*** Disclaimer: The following is the opinion of Julie Mattson Ostrow
and does not to represent that of her husband Council member Paul
Ostrow. (Paul and I haven't even talked about this, so I don't know how
he feels about his issue.) I just have strong opinions and felt the
need to respond. JMO
While on the surface this seems like a great solution to some
"unresponsive" CM's, I do think that it opens up a lot more problems. A
significant part of the CM's job is ward and constituent work. I can
speak first hand to this. As the wife of a CM there are a lot of
neighborhood and community meetings as well as calls at city hall and
home from concerned residents about a variety of issues.
Other than serving on the obligatory committees what would these
folks do? Just wait to be called into the ward of an "unresponsive
CM"? Would do anything to foster peace and harmony within the council?
And just who would these "Super CM's" be responsible to? I doubt that
most residents would really know who these folks were. They see ward
CM's at neighborhood meetings, at the gas station and in the community
papers.
Additionally, the "Super CM" would have the additional challenge of
being elected citywide. Just ask folks from Est and Taxation, school,
library or park boards as to the logistics and costs to run such a
campaign. The reality is that many successful city wide candidates have
had the benefit of a coordinated party (DFL) campaign. I know because
I've been involved in coordinating some. I would suspect that a
successful "Super CM" would be elected the same way. Talk about
campaign finance reform and the influence of PAC's and large
businesses! Do we really want to open this Pandora's box?
As an active DFL'er I do support more grassroots/local control and
feel strongly that CM's should continue to be elected from and represent
wards. As for the "unresponsive CM"? Do what you can (legally and
respectfully) to get a response. If none, find their replacement and
work to get them elected. CM's work for the people of Mpls. It's not
an entitlement position.
Julie Mattson Ostrow
Windom Park
_______________________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
