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I was compelled to respond to Andy Brehm's Feb. 25 column "Minneapolis continues to fail on public safety," particularly concerning 2021's strong-mayor amendment. My perspective is shaped by my experiences as the Minneapolis city attorney from 2020 to 2022, and prior to that I spent 26 years at Target. What Brehm fails to share with readers is that, since 2021, Minneapolis has had a strong-mayor system of governance that shifted power away from the City Council. Failures to make necessary progress on public safety are, in fact, the responsibility of the city's top executive: the mayor.

I served as city attorney both before and after the city charter was changed upon the approval of voters to implement our strong-mayor system. I drafted the language contained in the ballot measure, and I defended it in court. I am acutely and uniquely aware of the intent behind the change. The change to a strong-mayor system was put on the ballot in 2021 to address the dynamic of "14 bosses" in City Hall — the mayor and 13 City Council members — by replacing it with a new structure that clearly places the mayor as the chief executive in charge of city operations and its outcomes. Mayor Jacob Frey heralded its passage when he told the Star Tribune, "It will allow us to have a delineation of who is in charge."

As I read through Brehm's article, I was flabbergasted that virtually all of the energy and blame regarding our city's failure to improve public safety was placed at the feet of the City Council, with no mention of Frey. Did the writer forget that the charter was changed to implement a strong-mayor system? If so, I can understand why, given the efforts the mayor and his surrogates have invested in trying to obscure the lines of accountability. Readers and individuals living in Minneapolis deserve to know that there is now a clear chief executive, intentionally positioned by the charter change to be responsible and accountable for delivering on public safety.

Omitting this fact absolves Frey — after more than seven years in office — of any responsibility for the city's failure to move the needle in a positive direction. Somehow it is the City Council's fault, despite the fact that voters decided, by a significant margin, to place the mayor in a strong chief-executive position with clear lines of authority. And now, instead of offering a vision, strategy or measurable plan to improve public safety, Frey, his administration and his surrogates continually pass the buck to the City Council. The result of Frey's tenure as a strong mayor thus far is clear: a city whose public-safety systems fail the people who live there.

I remember a particularly tumultuous time at Target from 2008 to 2014. Our CEO at the time had to address many challenges facing the company, including the 2008 financial crisis and a data breach by Russian hackers. He was given six years to turn things around. After failing to right the ship at Target, I believe he was rightfully asked to step aside. After giving Mayor Frey seven years to implement meaningful change to safety in our neighborhoods, it is time that he is similarly held to account for his failure to deliver.

In the real world, successful executive leaders of large, complex organizations relish the opportunity to lead with strategic vision, decisive authority and action. They also understand a valuable, fundamental principle everyone in Minneapolis should recognize by now: The price of executive leadership comes with the ultimate accountability to deliver results. That was the intent and purpose of the charter change in creating a strong mayor in Minneapolis city government. It certainly was not intended to increase the power of the City Council. In fact, it essentially weakened it.

Minneapolis is a $1.9 billion enterprise. By passing this ballot measure in 2021, the city's voters, just like shareholders of private organizations, wanted clear lines of authority, responsibility and accountability. I suggest that Mayor Frey step up and accept that, or make room for someone else who can and will.

Jim Rowader is a former Minneapolis city attorney and longtime resident of the city.