CITY OF SAINT PAUL 390 City Hall Telephone: 651-266-8510

Mayor Melvin Carter 15 West Kellogg Boulevard Facsimile: 651-266-8521
Saint Paul, MN 55102

 

January 25, 2019

Jason M. Sole

 

Dear Jason,

This letter is to formally accept your resignation of Assistant to the Mayor IV with working title Community First
Public Safety Initiatives Director.

I accepted your resignation on Monday, January 21, 2019.

You are entitled to the two weeks of salary through January 18, 2019, which is held for two weeks on all
employees. I will authorize a two?week notice period, making the day of your separation Monday, February 4,
2019, including an additional two weeks of pay for a total of four weeks of salary on your final paycheck.

The balance 42.69 hours of vacation will also be paid out on your final paycheck.

Your medical and dental insurance will be effective through the end of February 2019. You may elect continued
health and dental coverage through COBRA. You will be provided COBRA paperwork in a separate mailing.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Andrea Turner, HR Director.
Sincerely,

Jai Tincher

Deputy Mayor

cc; Mayor Melvin Carter
Lori Ann DeVllIe, Human Resources
Nance Lee Mosquera, Benefits Manager

AA-ADA-EEO Employer

?Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere. Dr. King
Dear Mayor Carter,

I want to start off by saying that I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to serve in your administration
during your ?rst year as mayor. I was honored when you reached out to me with your vision for community safety
that centered equity, true justice, and strong communities. Unfortunately, I ?nd myself disillusioned with how this
year has unfolded while I?ve served as Community-First Public Safety Initiatives Director. I will not seek to renew
my contract when it ends on March I?d like to outline my reasons for ending this work that I began with great

enthusiasm and optimism:

1. During my ?rst week, I was asked to support the Joint Powers Agreement for Data Sharing of Youth
Information. I re?ised and you disregarded (and continue to disregard) my recommendation with your
continued support of harmful agreement.

2. You chose to support Keith Ellison while I chose to support my friend Karen Monahan. Iwas more
ostracized after our conversation. In a November 19?h meeting to discuss the Bloomberg opportunity, I
vehemently expressed that the money should be invested in the people at the bottom rungs of society. Chief
Axtell and Olson (City Attorney) agreed; you made the determination to disregard my
recommendation by stating that the investments would go into people, placemaking, and police. The
change in your rhetoric between your inauguration speech and this decision is hard to overstate. You stated
that we express our values by how we spend our money. I wasn?t given a dollar to lead my community-?rst
public safety initiatives, which clearly shows that there is no value in this role. #trophyposition

3. You stated in your inauguration speech that we are not safer with more cops and that you are invested in a
community-?rst public safety approach. Yet, you allocated money for police. #politicsasusual

4. You are giving your support to Ramsey County?s Gun Violence Intervention initiative, which I have
continuously re?ised to support. I attended several meetings on the front end, including an all-day
convening, in which I expressed the ?aws to the attendees as well as the deputy mayor. As someone who
has expertise in reducing crime on a personal and professional level, I chose not to support and that has
caused greater con?ict as you were upset that I didn?t attend a recent meeting.

Don?t think that I don?t want you to succeed. I wish you well; this is just me taking my brother in the yard for
?ve minutes because I have a knot in my chest that needs to be loosened. I would like to spend the last two months
of my contract helping you pivot from the Community-First platform to your Smart on Crime platform. I was hoping
that you truly envisioned a safer Saint Paul but I realize that it was simply rhetoric. I have tried to be as supportive
as I could possibly be for you but it hasn?t been reciprocated. You can?t name one initiative you?ve supported of
mine. Nevertheless, I?ll wait to hear from you in terms of next steps. In the interim, I will draft recommendations for
the next hire to ?ll my role. Somehow, this felt like I was writing a letter from a Birmingham Jail. Happy Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day!

?Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. 
Truth-in-Power,

Jason Marque Sole