To respond to some points brought up by Mr. Peterson in his post:
1) Regarding the affordable housing issue: The Mayor did not create the
problems with affordable housing and to imply that she did is simply
incorrect. The affordable housing issue (simply speaking) is a product of a
booming economy, suburbs who refuse to build their share of affordable
housing, and changes in the federal and state tax laws. Under her
administration, the City's spending for affordable housing has increased
dramatically. Also, the NRP program has pumped millions of dollars into the
City's housing stock. She has also led the region-wide task force on
affordable housing and been to Washington to lobby for federal changes
related to affordable housing.
But the solution isn't a Minneapolis solution. From a location perspective,
it is the areas that are building new housing that have to change their
rules and allow affordable housing (i.e. the letter in the paper from
Chanhassen this past week). From a funding perspective, the state and
federal governments need to change their tax laws and increase their direct
spending. A City-alone response will simply not work. The Mayor speaks to
the responsibilities of these other governments and has worked with these
other governments but to fault her because they don't do as she asks as fast
as we all would like is not fair.
2) Regarding TIF: The TIF spending has helped us maintain a healthy
downtown, something almost unique in the United States. It has allowed us
to maintain an employment base in a center city envied across the country.
Later in Mr.Peterson's post he argues that the Mayor has not done enough to
attract jobs to the City but at the same time he attacks one of the sole
tools for doing so. It seems that one can either attack the use of TIF or
attack the lack of job creation but not both as TIF is one of the few tools
government has to incent job location. For the same reason, I would argue
against Mr. Peterson's comments that TIF is corporate welfare. There are
hard dollar reasons that it costs business more to locate in Minneapolis
than in the suburbs. At times it takes financial incentives to overcome
those barriers to get those businesses to bring jobs to Minneapolis.
3) Regarding entry level jobs: Although Mr. Peterson argues against the
need for entry level jobs, there is a certain segment of our population who
need these jobs to start working their way out of poverty. These jobs have
been especially important to our immigrant populations and persons on MFIP
who are concentrated in the north and south-central neighborhoods. The
relative stability of the City of Minneapolis, its ability to retain middle
class persons when many other cities in the country have not, is in part due
to the downtown being a viable employment center for both entry level and
higher income jobs.
4) Regarding the Police: I cannot speak to Mr. Peterson's individual
experience with the police department. I can say that the City is
SUBSTANTAILY safer overall since the Mayor took office. Serious crime is way
down.
My read is that no one, including the Mayor was happy with the shooting of
persons who were mentally ill. My read is that she is not happy with the
racial profiling. In my read, Mr. Peterson, the Mayor, and the whole
community are in support of these two points and the police department is
working on finding ways to addressing them, including new training for
officers. I would also reference Matthea Smith's excellent post from a
month ago about the racial profiling issue.
5) Regarding banning lawn chemicals: The real issue here is that up until
10 years ago, both the storm sewers and sanitary sewers were combined. All
the water flowed to Pigs Eye, where it was treated. Except when there were
heavy storms, and Pig's Eye overflowed, dumping raw sewage into the
Mississippi. So we separated our storm and sanitary sewers, routing the
storm sewers into the lakes. This meant that the runoff from our streets
ran into the lakes. This degraded the water quality of the lakes.
Contrary to popular belief, the biggest source of contaminants in the runoff
comes naturally from our ground, from leaves and other vegetation. The
solution (begun under the Mayor's tenure) is to start treating the water,
like we use to. This is being done two ways. Through the construction of
grit chambers (big underground holding ponds) to allow contaminants to
settle out of the water before entering the lakes. And through the
restoration of the wetlands that use to be on the edge of the lakes
(originally none of our lakes were lakes, they were all swamps) to filter
out chemicals. Banning lawn chemicals, would be both unenforcable and
ineffective in cleaning up the lakes.
6) Regarding airport noise: The number of flights out of the airport have
increased. This is true. This is also something that the Mayor has no
control over. Unfortunately, the City lost the fight to move the airport.
In response, the Mayor bargained hard to get as many concessions from the
airports as possible. This is the genesis of the sound insulation funding
that so many people have benefitted from. And the Mayor has been working on
the high speed rail project, one of our best hopes for finding a politically
acceptable alternative to yet more growth in traffic at our airport.
7) Regarding garbage pickup for businesses: Citizens and only citizens pay
for City garbage pickup. Businesses contract with private haulers for
garbage. The City has been emptying garbage cans on business property for
free in an attempt to keep those private properties clean when the
businesses didn't keep them up. The issue is why should I as a citizen
subsidize businesses? In my opinion, if I have to pay for my garbage can,
they can pay for theirs.
8) Regarding grafitti: The Mayor does not have the ability to stop this
crime. She did start the first grafitti task force. She also provided the
first real funding for grafitti removal, including funding for the Public
Works "grafitti truck" and for the Inspections sacrifical coating program.
She did start the first program where police officers were assigned
full-time to grafitti issues. And due in part to her work, the first felony
grafitti convictions have been given. Has this ended this crime? No.
Grafitti was with humans back in Pompeii and it will be with us here in
Minneapolis. But the Mayor's changes are having an impact and will have an
even greater impact as more taggers are identified and prosecuted.
