Bemidji Alliance To Keep Complaint Against City Manager Private

The Bemidji Alliance sent an open letter to the Bemidji community today in response to the Bemidji City Council’s vote to continue its support for Nate Mathews. According to the open letter, the Bemidji Alliance will keep the complaint private out of respect for the City Council and the City Manager.

“Given the majority of the Council’s demonstrated willingness to ignore the concerns of dozens of community organizations and leaders, the Bemidji Alliance Leadership Council believes that continuing to press on with this effort will be futile,” said Gary Johnson, Chairperson for the Bemidji Alliance Leadership Council.

The Bemidji Alliance, along with a group of concerned citizens submitted a 22-page formal complaint to the Bemidji City Council in July, asking them to investigate documented patterns of behavior by the City Manager. On September 9, 2019, the Bemidji City Council voted 5-2 to reaffirm its support of Nate Mathews as City Manager.

According to the release, the Bemidji Alliance is going to move on to bring the community together. The Bemidji Alliance will be announcing a new initiative within the next couple of days called Envision Bemidji 2030. The goal of the initiative, according to the statement, will be to listen carefully to the entire community, identify a collective future we all desire for the greater Bemidji area, and define a clear action plan that will lead us there.

The Bemidji Alliance will remain wide open to the City leadership being an active, positive partner in the Envision Bemidji 2030 process, working together on equal terms with a coalition of public, private and non-profit organizations.

The Bemidji Alliance has developed a web site for those seeking more information on the Bemidji Alliance and its partner organizations. The information can be found on their website at www.bemidjialliance.org.