So far the debate has focused on "when" (continuously?
only even years? etc.) and "how much" ($100? $500?),
but how about "who"? As in, "from whom?"
As a Minneapolis resident, I rightfully have a say in
who the next mayor is. I don't -- and shouldn't --
have the right to decide or participate in the
selection of the next mayor of St. Louis Park, Eden
Prairie, St. Paul, etc. Even if I have a business
there, work there, etc. Far better than requiring
city employees to live where they work, which is too
coercive, make political sovereignty clearly
geographically delimited (rings off the tongue nicely,
eh?)
Once upon a time, no one needed a rule or law to make
this happen, it just did. If you lived in
Minneapolis, you followed the election there (or
didn't), but didn't follow races elsewhere. Now, of
course, our electronic, interconnected society makes
political boundaries exceedingly porous if not
invisible.
While we're at it, let's get back to "one person, one
vote." The Framers didn't have to worry about that
maxim devolving to "one corporation, one vote" because
there were only a couple hundred (I believe) in
existence. Obviously, that's not the world we live in
today.
The final hurdle is the Supreme Court, which has
struck down limits on campaign contributions as
abridging free speech. It was a bad decision when it
was made (in the '70's), and stinks more with each
passing year; it's long past time the Court revisited
and reversed it.
Obviously, campaign finance reform is not just a
Minneapolis issue, but if one or more mayoral
candidates is going to make it a key part of their
campaign -- as appears likely -- it's appropriate to
discuss it here.
Ross Kaplan
Fulton Neighborhood
__________________________________________________
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
a year! 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