9) Regarding potholes: I also had a pothole problem last year, bending a
rim on a big hole. To some degree, potholes are a problem that will always
be with us due to the Minnesota climate. My question would be was that on a
county road or a city road? There is a substantial problem with
underfunding maintenance on the county roads. The City does maintain those
roads but just as far as the County pays them to. The County funding of its
own roads has been less than needed for some time.
10) Regarding the revolving door at City Hall: I haven't heard of this
issue before.
I hope these clarifications help give another perspective on the activities
of the Mayor.
Carol Becker
Longfellow
----- Original Message -----
From: Russell Wayne Peterson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Mpls list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2001 1:40 PM
Subject: RE: [Mpls] Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton letter to DFL delegates
> Dear Mayor Sayles Belton,
>
> Since you have been unwilling to contact me yourself, I have decided to
> respond to your delegates letter online in the Minneapolis Issues Forum.
> Accordingly, I have the following responses to your priority bullet
points:
>
>
> <. More affordable housing. I will further my efforts to leverage every
> available local dollar, and to bring regional, state and federal support
to
> address this crisis.>
>
> You've been saying this for two terms and yet we are in a housing crisis
in
> this city. While you've been spending millions on big wealthy corporate
TIF
> projects for downtown, we've been suffering as housing prices skyrocket
and
> availability is scarce. We aren't even close to replacing what was
> displaced by the original Convention Center construction. What makes you
> think after two terms I am going to believe you this time?
>
>
> <. More jobs. I will work to provide all citizens with tools, training and
> transportation to get and keep living wage jobs.>
>
> I've got news for you. It isn't more jobs that we need. It is better
jobs
> at higher salaries. Your focus on traditionally low paying tourist and
> retail industry jobs does not help us pay for the increased cost of
housing
> and taxes that you have helped to create. And by the way, the tourist and
> retail industry workers could use a boost up in their "living wages."
>
>
> <. Strong support for families and children. We must make it a shared
> priority to ensure that all children are well-clothed, properly housed;
and
> educated.>
>
> While my family including my young children and my neighbors were
threatened
> by a man across the street, your administration did nothing. I had to go
> online, post about the inadequacies of the City Attorney's department,
> cajole the CCP/SAFE system, complain, complain,complain and your people
> didn't respond. It took almost a year to get any action out of your
> departments and when I did, they didn't even confer with me on the action
> they were taking. And there was a huge mishandling of a sexoffender
> situation by the police in my neighborhood that put us all at risk. And
when
> I called about the crack spoon in my alley, nobody even came out. All I
hope
> is that other families and children in this city were ENSURED better than
my
> kids.
>
>
> <. Further reduce crime. We must confront racial profiling head on, and
> improve police intervention with people in mental health crisis.>
>
> Thank you for helping to reduce crime in this city. I'd also like to
thank
> the excellent economy that was generated by the technology industry for
the
> reduction in crime in this city. It would be nice if you could get ahead
of
> some of the police problems like racial profiling, attacks on those with
> mental health problems, and the outrageous spending and limiting personal
> freedom tactics of police actions, instead of wagging the tail on the dog.
>
>
> <. Continue to protect the environment. I will continue my strong advocacy
> for clean air, water and the expansion of the noise insulation program,
> reduced nighttime flights, and regional airport strategies.>
>
> Thank you for helping our lakes and streams as much as you did. However,
it
> would be nice if you would help ban lawn chemicals that cause some of the
> biggest problems instead of spending money to constantly clean up or
filter
> the mess. Sometimes getting to the root of the problem is better than
lots
> of band aids. And since you brought it up, why should I believe you are
> going to do anything more than insulate more homes due to the airport
noise
> pollution. While under your watch, noise has exponentially increased in
my
> neighborhood and the "Cedar Avenue Flight Corridor" that you supported has
a
> huge wide drift pattern that affects everybody in my neighborhood, day and
> night. My children wake up at night asking me to turn off the planes. (I
> guess you missed ensuring children here too.) And you appointed a
Northwest
> Airlines Lobbyist to serve on our planning commission, even after I
> volunteered to do it myself. The bottom line is that flights both
nighttime
> and daytime have increased substantially under your administration. I am
> convinced you have a pleasant relationship with the dominant airline in
our
> airport and nothing is going to change. I have to admit, I do not believe
> you on this point.
>
> By the way, you missed a few things that were important to me. I want the
> revolving door in City Hall to stop and I want the mega wealthfare
subsidies
> to profitable corporations to stop too. And since my taxes keep going up,
I
> would appreciate it if you would at least pick up the garbage in our
> business areas, get rid of the graffiti as you promised, and fix the
> potholes in the street - including the one I feel in last spring and broke
> my rib on.
>
> I have supported you for two terms in the past including one grueling long
> endorsing night in an auditorium. I honestly believe you are a good
> person, but I have come to also believe that you cannot make Minneapolis a
> city that is working for everyone and that your actions speak louder than
> your words. Therefore, I will not be supporting you for a third term.
>
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Russell W. Peterson
> Ward 9
> Standish
>
> _______________________________________________
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