Minnesota engineering licensing board retaliates with disciplinary action against national reformer
Lauren Fisher / lauren@strongtowns.org / 844-218-1681
Charles Marohn, founder and president of Strong Towns, a national movement to bring reform to the engineering profession and to North America's destructive development approach, filed a federal lawsuit against the Minnesota board of engineering licensure on Thursday, May 20.
The complaint states that the Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design violated Marohn's First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Charles Marohn, founder and president of Strong Towns - More images, bio, here.
Marohn is a reformer within the engineering profession. His work comprises speaking and writing on behalf of Strong Towns in order to challenge destructive and perilous engineering practices, and advocating for a more productive, safer approach to the profession.
Marohn has given presentations and published numerous works that are critical of the ways the engineering profession puts people's lives and livelihoods at risk, including:
Marohn has not practiced engineering since 2012. Even so, in March 2020 an engineer from South Dakota, where Marohn has spoken several times on the matter of engineering reform, filed a complaint with the Minnesota Board of Licensure.
The complaint observed that Marohn's writing and speaking biography stated he was a "professional engineer" during a lapse in his engineering licensure. The complainant urged the Board to “send a clear message that frauds of this sort will not be tolerated.”
The Board did not notify Marohn of this complaint until July 24, 2020. This was six weeks after he had independently taken notice of the lapse and successfully renewed his license using a process provided by state law.
Upon receiving notice of the complaint, Marohn confirmed to the Board that he had not engaged in any professional engineering work nor signed any documents requiring licensure during the time in question.
At this point, the Board turned its attention to the use of the phrase "professional engineer," not in connection to the work of engineering, but in connection with Marohn's work as a reformer and speaker with Strong Towns.
After a hearing on the matter, the Board wrote to Marohn demanding, among other measures, that he sign a stipulation order stating that he had engaged in “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation," or face disciplinary action.
The Board is attempting to exercise its power to defame Marohn, and by extension, to discredit reform efforts that are supported by Strong Towns.
“Engineers need to be able to speak their conscience without having their license and their livelihood threatened. The Board’s actions are an injustice to all Minnesotans and, if left unchallenged, will have a chilling effect on speech within the engineering profession.”
Charles Marohn, founder and president of Strong Towns
Strong Towns stands for a reformed engineering profession; for prosperous, safe cities; and for the guaranteed right that any city official, engineer, or citizen may advocate for change, free from harassment or retaliation from government agencies and insiders.
To these ends, Strong Towns has filed this lawsuit and seeks a just decision in this matter.
Find complete details and background here.
Strong Towns is a national movement that helps local leaders identify the cause of decline in our cities and take action to build a stronger, financially resilient future. Strong Towns is reshaping the conversation about development in North America with its advocacy for bottom-up, incremental action.
Media contact: Lauren Fisher / lauren@strongtowns.org / 844-218-1681
