[Note: part of a continuing series of candidate letters to party delegates. For a complete directory of candidates, see http://www.e-democracy.org/mpls/2001.htm (it also features updated candidacies and rumors). For a library of campaign letters and questionnaires, see http://www.e-democracy.org/mpls/toolkit.htm -- David Brauer, list manager] Neighbors for Shada February 7, 2001 Dear DFL Delegate: As an active DFL delegate for eight years and a former precinct chair, I have also been faced with important decisions about who to support at the convention. I ask myself, how do I know I'm supporting the candidate who will stick by working people once she's down at city hall? How do I know these aren't just campaign promises? I look at their record. I look for something that shows this person has stood up for her principles under pressure and gone to the mat to fight for something she believes in. I've rallied with fellow union members to protest privatization of city services and organized the community to walk the picket line with striking HERE 17 hotel workers. I've marched down to city hall with my neighbors to demand more streetlights in Phillips. I've testified before city council about the need to follow through on the commitments made in the affordable housing resolution passed last year. I've knocked on doors and turned out voters to give a wake-up call to unaccountable politicians. This isn't a campaign promise. This is my life. This is who I am. I'm a progressive, African-American union and community activist, and I'd like to be your next city councilperson. One of the main principles I've learned from my work as a labor and community activist is that if you're not working effectively to win victories for your constituency, you won't be able to continue to organize your community. Your organization won't survive. That's why I believe in activism that produces results. I chaired the neighborhood association, People of Phillips, at the beginning of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program and succeeded in bringing millions of dollars to the neighborhood for housing and community-based services. I chaired the Housing Resource Clearinghouse of Phillips, an organization that enabled community residents to become homeowners and helped renters secure decent and affordable housing. I also served on the Minneapolis Arts Commission, which brought the Gateways project to Minneapolis' neighborhoods. I am currently board chair of Minnesota ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), which has led the fight for affordable home ownership, living wages, and safe communities. The best solutions to the challenges we face are those that address the underlying causes of injustice. Rather than building soup kitchens, I'll be making sure our businesses create living wage jobs so that working people can support themselves and their families. I'll be making sure our developers, especially those who come looking for city subsidies, are required to build affordable housing. I'll be working to curb landlords who refuse to maintain their properties while charging excessive rents. I'll work to get our police to walk a beat and to see themselves as part of the community. And I'll fight for more pedestrian-level streetlights in our neighborhoods so that our families can feel safe on their own streets. These are progressive ideas that are a continuation of the work I've done with labor and community organizations. I ask for your support, so that together we can make these ideas a reality. Please take a look at the enclosed materials to learn more about the campaign. I look forward to talking with you about your ideas for the ward and for Minneapolis. Give me a call at (612) 872-1149 if you have any questions about my campaign or would like to volunteer. See you soon! Sincerely, Shada Buyobe-Hammond _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
