R. T. Rybak
Encyclopedia
Raymond Thomas Rybak, Jr. (born November 12, 1955), known as R. T. Rybak, is the 46th and current mayor
of the city of Minneapolis
, Minnesota
. In the 2001 election Rybak defeated incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton
by a margin of 65% to 35%; the widest margin in city history for a challenge to an incumbent
. He took office in January 2002, and won a second term in November 2005 and a third in November 2009.
Before being elected mayor Rybak had worked in journalism, business and activism. The first mayor to endorse Barack Obama
's 2008 campaign for President, Rybak has been nominated to serve as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee
.
in 1978. In the 1970s and '80s he worked as a journalist
for the Minneapolis Tribune , then went on to run the Twin Cities Reader, where he also launched Q Monthly, a local gay and lesbian newspaper. For a few years, he headed Internet Broadcasting Systems, which started as an online division of Minneapolis television station
WCCO
and runs websites for many stations across the United States
. Following his job there, Rybak did consulting work as an Internet strategist, and assisted some projects with Minnesota Public Radio
and Public Radio International
.
During this time, Rybak also worked as a community and political activist. In 1994, he was campaign manager for Tony Bouza
, the former Minneapolis chief of police
who unsuccessfully sought the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota
. Rybak is initially known for being an early member of the group ROAR ("Residents Opposed to Airport Racket"), which campaigned for noise mitigation
projects in neighborhoods around the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
. The group staged a memorable "pajama protest," where area residents wore their nighttime clothes at the airport to show that they were losing sleep because of airplane noise.
Rybak also serves on the Board of Directors of Nice Ride Minnesota, a public bicycle sharing program.
Rybak lives in the city's East Harriet
neighborhood with his wife, Megan, and their children, Charlie and Grace.
Rybak sent his children to the Breck School
, an Episcopal private school he also attended. His mother was given a job there during a difficult period in his childhood. Rybak, who graduated in 1974, was awarded the "Distinguished Alumnus" award from Breck in 2002. He graduated from Boston College
in 1978.
He began a career in journalism, working at the Minneapolis Tribune (later the Star Tribune) in the late 1970s and 1980s, before going on to edit the Twin Cities Reader. He also acted as Development Director for Minneapolis's Downtown Council.
page. He is one of probably a very small number of mayors to have ever crowd-surfed
, diving from the stage
during a "Rock for Democracy" event at the popular Minneapolis club First Avenue in July 2004.
In 2002, Rybak developed the City of Lakes Loppet, a 35-kilometer urban cross-country ski
race through Theodore Wirth Park
and across Cedar Lake
, Lake of the Isles
and Lake Calhoun
which ends on the streets of the Uptown
Minneapolis. The event attracts nearly 2000 skiers. Rybak, a skier himself, has participated in races.
Rybak has made many public appearances at rallies and protests. In April 2004 he spoke to a rally of striking Metro Transit
workers at the Hennepin County Government Center
plaza. Like many Twin Cities
politicians, he marches in the annual Twin Cities Pride Parade.
In his 2005 re-election campaign he defeated challenger (and fellow DFL
er) Peter McLaughlin by nearly 25 percentage points, 61.47% to 36.72% (43,198 votes for Rybak and 25,807 votes for McLaughlin), and performed another crowd-surf.
In August 2007, after the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, Rybak asked Governor Tim Pawlenty
and Minnesota state officials to implement its replacement
, ensuring that the new bridge would be capable of handling mass transit. Rybak pushed that future needs and policy considerations shouldn't be ignored in the rush to build a replacement. His leadership resulted in a bridge plan which included improvements to carry a future light rail line. Rybak was quoted as saying "we (the City) have a vision that we believe will be for a bridge that will serve us for many years to come." His role also involved authorizing municipal consent
of the final bridge replacement.
He was listed as a finalist for the 2008 World Mayor
award.
In June 2008 Rybak was elected Vice President for Communications of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors
.
Rybak was the first mayor in the nation to endorse the presidential campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama
. Mayor Rybak campaigned on Obama's behalf and was active in the youth wing of the campaign.
In January 2009, Rybak announced his intention to run for re-election as Mayor in the 2009 Minneapolis City Council elections.
On November 3, 2009, Rybak was elected to a third term as mayor, winning more than 73.6% of the first-place votes.
Rybak is an avid user of social media
, often using it to alert followers to vital city information, and is credited as the first mayor in the United States to use Twitter
.
