The current issues with the Park Board do not seem to be a matter of at-large commissioners taking one approach against the interests of commissioners elected by districts or. Nor is it that the interests of the district members are remarkably different than the interest of the at-large members. I have not detected any measurable differences based on size or geography of constituency; it seems more a matter of style and personality.
Bob Fine was an at-large commissioner before he chose to run in the Sixth District following Scott Neimann's decision to not run again. His actions and decisions with the hiring of a superintendent (whether you approve or disapprove of them) seem to be driven by the personal style, beliefs and character of Bob Fine - and not his status as a former at-large or current 6th district commissioner. Reducing the number of commissioners only means that one could have a 3-2 schism instead of the current 5-4. If we want to change the way the Park Commissioners do business, we first need to change commissioners. Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Greg Abbott Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 10:00 PM To: Issues Forum Mpls Subject: Re: [Mpls] Park Board Five continue their mockery of taxpayers and process Just an observation - all three of the city-wide park commissioners (Young, Berry Graves, and Erwin) are in the minority, and the majority of five is composed of five of the six district commissioners (1, 2, 3, 5, and 6). IMHO this division between city-wide and district commissioners illustrates the need for some structural changes in the park board. Perhaps the city-wide commissioners should constitute a majority of the board, to prevent parochial interests from log-rolling their way to control of the board. We could simply reduce the park board from 9 members to 5, with 3 at-large members, one north side district member, and one south side district member. Without some reform, continuation of these antics puts the independence of the park board at risk. Greg Abbott --- Greg Abbott Linden Hills 13th ward REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email 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 City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email 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 City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
