[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BETSY HODGES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 25, 2018

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Betsy 
Hodges' honorable service to the City of Minneapolis.
  During her time as Mayor of Minneapolis, Betsy Hodges advanced 
environmental justice, transforming policing and safety, and closing 
racial and economic disparities, including among our youngest children. 
Through her inspiring vision of ``One Minneapolis,'' she reoriented the 
work of the City of Minneapolis and changed the citywide conversation 
to put racial equity at the core of both.
  Mayor Hodges pushed Minneapolis to be one of the greenest cities in 
America, extending organics recycling to every neighborhood, developing 
a Zero Waste Minneapolis plan, winning incentives to keep pollutants 
out of our air and water, and pursuing environmental justice. Under 
Mayor Hodges' leadership, Minneapolis was named a Climate Champion city 
by the White House and won a coveted 100 Resilient Cities designation 
from the Rockefeller Foundation. Pope Francis recognized Mayor Hodges' 
and Minneapolis' leadership in fighting climate change when he invited 
her to the Vatican for a convening of world mayors that he hosted.
  Because of Mayor Hodges' leadership, the City passed historic 
measures to help working people, including a $15 municipal minimum wage 
with no tip penalty, and earned sick and safe time for everyone who 
works in Minneapolis, both of which were firsts in the state of 
Minnesota. Mayor Hodges laid a strong foundation for transforming the 
city's policing, including implementing the use of body cameras, 
reforming the municipal criminal-justice system, and appointing 
Minneapolis' first African American chief of police. She also assembled 
a groundbreaking Cradle to K Cabinet that developed a plan to prevent 
racial disparities for our youngest children.
  Minneapolis continued to grow under Mayor Hodges' tenure: in each of 
her four years as Mayor, the City experienced more than $1 billion in 
private growth, without public subsidy. The long-planned renovation of 
Nicollet Mall was completed on time and on budget, the City-owned 
Target Center was renovated at one quarter of the cost of building a 
new arena, and Minneapolis won both Super Bowl LII and the NCAA Final 
Four. Mayor Hodges fully funded a first-ever, 20-year tourism master 
plan for Minneapolis to build on these successes into the future.
  Mayor Hodges also made significant investments in Minneapolis' 
infrastructure: a historic and fiscally responsible 20-year, $800 
million investment in the City's parks and streets, along with full 
funding for Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit and a network of protected 
bike lanes that contribute to Minneapolis' continuing to be the best 
bike city in America. She also made significant investments in 
affordable housing, including for families facing homelessness.
  Mayor Hodges' nation-leading work was also recognized with a coveted 
Promise Zone designation for North Minneapolis, several significant 
federal grants to support Minneapolis' 21st-century policing efforts, a 
highly competitive Mayor's Innovation Grant from Bloomberg 
Philanthropies to support racial-equity work, and with Minneapolis' 
participation in the National Initiative for Building Community Trust 
and Justice.
  Under Mayor Hodges' leadership, Minneapolis remained a well-run city. 
Mayor Hodges passed and presented four structurally balanced budgets 
that continued the foundation of fiscal responsibility that she laid 
while a Council Member and reoriented the work of the City around 
racial equity. Mayor Hodges' commitment to equity extended to hiring in 
her own office, where she hired half women and half people of color, 
including the first Somali-American and the first openly transgender 
person ever to work in the Mayor's office.
  As an openly sober person and an open survivor of childhood sexual 
assault, Mayor Hodges has consistently given of her time to help more 
people than we will ever know find their own path to healing and has 
actively supported them in the process.
  Before serving as Mayor, Betsy Hodges had an outstanding career in 
public service. As the Ward 13 City Council Member for eight years, she 
chaired the Ways & Means/Budget Committee and worked successfully for 
years to reform the City's closed-pension system that was unfair to 
taxpayers and pensioners alike. Mayor Hodges worked as an organizer in 
the non-profit sector for TakeAction MN and for the Minnesota Justice 
Foundation, and helped found the Women's Health Project in New Mexico 
to assist HIV-positive women. She also worked as an aide for Hennepin 
County Commissioner Gail Dorfman.
  Mayor Hodges is also known for her sense of humor, as well as for her 
love of Wonder Woman, the movie ``Die Hard,'' giraffes, and Oxford 
commas.
  Mayor Betsy Hodges' years of leadership and activism have shaped 
Minneapolis and Minnesota for the better. She has made a positive 
impact on the lives of so many, one that will be felt for decades to 
come. I would like to commend and thank her for her many contributions.

                          ____________________