My Park District has three precincts in the 8th Ward so I have attended the caucuses, debates, and watched the council process with interest. I care what happens in our parks and our city.
I lost to Marie Hauser in the 2001 District 3 Park Board election, so any comments I make should be seen through that lens. I am sure that others could observe the same things that I see and might come to different conclusions, but I don't think Marie Hauser's work on the Park Board has been all that stellar. I will give much credit to how hard Marie Hauser campaigns and the amount of door knocking she does. But now that she is Commissioner she doesn't seem that interested in the job. She doesn't seem well prepared and is the first to limit debate at Park Board meetings. Since the last park Board election there has been a majority of 5 that is inclined to run roughshod over citizen participation, transparency, and accountability. Marie Hauser has been in that group. What initiatives has she championed? What can she point to in more than 3 and a half years that gives an indication of leadership? She is a follower of a majority that has been allergic to citizen inclusion with a focus on adding commercial developments on park land. Marie Hauser's union connections have served her well and have financed her campaigns, but under her watch there is a whole new layer of expensive supervisors and less union jobs at the front line. The Majority has made a commitment to outsourcing with "value added" commercial developments on park land. She is chair of administration and finance- on her watch The MPRB has failed to make its annual budget available to the public and then issued a budget that listed almost nothing but personnel expense. The current budget process is a terrible way do public policy and has no connection to a strategic plan. Ideally in a budget process you look at what you want to do and define your core missions, you then design your system and structure to fit that and then fund and fundraise to accomplish those goals. It is this vision that is lacking. I was in the audience when the board hired now Superintendent Gurban. Commissioner Hauser gave a speech about how vision needs to come from the superintendent not the board. I totally disagree- it is the board's responsibility to define the vision and set a long term plan (which they haven't done, unless you count seeking added value investments on park land as the primary mission of the park board) I don't think Commissioners should be standing on the sideline waiting for staff to come up with ideas. This misconception about the responsibility and authority of the elected board is a real problem for me because it not only indicates a lack of vision of a city council candidate, but it also explains a number of problems with the staff deciding policy instead of the board. The ban on campaigning in the parks and the ignoring of legal requirements of citizen participation are clear examples of a policy board not doing its job. If the Park Board is a stepping stone to higher office, we should look at the footprint. Thanks, Scott Vreeland Seward candidate Park Board District # 3 REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
