Just want to clarify and set straight a part of this post. As someone who was involved in working with the Charter Commission on setting up redistricting language, the issue of running in two years did come up and was discussed on the Council. Council members don't like to run every two years, especially DFL'ers, it's more work. That's why the DFL team got a legal opinion from the Attorney's office and decided not to go with an election next year. Entirely self-preservation.
Lisa McDonald
East Harriet
----- Original Message -----From: Dean ZimmermannSent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 11:21 AMTo: Steve Sumner; Mpls@Mnforum. OrgSubject: Re: [Mpls] Rep Kahn introduce HF 67 leds to City Council members to run againDear Steve,
I am not, repeat not, opposed to the excellent democratic principle of
"one person, one vote." I am opposed to the partisan nature of the timing of
Rep. Kahn's legislation and the additional cost our city will have to bear
by holding special elections (which no one commented on). I also believe
that if Rep. Kahn was so concerned about a few hundred Minneapolis citizens
being represented by someone for whom they did not vote for, that this
legislation would have been enacted either prior to the 2000 census or at
the least prior to the 2001 municipal elections.
Doesn't anyone else find it odd that Mpls. DFL leaders were complacently
silent on this election law snag until two Greens were elected to the
Minneapolis City Council? (The Green Party-United States opened an office in
Washington, D.C. in 2001 for the first time. There are over 300 Greens in
public office across the U.S -- admittedly a drop in the bucket in terms of
the 1,000's of public offices in the U.S. The Duluth, MN City Council has
had a Green Council Member for the past 3 years and will likely add a second
Green in 2004. Phenomena that has not escaped the notice of people in other
political parties, both locally and nationally.)
Not to mention waiting until the highly partisan city Redistricting
Commission made it apparent that the city DFL was out to hog-tie the newly
elected Green "insurgents" with their new ward boundary lines. [Yes, yes, I
know, some might point out that it was DFL'er Rick Stafford who, on the
morning of Friday, April 12th (the date the commission held its last meeting
and voted to pass the new redistricting plan) put forth a motion, with a
wink and conspiratorial smile, to redraw the Ward 6 boundary line to put
Dean Zimmermann back into the 6th Ward from which the commission members had
ousted him. Which motion was voted down, just as I suspect Mr. Stafford knew
it would. Does no one find it odd that this is the same Mr. Stafford who
served as campaign manager for the DFL loser in the race for the 6th Ward
council seat? The same Mr. Stafford who, right after leaving the adjourned
Redistricting Commission meeting on 4/12/02, was overheard to say: "Now I
got that Dean Zimmermann good!"] Folks, is THIS what democracy looks like?
Is this what is meant by creating a more level, more fair playing field so
that all comers can seek public office? Is this what our forefathers and
mothers had in mind when they set up our representative democracy?
After several years' of intense involvement in Minneapolis politics,
this involvement coming after years of being a community activist, I no
longer wonder why over 41% of eligible voters do not exercise their voting
franchise, nor why the average voter is distrustful of public officials. I
understand clearly now that there are people within the political arena,
often referred to as "players," who consider politics to be a sport or a
game. They especially like to play 'Cutthroat Poker.' They dare to trifle
shamelessly with your rights and mine, with the very fabric of our
commonwealth. What they are about and how they go about it has no
relationship to even a minimal concept of fairness -- which, of course, as
far as political players are concerned, is not the point. I truly wonder how
such people sleep at night. Perhaps they don't.
Jenny Heiser
Minneapolis/East Phillips
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