On April 24, 2010, Rybak withdrew his name from consideration for the DFL nomination at the convention after six ballots. Rybak endorsed eventual endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher
, and called on Democrats remaining in the race to withdraw and support her.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the city of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. In the 2001 election Rybak defeated incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton
Sharon Sayles Belton
Sharon Sayles Belton is an American community leader, politician and activist. She is currently the VP of Community Relations and Government Affairs for Thomson Reuters Legal business.-Early years:...
by a margin of 65% to 35%; the widest margin in city history for a challenge to an incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
. He took office in January 2002, and won a second term in November 2005 and a third in November 2009.
Before being elected mayor Rybak had worked in journalism, business and activism. The first mayor to endorse Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's 2008 campaign for President, Rybak has been nominated to serve as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
.
Background
Rybak grew up in Minneapolis, the son of a pharmacist, and graduated from Boston CollegeBoston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
in 1978. In the 1970s and '80s he worked as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for the Minneapolis Tribune , then went on to run the Twin Cities Reader, where he also launched Q Monthly, a local gay and lesbian newspaper. For a few years, he headed Internet Broadcasting Systems, which started as an online division of Minneapolis television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
WCCO
WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...
and runs websites for many stations across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Following his job there, Rybak did consulting work as an Internet strategist, and assisted some projects with Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
and Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
.
During this time, Rybak also worked as a community and political activist. In 1994, he was campaign manager for Tony Bouza
Tony Bouza
Anthony V. Bouza is a 40-year veteran of municipal police, serving as Minneapolis police chief from 1980 to 1989. Bouza came to the United States with his family at age 9. After graduating from Manual High School in Brooklyn and serving in the U.S...
, the former Minneapolis chief of police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
who unsuccessfully sought the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota
Governor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
. Rybak is initially known for being an early member of the group ROAR ("Residents Opposed to Airport Racket"), which campaigned for noise mitigation
Noise mitigation
Noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution. The main areas of noise mitigation or abatement are: transportation noise control, architectural design, and occupational noise control...
projects in neighborhoods around the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the five-state upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.-Overview:...
. The group staged a memorable "pajama protest," where area residents wore their nighttime clothes at the airport to show that they were losing sleep because of airplane noise.
Rybak also serves on the Board of Directors of Nice Ride Minnesota, a public bicycle sharing program.
Rybak lives in the city's East Harriet
East Harriet, Minneapolis
East Harriet is a neighborhood in the Southwest community in Minneapolis. Its boundaries are West 36th Street to the north, Lyndale Avenue South to the east, West 46th Street to the south, and Lake Harriet and Lakewood Cemetery to the west....
neighborhood with his wife, Megan, and their children, Charlie and Grace.
Rybak sent his children to the Breck School
Breck School
Breck School is an independent college-preparatory preK–12 school in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. It was founded in 1886 and is affiliated with the Episcopal Church...
, an Episcopal private school he also attended. His mother was given a job there during a difficult period in his childhood. Rybak, who graduated in 1974, was awarded the "Distinguished Alumnus" award from Breck in 2002. He graduated from Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
in 1978.
He began a career in journalism, working at the Minneapolis Tribune (later the Star Tribune) in the late 1970s and 1980s, before going on to edit the Twin Cities Reader. He also acted as Development Director for Minneapolis's Downtown Council.
Mayorship
In 2001 Rybak (57,739 votes for 64.69%) defeated incumbent Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton (30,896 votes for 34.61%). Rybak's mayoralty has dealt mostly with lowering crime, creating jobs, building affordable housing, and balancing the City's budget. He attends public events in the city on a regular basis and participates directly in discussions of city issues on his FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page. He is one of probably a very small number of mayors to have ever crowd-surfed
Crowd surfing
Crowd surfing is the process in which a person is passed overhead from person to person during a concert, transferring the person from one part of the venue to another...
, diving from the stage
Stage diving
Stage diving is the act of leaping from a concert stage onto the crowd below. It is often the precursor to crowd surfing.Initially seen as confrontational and extreme, stage diving has become common at hardcore punk and thrash metal performances. Many musicians have made stage diving a part of...
during a "Rock for Democracy" event at the popular Minneapolis club First Avenue in July 2004.
