Son of Minnesota AG collecting $110,000 city salary despite full-time Harvard fellowship 1,000 miles away
Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison says he is splitting his time between on-site obligations in both Minnesota and Massachusetts.
Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison is drawing criticism after accepting a full-time fellowship at Harvard University while continuing to collect his six-figure taxpayer salary.
Ellison, the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, told The Minnesota Star Tribune that he is splitting time between Minneapolis and Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the final months of his term. The fellowship requires him to be in Massachusetts, meaning Ellison has already stepped back from the Business, Housing, and Zoning Committee and the Public Health and Safety Committee.
Minneapolis City Council members are paid a salary of nearly $110,000, which Ellison continues to collect.
Ellison, who was elected in 2017 to represent north Minneapolis, leaves the district without a seat at the table for committee work. Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw, the only other member representing the North Side, blasted the move, calling it unacceptable that her constituents will now have “zero” representation in the city’s most consequential committees.
Ellison maintains that he will still attend full council meetings every other week and participate virtually in the city’s year-end budget process. But Minneapolis rules do not allow council members to vote remotely, raising questions about how effective his virtual participation will be.
Council President Elliott Payne admitted that the arrangement was largely made on the advice of the city clerk and said the full council will revisit the issue in coming weeks.
Some members, however, are already calling for Ellison’s seat to be filled early.
Council member Jamal Osman argued that a replacement should be appointed to represent north Minneapolis during the transition. Vetaw agreed, warning that the current plan disenfranchises one of the city’s most vulnerable districts.
[RELATED: Civil rights concerns grow over Harvard’s support of race-based alumni group]
Concerns about the arrangement have been dismissed by Ellison, who told KSTP-TV that he “will be present for most full city council meetings,” and that nothing remarkable is actually happening.
A request for comment from the Star Tribune was rebuffed, with Ellison saying he had “humored it too much already.”
Ellison’s term ends in January, but the embattled council member says he is not running for reelection in November.
