History of a Landlord Insurgency

This is the story of how a group of Minneapolis landlords became the only effective opposition to city government in a one-party town. Picketing, arguing, and tour-leading their way to political influence over a five-year period in the late 1990s, representatives of a much-reviled occupation succeeded in turning public opinion around to the point that the incumbent mayor of Minneapolis and half the City Council were turned out of office in the 2001 municipal election. It is a story that has largely passed beneath the radar of media reporting. Yet, the governmental abuse exhibited in Minneapolis exists elsewhere in U.S. cities. This kind of experience defies existing stereotypes. A potential political awakening awaits.