>> ERIC: EARLIER THIS WEEK, MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR JACOB FREY MADE TIME MAGAZINE'S ANNUAL LIST OF THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE.

THE MAYOR'S NATIONAL PROFILE CONTINUES TO RISE IN THE WAKE OF OPERATION METRO SURGE.- BU OPERATION METRO SURGE.- BUT PERATION METRO SURGE.- BUT FRRATION METRO SURGE.- BUT FREYTION METRO SURGE.- BUT FREY'SON METRO SURGE.- BUT FREY'S B METRO SURGE.- BUT FREY'S BATETRO SURGE.- BUT FREY'S BATTLRO SURGE.- BUT FREY'S BATTLES SURGE.- BUT FREY'S BATTLES WURGE.- BUT FREY'S BATTLES WITGE.- BUT FREY'S BATTLES WITH .- BUT FREY'S BATTLES WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ALSO CONTINUE.

THE STAR TRIBUNE'S CITY HALL REPORTER DEENA WINTER HAS BEEN FOLLOWING IT ALL.

THE LATEST FLASHPOINT, I SUPPOSE, WAS THE CITY'S PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER AND HE WAS REJECTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.

WHAT'S BEHIND ALL THAT?

>> YEAH.

IT'S HISTORY MAKING.

I GUESS, AS FAR AS THE CITY CLERK KNOWS, IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT'S EVER HAPPENED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD EJECT A NOMINEE OF THE MAYOR.

AND, SO, THEY SAID THAT THEY DON'T -- THEY'RE UNHAPPY ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, HE OVERSEES THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT, 911, SOME OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, AND THEY'RE UNHAPPY THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WENT OVERBUDGET Y NEARLY $20 MILLION LAST YEAR, AND HE OVERSAW THEM BUT DIDN'T SEEM TO KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT IT.

LIKE MANY PEOPLE AT CITY HALL, UNTIL WE REPORTED IT LATE LAST YEAR.

AND -- SO THEY'RE UNHAPPY ABOUT THAT.

THEY'RE NHAPPY ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS SOME DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES HAVE BEEN HANDLED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

IT WAS A 7-6 VOTE, CLOSE.

>> Cathy: BUT FREY SAID IT WAS MATERIAL POLITICS, IS THAT RIGHT?

>> WELL, HE DID ALLEGE THAT THERE'S VOTE TRADING GOING ON, AND POLITICAL GAMESMANSHIP AND SO ON.

THEY WILL BE VOTING THIS COMING THURSDAY TO OVERRIDE.

WE'LL SEE IF THEY CAN OVERRIDE THE VETO OR NOT.

>> Cathy: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE MAYOR FREY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL?

>> WELL, THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, ARE FURTHER TO THE LEFT THAN -- OF HIM.

AND THERE'S DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS, THERE'S SEVERAL DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ON THE COUNCIL NOW.

SO IT BECOMES A BIT OF A ARGUMENT BETWEEN THE LEFT AND THE FARTHER LEFT.

AND IT CAN GET PRETTY HEATED.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT STRAINED, I WOULD SAY.

>> Eric: MINNEAPOLIS IS AN 85 DEMOCRATIC, 5 REPUBLICAN.

WHY ARE THE DEMOCRATS FUSSIN' AND FIGHTIN' WITH EACH OTHER, AS YOU SAY, THE LIBERAL AND THE MORE LIBERAL?

>> I MEAN, I WISH -- I'M STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT.

I'VE COVERED CITY COUNCILS IN SEVERAL OTHER STATES.

IN NORTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, THE SUBURBS OF MINNEAPOLIS EVEN.

AND THEY WERE REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ON THOSE CITY COUNCILS.

THESE ARE ALL DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS.

BUT I'VE NEVER EEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.

LIKE NEVER SEEN SUCH VITRIOL, SO I'M STILL SORT OF TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT MYSELF.

LIKE, WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

BUT PEOPLE FEEL VERY PRECIPITATIONLY -- PASSION LIT ABOUT THESE ISSUES.

YOU SEE IT ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL, THE LEFT, AND HE FARTHER LEFT, DSA.

>> Cathy: GETTING BACK TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER TODD BARNETT, IF HE OVERSEES THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH HE DOES, AND I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHY MAYOR FREY HASN'T BROUGHT UP CHIEF O'HARA'S RENOMINATION AT THIS POINT.

DOES HE NOT HAVE THE VOTES?

>> SAID, FIRST HE WANTED TO NOMINATE HIS CABINET, WHICH WAS CITY ATTORNEY AND BARNETT AND THE CITY OPERATIONS OFFICER.

AND THEN HE SAYS IN THE COMING WEEKS HE WILL NOMINATE SOME OTHER DEPARTMENT HEADS, INCLUDING, PRESUMABLY, O'HARA.

BUT, YEAH, SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KIND OF WONDERING THE SAME THING, LIKE WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG TO GET O'HARA NOMINATED.

THAT'S A BIG ONE.

>> Eric: THE GAY BATH HOUSES WERE OUTLAWED IN MINNEAPOLIS, I THINK, IN 1989.

AND THEY'RE BACK FOR OMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OR STAFF CONSIDERATION.

IT ISN'T LIKE THEY'VE BEEN DELAYED OR BEEN DROPPED.

IT'S STILL PART OF THE INTRODUCTION PROCESS FOR AN ORDINANCE, RIGHT?

>> YEAH.

THEY JUST VOTED LAST WEEK TO SEND IT TO STAFF AND HAVE THEM, LIKE, WORK OUT THE DETAILS OF SEVERAL ORDINANCE CHANGES.

>> Eric: THAT'S TYPICAL, I THINK.

>> IF THEY VOTE YES.

I MEAN, THEY DID DO A VOTE, THOUGH, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBATE, BUT THEN THEY, YOU KNOW, ABOUT IS THIS WHAT WE SHOULD BE SPENDING OUR TIME ON RIGHT NOW, BUT THEN IT GOT HEATED, AND SOME ALLEGATIONS OF HOMOPHOBIA WERE MADE AND SO ON.

IN HE END THEY VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO SEND IT TO STAFF TO START WORKING ON THESE ORDINANCES, THAT THEY WILL THEN PRESUMABLY COME BACK AND VOTE ON.

>> Eric: HERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN MINNEAPOLIS CITY GOVERNMENT THESE DAYS, MORE THAN WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, FOR SURE.

HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT?

>> WELL, IT'S CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHY I TOOK THE JOB, BECAUSE IT'S SO INTERESTING TO COVER.

>> Eric: YEAH.