Council Member Abdi Warsame will be leaving his elected position as a council member for Ward 6 to head the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority; http://strib.mn/36BCS12. Jacob Frey and Abdi Warsame’s leadership pushed for MPHA’s privatization and displacement plans. Warsame authored the privatization resolution; https://tinyurl.com/Warsame-s-Resolution, and MOU https://www.dgphc.org/…/minneapolis-city-council-passes-me…/. In 2019, when seniors and vulnerable residents from his ward at Elliot Twins asked to meet with him several times to stop RAD privatization plans that will displace residents, he ignored them. After MPHA could not silence the voices of residents from Elliot Twins, MPHA sent Abdi Warsame. He met the residents in late April of 2019 and promised that he will support them and stop RAD. This was the last time Elliot Twins residents saw their council member. Abdi Warsame has a long record of misleading and oppressing the voices of low-income residents in his ward, especially within the East African community. Currently, no one supports him as a leader in his Ward or outside of his Ward. Abdi Warsame is not qualified to lead MPHA because he is not about the people. He and his best friend Mayor Jacob Frey have been very divisive and toxic in the East African communities of Minneapolis. They both have made extensive efforts to undermine the public housing leaders of DG&PHC which are many Black women from the Somali community. Abdi Warsame does not have any experience in housing policy at the federal, state or local level, but he will receive almost double his current salary of 170k per year. Jacob Frey appointed Abdi Warsame without any transparent process or public notice. This is the type of cronyism that is stifling Minneapolis

In their board report, https://tinyurl.com/Appt-of-ED-MPHA-Board-Report, MPHA claims they sent out surveys to 500 surveys to public housing and 5000 surveys Section 8 residents about the kind of leader they want. They claim that 101 surveys were completed. In addition, they said the surveys were available online. This process is questionable:
1. We don’t know anyone is scattered sites, in Glendale or high-rises’ that received surveys?
2. We asked around and we have not heard of any onsite MPHA staff aware of surveys. But MPHA claims all of their staff filled out surveys. How and why was Warsame chose even though he is not qualified?
3. Residents were not notified by staff or via mail that surveys were available online.
4. MPHA knows the majority of residents do not have computers so they are not able to fill out the surveys.
On Wednesday, January 29th at 1:30 pm @ 1001 Washington Avenue North, 55401, MPHA will hold a public board meeting where Abdi Warsame’s name will be the only candidate presented, and the board is expected to approve. If Abdi Warsame could not successfully lead Ward 6, how is he going to lead MPHA that is facing local and national controversies as they push to privatize public housing through Section 18 and RAD which will displace thousands Black, Black Muslims, seniors and people with disabilities?

https://www.dgphc.org/…/12/10/the-new-faces-of-displacement/