Craig Miller wrote:
Brian Herron-Convicted
Jackie Cherryhomes- Never charged or convicted of any crime.
Joe Biernat- Council VP Convicted
Sandy Hillary- No crimes or convictions
Mark Andrew- Next up to be indicted?
These are all DFL'ers who rose to the pinnacle of power in their city or
county.
WM: The thing that bothers me about rants on the issue of crooked
politicians is not separating influence from underhandedness. You listed
two people convicted of a crime and three people convicted of nothing.
We elect people because (1) we think we can influence or already have
influenced their thinking on issues and (2) we think they have or can
develop influence in the city, county, state, or federal legislative
units to open the purse strings to serve us.
When we elected Brian Herron in the 8th ward, we were banking on the
fact that he could persuade the city council to vote for issues we
wanted to see passed. The Healy Block and a couple of adjacent blocks, I
think, wanted pedestrian lighting. The debate in council was around the
issue of whether or not we could afford the installation of
approximately two square blocks of pedestrian lighting [not real sure
about the parameters of the installation any more]. (This pre-dated
NRP.) Herron had to persuade the majority of the council that even
though we are poor, we do have the right to spend our own dollars as we
see fit. Consider what that means. He persuaded the council.
Lilligren and Zimmerman made the same type of mumbled accusations about
McLaughlin, Rybak, and Ostrow who wanted to use their influence to shake
loose the dollars for access and amelioration. Since he disagrees with
building this freeway work, he thinks it underhanded that McLaughlin,
Rybak, and Ostrow might influence the legislature in another direction.
They had influence with Welles Fargo, Abbott, St. Mary's, and whoever.
Lilligren came in the middle of that struggle and could not have
expected to be able to exert influence against the tide. Herron
organized this confluence of people to help improve the economic status
of neighborhoods abutting Lake St. between I35W and Hiawatha. Access was
a major, first thing on the table issue, as were jobs, housing and
safety. Neighborhoods, industries, politicians, non-profits, police,
MCDA, the city in the person of SSB all signed on to make the changes
that would make us an economically viable sector of the city.
Then Herron made a stupid mistake (is there such a thing as a smart
mistake in anything more important than post-its?) and got caught in an
FBI sting.
Does that negate his excellent performance on the issue of economic
viability and safety for which we elected him? I don't think so if we
have gone from having to debate the issue of whether or not we could
spend our own money to buy street lights for a couple of blocks to being
able to finesse amelioration of blight and increased access to
transportation corridors for a better economy.
Other politicians haven't made the mistake Herron made or the one
Biernat made. Hopefully they used their influence with the consent of
the governed.
Certainly, in as far as there is paperwork to trace this adventure, I
can absolutely say that McLaughlin, Herron, the council, and the county
board used their influence with the consent, nay pushing of the
governed. If that's a crime too, then we have set up the entire
political processes of this country to support that crime.
WizardMarks, Central
Craig Miller
Shocked and waiting for other shoes to drop. Former Fultonite.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Original Message -
From: Andy Driscoll [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Minneapolis Issues [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 10:48 AM
Subject: [Mpls] Apology
I have been properly upbraided, and not defensively so, for citing the Mark
Andrew story as lazy reporting for clichéd adjectives describing Andrew -
and other story figures over time.
I really should have focused on the phrasing and writing, not the reporting.
The reporting was quire wonderful, frankly. Mark Andrew is know by many of
us as a liberal, and I fall on that side of the line myself, unabashed, as
it were.
Mark is known to reporters and old party hacks and colleagues as a liberal.
The story is a good one, ferreting out as it did the guy helped out by a
plumber's union official who pled guilty to using union funds to perform
work on an elected official's private residence.
Important story. Not lazy reporting. Clichéd adjectives come easy after
nonstop research and meeting deadlines. I just wish they didn't fall so
easily off the tongue and onto the keys for publication. But it's not always
the reporters' job to catch them. It's an editor's. So the charge is easily
spread around the newsroom.
Clichés are bad enough, but when used in print or broadcast news by
reporters, editors, commentators, the effect is to reinforce unnecessary
stereotypes.
So. I apologize to Steve Brandt and Rocky Olson
