Robbinsdale Delays Vote on Renaming Sanborn Park
The act of renaming Robbinsdale’s Sanborn Park brought out a slew of different opinions to the Robbinsdale City Council meeting Tuesday night.
“I cosigned to rename Robbinsdale’s Sanborn Park as Castile Park,” said Rita Fox, a member of the city’s Human Rights Commission,
“I want to register my vote for Shoreline Park. it has nothing to do with being racist or political or anything else,” said David Larson of Robbinsdale.
At issue was what to rename Robbinsdale’s Sanborn Park: Shoreline Park, after the street where the park is located, or Castile Park, after Philando Castile, who was killed by police during a traffic stop in 2016.
The renaming was brought forth due to historical documents linking the Sanborn family to discriminatory land covenants.
Philando Castile’s family were longtime Robbinsdale residents. His mom came to speak Tuesday night.
“I’m not here to negotiate or debate the name change,” Valerie Castile said. “I am here simply to say thank you for even the consideration for the nomination.”
Valerie Castile addressed the Robbinsdale City Council Tuesday evening.
A number of people from the city’s Human Rights Commission voiced their support for the Castile Park name.
“Sanborn, a park name that should be replaced by a name that should be remembered: Philando Castile,” said Fox. “The legacy of a man who wouldn’t let kids go hungry.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill Blonigan and Council Member Regan Murphy were part of a group that signed off on renaming Sanborn to Shoreline Park.
“The fact that we, two council members and our spouses and a daughter were the five petitioners was not anything against Philando Castile,” Blonigan said. “Our petition was first. The other petition was second, the other petition to name it Castile Park”
Some of the commissioners asked that Blonigan and Murphe recuse themselves from the vote.
“With all due respect, I request that Mayor Blonigan and Mr. Murphy recuse themselves from voting on these applications,” said Julie Ralston-Aoki of the Human Rights Commission. “I believe that you should do so out of respect for a fair process here tonight.”
The council, ultimately, agreed that the process was flawed and that more people should have a chance to weigh-in.
In the end, a formal vote was taken on the Castile Park name, but it failed 3-to-2.
“It’s not because of lack of merit, it’s because I really want there to be more conversation,” said Robinsdale City Council Member Jason Greenberg.
The council will revisit the park naming process at a work session later this fall.
Related: Robbinsdale To Hold Public Hearing on Sanborn Park Name Change
