Billy Menz has decided not to run for re-election to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB).
He says the reasons are personal. “I can’t lose focus on my kids and family.” He said “politics” also played a part in his decision.
Menz’ full-time job is the English as a Second Language lead teacher at Edison High School, working with students who have recently immigrated to the area. On the MPRB he represents District 1, the Northeast neighborhoods and the western portion of Southeast Minneapolis. He was elected in 2022.
He also coaches youth sports, mainly baseball.
“There are a couple of things I’d list as accomplishments,” he said. “First, I helped establish an Indigenous Action Plan for the Park Board where elders in the community and others can have a say what we do. Minneapolis has the largest indigenous population of any major city.
“Some have always bragged about how much land the Park Board owns. But we don’t own the land; we steward it.”
The second area Menz said is an accomplishment is his advocacy of youth sports. Technical advisory committees have been established to guide the MPRB in youth sports facilities.
“We don’t have adequate facilities. It may be one reason parents are moving their kids from the city to the suburbs.”
Edison will not have a football program for the second straight year this year. “That’s a great example,” he said. “The Park Board has traditionally been able to create athletes that move on to the high school program. That’s not happening in football.
“We’re missing an opportunity to create stronger families and stronger young people. You can’t have those programs if you have inadequate athletic programs and inadequate facilities.”
One glaring area, he said, was (is) a lack of quality girls’ softball fields. “We needed to right that wrong.”
He said his biggest disappointments were in making a wrong vote on a plan to change a section near Lake of the Isles and Hennepin Avenue to include more bike access. Menz said he thought it would be victory for bike riders, but in retrospect it was not. “There were traffic and safety issues. It may have hurt the relationship between bike riders and others.”
Another thing he regrets, looking back, is his choice not to attend the mediation sessions with union members during a contentious strike this past year. “I didn’t want to intervene, but these are public sessions. I think I could have had a positive effect.”
So what were the “politics” that kept him from running again? “Well, I didn’t get the DFL endorsement even though many in the party said I’d done a good job as commissioner.” He said he is positive about the party, but the convention seemed to be run by one faction.
“So I had a choice. I could either become a better teacher, a better father, a better husband. Or, I could choose to become a better politician. I didn’t really want to be a politician.”
The two candidates for the District 1 MPRB commissioner are Dan Miller and Dan Englehart, or, as Menz calls it, “a Danlemma for voters.”
Menz has been door-knocking and otherwise supporting the candidacy of Miller.
All in all, he said his experience on the Board was very positive. “The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is such a unique institution. It’s really positioned to help kids and it has the potential to realize great things.”
Government, he said, likes to throw money at programs to help youth and families. “But spending that money has to be intentional. It’s a matter of how it is used. I first ran for office so I could have an impact on that.”
Menz grew up in South Elgin, Illinois, and one of his first jobs was as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Austin, Texas. He has been an elementary teacher and has lived in Missouri, Portland and Philadelphia. “You might as well throw Alexandria, Virginia, in there because that’s where my wife is from.”
One of his goals, and something he’s most proud of, is bringing the opportunities for youth to both Northeast kids and to kids on the North Side. “The river used to be a divide between the neighborhoods, but it should be a connector.”
He said Northeast is a changing neighborhood and always has been, reflecting new waves of immigration. “With all these new families, it’s a real opportunity for openness and diversity. I’ve always been willing to support people who don’t look like me.”
Menz was told some in the community think he’s stepping aside so he can run for another office. He laughed. “It’s not in my plans. Of course, you never say never, but I’m not politically ambitious. I want to continue to work for my community, but I don’t want to be a politician.”