In 2002, Rybak developed the City of Lakes Loppet, a 35-kilometer urban cross-country ski
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
race through Theodore Wirth Park
Theodore Wirth Park
Theodore Wirth Park is the largest park managed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The park land is shared by Minneapolis and the neighboring suburb of Golden Valley. The park includes two golf courses , Wirth Lake, Birch Pond, and other amenities...
and across Cedar Lake
Cedar Lake (Minnesota)
Cedar Lake is a lake on the west side of Minneapolis, north of Lake Calhoun and west of Lake of the Isles. The lake is surrounded by parkland on the west side, while the east side borders the Kenwood residential area. The north side is bordered by the Cedar Lake Trail and the BNSF Railway...
, Lake of the Isles
Lake of the Isles
Lake of the Isles is a lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota connected to Cedar Lake and Lake Calhoun. It is home to winter ice skating and hockey, as well as a New Year's Eve celebration featuring roasted marshmallows and hot chocolate...
and Lake Calhoun
Lake Calhoun
Lake Calhoun is the biggest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking trails, it is popular for many outdoor activities...
which ends on the streets of the Uptown
Uptown, Minneapolis
Uptown is a popular commercial district in southwestern Minneapolis, Minnesota, centered at the Uptown Theater at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Lagoon Avenue. It has traditionally spanned the corners of four neighborhoods, Lowry Hill East, ECCO, CARAG and East Isles neighborhoods, within...
Minneapolis. The event attracts nearly 2000 skiers. Rybak, a skier himself, has participated in races.
Rybak has made many public appearances at rallies and protests. In April 2004 he spoke to a rally of striking Metro Transit
Metro Transit (Minnesota)
Metro Transit is the transit division of the Metropolitan Council, a regional governmental agency in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Metro Transit is the largest operator of bus services in the seven-county region surrounding Minneapolis and St...
workers at the Hennepin County Government Center
Hennepin County Government Center
The Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the State of Minnesota. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County...
plaza. Like many Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
politicians, he marches in the annual Twin Cities Pride Parade.
In his 2005 re-election campaign he defeated challenger (and fellow DFL
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
er) Peter McLaughlin by nearly 25 percentage points, 61.47% to 36.72% (43,198 votes for Rybak and 25,807 votes for McLaughlin), and performed another crowd-surf.
Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
and Minnesota state officials to implement its replacement
St. Anthony Falls (35W) Bridge
The I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge crosses the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the U.S., carrying north–south traffic on Interstate Highway 35W. The ten-lane bridge is the replacement for the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge, which collapsed on August 1, 2007. It was planned...
, ensuring that the new bridge would be capable of handling mass transit. Rybak pushed that future needs and policy considerations shouldn't be ignored in the rush to build a replacement. His leadership resulted in a bridge plan which included improvements to carry a future light rail line. Rybak was quoted as saying "we (the City) have a vision that we believe will be for a bridge that will serve us for many years to come." His role also involved authorizing municipal consent
Local government in the United States
Local government in the United States is generally structured in accordance with the laws of the various individual states. Typically each state has at least two separate tiers: counties and municipalities. Some states have their counties divided into townships...
of the final bridge replacement.
He was listed as a finalist for the 2008 World Mayor
World Mayor
World Mayor is a biennial award organized by The City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of cities, nationally and internationally...
award.
In June 2008 Rybak was elected Vice President for Communications of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors
National Conference of Democratic Mayors
The National Conference of Democratic Mayors is the representative body of city mayors in the United States affiliated to the Democratic Party, in the same way that the Democratic Governors Association represents state governors within the party....
.
Rybak was the first mayor in the nation to endorse the presidential campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. Mayor Rybak campaigned on Obama's behalf and was active in the youth wing of the campaign.
In January 2009, Rybak announced his intention to run for re-election as Mayor in the 2009 Minneapolis City Council elections.
On November 3, 2009, Rybak was elected to a third term as mayor, winning more than 73.6% of the first-place votes.
Rybak is an avid user of social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
, often using it to alert followers to vital city information, and is credited as the first mayor in the United States to use Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
2010 gubernatorial campaign
On November 5, 2009, Rybak filed paperwork creating a campaign for governor of Minnesota. A month later, he officially announced his candidacy at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. Rybak won the straw poll on February 2, 2010, at Minnesota's precinct caucus events statewide.On April 24, 2010, Rybak withdrew his name from consideration for the DFL nomination at the convention after six ballots. Rybak endorsed eventual endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Margaret Anderson Kelliher is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Democrat, she represented District 60A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area...
, and called on Democrats remaining in the race to withdraw and support her.