the golf course back in with water, recreate the missing wetland, and eliminate golf at Hiawatha. The next board of commissioners will likely revisit this decision. I am learning and listening in relation to the issues at Lake Hiawatha and throughout our park system. Your feedback and input is important and welcome! I’d love to answer any questions and do any research that is helpful to the community while together we work out what might be done with this important space. The future of Lake Hiawatha and the surrounding land is in the hands of the people of Minneapolis."

Endorsements

2017

Henry received endorsements from the following in 2017:

• Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
• Minnesota Young DFL
• Our Revolution Twin Cities
• Sierra Club
• TakeAction Minnesota
• Minnesota Rep. Karen Clark
• Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar
• Minneapolis Councilwoman Alondra Cano
• Minneapolis Councilman Cam Gordon
• Minneapolis Councilman Andrew Johnson
• Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board member Brad Bourn

Recent news

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Russ Henry - Google News

See also

Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minnesota	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

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• Campaign website
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