Actually Andy I think it has more to do with not calling to bug them, but just when
I have to have information. If I'm really upset about something I write a letter or
an e-mail now that I'm on the net. But mostly it's cause I don't make a pest of
myself.
Wizard Marks, Central
Andy Driscoll wrote:
> 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
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >
> >
> >
> >
