I completely understand the defense of the Mayor's policies by Ms. Becker.
Four years ago, I would probably have said some of the very same things.
But I urge Ms. Becker to see this through my eyes or the eyes of my
neighbors.
Make no mistake that affordable housing is a catastrophe in this city that
happened completely under Mayor Sayles Belton's reign, that Mayor Sayles
Belton has given more and more of our taxes to wealthy corporations, that
the Mayor has consistently asked for Public Works to trim their budget
resulting in basic services slipping big time (don't we have a big internal
services debt too?), that the skies have gotten louder under Mayor Sayles
Belton and she DOES have the power to help quiet the skies instead of lock
us up in our houses with insulation programs, and there is definitely a
revolving door in city hall when the mayor appoints a lobbyist to the
planning commission and the MCDA director becomes a vice president in a
company she just helped give money to, and our cost of housing has increased
exponentially while the good higher paying jobs that could afford that
housing are being created in the outer rings while we focus almost solely on
a tourist and retail industry in the downtown core.
I find it ironic that you'll hold up the Mayor and take credit for the lower
crime rate even though there is convincing evidence that it is primarily do
to the good economy and that many other cities have benefited as well, but
you'll turn around and blame the good economy for the housing crisis. You
can't have it both ways Ms. Becker. I gave Mayor Sayles Belton credit where
credit was due. I do believe she has helped reduce crime to some degree and
has helped protect our lakes to some degree. But I also believe her
policies or lack of policies has contributed to an under whelming vision for
our city that invests future tax dollars in wealthy corporations and
re-distributes our taxes all over the place. Just look at the fiscal
disparities pool. We don't have enough for basic services, yet we have
enough to pay money to other cities including St. Paul. This makes
absolutely no sense to me. Where is the advocacy for me and my neighbors
and our increasing tax burden? Where is the vision that looks forward
instead of reacting to something that has already happened? When will we
have a mayor who sill stand up for the middle class of this city?
Why is it in this great era of wealth accumulation we can't pick up the
garbage, fix the deteriorating streets, build enough housing, and protect
our citizens from the harmful affects of increased noise pollution to name a
few? Because where there isn't a will, there isn't a way!
We can hide behind statistics and some feel-good policies or we can take a
good hard look at the mediocrity of our city and embrace a new vision,
re-invent ourselves, and set a new course as a leader for the country.
Russell W. Peterson
Ward 9
Standish
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