Dear DFL Delegates & Supporters: I wish to thank all of you who have shown me your support and have encouraged me to seek the DFL-endorsement for the Minneapolis City Council. I�m happy to invite you to join me and my wife, Beverly, and Council Member Jim Niland at our home at 4453 46th Ave. S for a tea on Saturday, January 27th, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM to discuss issues important to our neighborhood. My aspiration to serve Minneapolis can be traced to my childhood growing up in a close-knit urban community with its parks, lakes and the Mississippi River. As I've grown older, I've come to appreciate Minneapolis even more with its diversity, historic architecture and neighborhood block clubs. My commitment to our City has been expressed in working to preserve the Mississippi River Gorge with the Longfellow Community Council and serving as an English as Second Language (ESL) tutor. My profession as a groundwater geologist upholds my commitment to the environment. As your next Council Member, I will work to preserve the quality of life we all enjoy. We need to increase local control on environmental issues, decrease airport noise, halt further property acquisitions by the MAC, control speeds on our streets and parkways and preserve the character of our neighborhoods. We must also balance the business interests of downtown with the needs of our residential neighborhoods. Financial indicators are suggesting that our booming economy is slowing. Therefore, we must fight harder to make sure that our fixed-income senior citizens and low-income families are not left further behind. If this slow down continues, the affordable housing crisis will become even more devastating and the need for living-wage jobs amplified. My wife (a Public Health Nurse who works with battered women, single mothers and our immigrant population) has repeatedly stated that affordable housing is the most difficult barrier to returning stability to the lives of these families. I will assure that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and bonding programs will be allocated with affordable housing and living-wage jobs as the primary goal. Unions help create living-wage jobs. My father, a retired union steward who was born nearly blind, obtained a job during a labor shortage associated with the Korean Conflict. Despite his handicap and changes in the labor market, his job and his benefits remained secure because of his union membership. Therefore, I have a strong commitment to our labor unions. I look forward to hearing from you and discussing the issues that are our priorities. Sincerely, Craig Larson 612-724-1514 Advisory Committee: Deanna Dibble, Ken Bradley, Jim Niland, Gene Martinez, Katie Simmon __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
