Dean Zimmermann on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Gary Dean Zimmermann is an American
Gary Dean Zimmermann is an American politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and member of the Green Party of Minnesota
The Green Party of Minnesota is a green political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States.
History
The Minnesota Greens Confederation, founded 1990–91, fostered the development of local ...
in Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. He was an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council
The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...
from 2001 to 2005. Before that, Zimmermann initially served on the Minneapolis Park Board as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...
.
Issues
Dean Zimmermann has been an outspoken proponent ofpersonal rapid transit
Personal rapid transit (PRT), also referred to as podcars or guided/railed taxis, is a public transport mode featuring small low-capacity automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guideways. PRT is a type of automated guideway ...
(PRT). He developed a proposal to build a PRT system in Minneapolis consisting of 31 miles of track and 68 stations. Zimmermann "teamed up" with Minnesota State Representative Mark Douglas Olson
Mark Douglas Olson was an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from district 16B, first elected in 1992. After his re-election in 2006, Olson was arrested and subsequently convicted of domestic assau ...
, a Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
from Big Lake, Minnesota
Big Lake is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,686 at the 2020 census. Facts
In 2019 it was named the safest city to live in, and thsecond safest city in 2021with the lowest property crime rate in the sta ...
, to promote PRT in the media.
Bribery charges
Dean Zimmermann was convicted August 10, 2006 in federal court of acceptingbribes
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...
in connection with his official duties. He was found guilty on three counts of accepting cash from a local real estate developer who had business before the City Council of Minneapolis.
The conviction was based largely on testimony from the developer. Developer himself had been about to go to prison. He was let off on the charges if he could "give them" Dean Zimmerman. Dean had a spotless background before that, which certainly could not be said of the developer. This fact was not available to the jurors at trial.
In December 2006, Zimmermann was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his felony convictions and served his sentence in the minimum security wing of the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
. Zimmermann was released from prison in July 2008 and returned to Minneapolis.
References