Joined by 12 union and community leaders, Minneapolis Ward 9 City Council candidate Ty Moore was arrested in a civil disobedience at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage center, standing up for housing rights for all Minneapolis residents.

Running as a Socialist Alternative candidate and endorsed by the Green Party, Ty Moore said, “Our neighborhoods are being torn apart by unjust foreclosures. Instead of lip service, the Mayor and City Councilors should be here with us today, putting their political careers and their bodies on the line for those most impacted by the economic crisis.”

Ward 9 is among the hardest hit communities by the foreclosure crisis.It is also home to five residents facing eviction who have refused to move, and declared their neighborhoods a “Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone.” In the Powderhorn and Central neighborhoods alone, 835 families have been foreclosed in the past five years. Ty Moore, a homeowner in Powderhorn, is an organizer with Occupy Homes, and he’s demanding that banks forgive the negative equity debt owed by Minneapolis residents to Wall Street and that foreclosures be halted until a just negotiation is achieved.

Earlier in the evening, Jessica English, a mother of four experiencing homelessness, moved into one of the numerous bank-owned vacant properties owned by Wells Fargo in Ward 9. English expressed enthusiasm for Ty Moore’s campaign, commenting “I could be arrested at any time at the hands of the police for the simple crime of needing a roof over my children’s heads. Finally, we have a serious candidate to stand with families fighting for justice in the Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone.”

Socialist Alternative calls for public ownership of the banks to be run democratically in the interests of everyday people. In regard to his action today, Ty said: “When city officials ignore the issues most pressing to their residents, we have a responsibility to join others in collective action to bring attention to injustice. In the City Council, I will fight tooth and nail to achieve a foreclosure moratorium in this city, and to make sure quality housing is treated as a human right for all, not a commodity reserved for those who can afford it.”

Please join Ty and Socialist Alternative, for the campaign kick-off next Saturday, March 9th, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. at May Day Cafe (3440 Bloomington Ave S.)