That doesn't mean others haven't, Wizard. You're quite active politically,
meaning that often calls will be returned to you because you're perceived to
have influence or power, either over a specific constituency or an interest
group that can affect the outcome(s) of elections. Your experience is not
necessarily typical of everyone else's and it is somewhat disingenuous to
suggest that we should all buy into your experience as the norm.
I've been around this game for a long time, and I'm perfectly aware of how
it works. My calls are returned, too, unless the elected official doesn't
like me or doesn't want to hear what he or she knows they're going to hear
from me.
Andy Driscoll
--
"Whatever keeps you from your work is your work."
Albert Camus
The Driscoll Group/Communications
Writing/Graphics/Strategic Development
1595 Selby Ave./Suite 206
St. Paul, MN 55104
651-649-1188/Fax:651-645-3169
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.driscollgroup.com
> From: "wizardmarks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Sun, 08 Oct 2000 15:03:38 -0700
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Cc: "Multiple recipients of list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: Karen Forbes Venting her spleen on Council Herron
>
> I've never had any trouble getting a response from my council member (Herron).
> I
> don't have trouble getting one from the other council members either. The
> hardest
> part is catching them between meetings. So far, not one has refused to return
> a
> call or an e-mail, though I don't always like what they have to say. But
> then, I
> expect that.
> Wizard Marks
>
> Andy Driscoll wrote:
>
>> All city councils need a balance of ward representatives and at-large
>> members. For precisely Rosalind's reasons - and many others: not only does
>> it allow for alternatives to the fiefdom-controlled ward members who
>> manipulate their constituencies by either attention or neglect, there are
>> options for those wishing to serve but cannot because entrenched incumbents
>> rarely lose the only election held in a given neighborhood. Further, the
>> question of perspectives is critical: At-large members bring a citywide
>> perspective to a body enmeshed in parochial concerns, i.e., only those that
>> affect their wards and constituents, with a rare nod to the the effect of
>> legislation on the city as a whole. Votes are traded regularly, and while
>> this would not be entirely eliminated by a mixed system of representation,
>> it would be more difficult to bend one's policy perspective for a colleague
>> whose constituents can't register their protest at the polls, at least
>> residents would have an alternative to seek out.
>>
>> The red herring of diminished representation for minorities under a mixed
>> system will surely be thrown out here, but after studying this issue
>> extensively as a member of the St. Paul Charter Commission, the numbers
>> simply not only do not add up, but the reality is the reverse: more
>> representation for everyone and more opportunities to serve.
>>
>> Ask yourselves these questions: should voters have more than a single
>> person representing them on the city council (or anywhere else, for that
>> matter), or at least two, perhaps three, with two, three opportunities to
>> redress grievances? Should residents have just one or two or more
>> opportunities to run and serve on public policy bodies that determine our
>> quality of life?
>>
>> Here's the rub: historically, people of color do not vote in the same
>> numbers as white folks, leaving predominantly white neighborhoods as the
>> source for more votes on at-large seats. But, the numbers will also tell you
>> that white folks do not hold back votes for candidates of color in urban
>> areas of our ilk.
>>
>> In St. Paul, our first black elected city councilmember was elected at-large
>> when the council was still elected at-large: Bill Wilson, who went on to
>> serve several terms as at-large and Ward 1 councilmember and retired a
>> council president. Before that, our top vote-getters in school board races -
>> and to this day all at-large - have been men and women of color.
>>
>> Southern cities, with their manipulative constructs have kept people of
>> color off elected bodies for years but, the courts have found, only because
>> there is a monolithic white community vs. a monolithic black community. We
>> have a long way to go to meld our communities here, but monolithic is not a
>> word one can use to describe our subcultures here, especially in politics.
>> Sharon Sayles Belton is a perfect example of someone of color, elected
>> at-large three times in defiance of challenges by white guys and white women
>> all over the place.
>>
>> The Brian Herrons of the world will become far more responsive if they must
>> share their constituents with at-large representatives, and the at-large
>> members will offer a citywide perspective that may well contrast with the
>> mayor. Mayors need the same challenge. They should not be the only elected
>> official representing the city as a whole.
>>
>> Now, whether proportional representation is introduced at the same time
>> could make a charter re-vamp both interesting and more representative of the
>> city's diverse populations and political perspectives.
>>
>> But as long as an all-ward system with winner-take-all elections remain in
>> place, you can count on fiefdom arrogance in varying measures to come from
>> your ward reps, meaning the lack of response to emails, phone calls, letters
>> will continue if the representative doesn't like what you're saying.
>>
>> Good luck.
>>
>> Andy Driscoll
>> --
>> "Whatever keeps you from your work is your work."
>> Albert Camus
>> The Driscoll Group/Communications
>> Writing/Graphics/Strategic Development
>> 1595 Selby Ave./Suite 206
>> St. Paul, MN 55104
>> 651-649-1188/Fax:651-645-3169
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> http://www.driscollgroup.com
>>
>>> From: "Rosalind Nelson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 20:20:37 -0500
>>> To: "Multiple recipients of list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>> Subject: Re: Karen Forbes Venting her spleen on Council Herron
>>>
>>> The times that I called, the person who answered the phone said that Herron
>>> would call me back. He didn't. The past couple times, I told the phone
>>> person my concern and hoped that he got the message. Maybe I should ask
>>> for Connie Kiser or Vickie Brock, or write to them or send them email. At
>>> least then I would have some sense of whether things were getting through.
>>> It seems as though someone in his office could have advised me that they
>>> were the people to talk to.
>>>
>>> I want to emphasize that I don't have a good alternative. If we had "at
>>> large" council members, I might have some other recourse, and this wouldn't
>>> be quite so frustrating.
>>>
>>> Rosalind Nelson
>>> Bancroft
>>>
>>> At 07:20 PM 10/7/00 -0700, wizardmarks wrote:
>>>> The people on my block never report lack of return calls. They get
>>>> answers,
>>>> though not always from Herron personally. Sometimes they come from his
>>>> assistant or his aide. The last study of the Ward 8 office, done by Vernon
>>>> Wetternach, I think, showed that the ward gets at least 160 calls a week,
>>> plus
>>>> letters--and now plus e-mails. Wards 5, 6, and 9 also get substantial
>>>> calls.
>>>> If you called to complain about something, it was forwarded to the
>>>> department
>>>> which handles the problem (i.e. public works, forestry, etc.). If you
>>>> called
>>>> to give him your opinion on an issue, there's no reason to return the
>>>> call/letter/e-mail. If you called to give him informtion, it was checked
>>> out.
>>>> I usually send e-mails or leave a message on the phone. Many times I talk
>>>> to
>>>> either Connie Kiser or Vickie Brock instead. It's a team effort office, so
>>>> that works too. Course, I never try to front him off in public meetings or
>>>> call to cuss him out.
>>>> Wizard Marks, Central
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
>
