Press Release: Healing Our Communities

Saint Paul, MN – Auditor Blaha issued the following statement on her yes vote for the Governor’s executive order for a weekend curfew for Minneapolis and Saint Paul:

“The arrest of George Floyd’s murderer is only the first step in the healing Minnesota needs. This week will be remembered as one of the most painful in Minnesota's history. The senseless and brutal murder of George Floyd, an unarmed man, a black man, a man from Minneapolis, is a scar that we will carry with us for a long time.

"Over the last few days, our grief has been on display in all its forms in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It was a clear illustration of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s quote, “A riot is the language of the unheard." While a curfew and increased security will help protect our neighborhoods from the destructive and life threatening actions of a few, we cannot forget our neighbors’ pain when it is not as jarringly visible.

"Action is the best treatment for despair. Implementing ideas for systemic change, such as those of the Working Group on Police-Involved Deadly Force Encounters led by Attorney General Keith Ellison and Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, are just what our communities need right now.”