St. Paul’s mayor has received a threatening voice mail and racist messages over an upcoming vote on organized trash collection, according to recent police reports.
Police are investigating who is behind the hate letters to Melvin Carter, St. Paul’s first African-American mayor.
“While the two police reports over the past week relate to the garbage lawsuit, it is not uncommon for the Mayor’s Office to receive calls or letters that are reported to law enforcement,” Peter Leggett, Carter’s communications director, said in a statement Tuesday. “While we don’t publicize our office’s security measures, we take all threats seriously, and are diligent in our steps to ensure the safety of the Mayor and our staff.”
The issue of trash collection and an upcoming referendum, which drew a ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court last week, have drawn strong reactions in the community.
People are concerned about the cost of trash collection, not being able to share carts and the lack of choice in haulers. Proponents say the old system was inefficient, produced wear and tear on roads and alleys and created widely disparate rates.
BULLETPROOF WINDOWS
With people voicing their opinions on social media and other forums, anger has also been directed at Carter. As has been the case for other St. Paul mayors, Carter has a police officer assigned to him for security.
The officer wrote in a Monday police report that a threatening voice mail was left at Carter’s office regarding the city tax levy.
The caller made racist remarks directed to Carter and said that if taxes increase, the mayor will have to pay for it and will have to put bulletproof windows on his house, according to a police report summarized by Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman.
Police are investigating who left the message.
On Nov. 5, St. Paul voters will decide whether to vote “yes” or “no” on Ordinance 18-39, a key piece of the city’s new system of organized trash collection, which began last October. It’s unclear exactly what happens if “no” votes prevail, but Carter has said $27 million in costs would be shifted over to property taxes, increasing the tax levy accordingly.
‘HATE LETTERS’ DESCRIBED
Another police report described “hate letters” that were received at the mayor’s office in City Hall on Oct. 7 and 11.
Both contained newspaper clippings about the trash levy and had handwritten notes on the articles. One said, “This is what we get for voting a (racial epithet) boy,” and another included various expletives and a racial slur and said, “No vote ever again for this jerk,” according to Ernster.
In June, an envelope addressed to Carter included a Pioneer Press article about the city’s trash collection and a message was written in black marker, saying, “This is B.S. you (expletive) (racial slur),” a police report said.
It was unknown how many people touched the envelope, but police sent the letter for fingerprint testing. Police have not been notified of a match, though the case will be reopened if a person is identified, Ernster said.
Peter Butler, one of several plaintiffs who filed lawsuits against the city over organized trash collection, said Tuesday that he knows the debate has been heated, but he hasn’t heard about it “crossing that line of threatening each other or making statements like that.”
“It’s very troubling to hear,” Butler said. “I guess some people have lost perspective on this issue, unfortunately. Maybe there are people who are upset about a lot of things and they see this as an opportunity” to lash out at government officials.
A MOTHER’S REACTION
When Toni Carter, Melvin’s mother, was elected commissioner to the Ramsey County Board in 2005, she became the first African-American person to serve on a county board in Minnesota.
She said she’s received two or three communications over the years that included “comments that might be termed as racial slurs.”
“I haven’t felt threatened by them,” she said Tuesday. “I felt certain things motivate people, fear being one of them. I’m thankful that none of that has translated into danger to myself or my family.”
Carter said she believes any messages of hate are not representative of the community as a whole.
As a mother, Toni Carter said she’s always worried about her son’s safety and well-being. She said she copes with her concern by “abiding in my faith and my belief that he’s doing the work that he needs to do, that he’s been called to do, and he’ll be guided and protected by that, and we have a community that respects and supports his work.”
Frederick Melo contributed to this report.
