St. Paul’s first ever “Community-First Public Safety Initiatives Director” recently resigned over a number of disputes with Mayor Melvin Carter, including Carter’s support of now Attorney General Keith Ellison. “You chose to support Keith Ellison while I chose to support my friend Karen Monahan. I was more ostracized after our conversation,” Jason Sole wrote in his January 21 resignation letter, a copy of which was recently obtained by Fox 9. Some believe that Sole’s resignation was forced by Carter’s office, since Sole publicly refused to support programs such as the Joint Powers Agreement for Data Sharing of Youth Information, which was ultimately canceled on Monday. That three-way agreement between St. Paul, Ramsey County, and St. Paul Public Schools would have allowed for cross-sharing of youth zip codes, incomes, truancy numbers, race, and the like to better identify at-risk youth. “During my first week, I was asked to support the Joint Powers Agreement for Data Sharing of Youth Information. I refused and you disregarded (and continue to disregard) my recommendation with your continued support of [that] harmful agreement,” Sole wrote in his letter. Sole’s position was established to help the city transition away from over-policing and towards community-led public safety efforts,…
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