It's Walt Gutzmer
WMarks, Central
Eva Young wrote:
> Fred Markus's message is also archived at:
>
> http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2000-December/000727.html
>
> However for some strange reason this December message showed up in
> yesterdays mail. Wierd things happen with these listservs. However, it
> seems like it's still relevant to the discussion about the screenings.
>
> At 01:05 PM 12/31/00 -0600, Fredric Markus wrote:
> >So on Saturday last, I'm told that while I was rooting for some well-found
> >candidates in the Sixth Ward screening event at Stonewall DFL, some
> >incumbent members of the City Council were directing traffic among the
> >various ward screening events at the Hennepin County Government Center - if
> >a candidate favored by the incumbent power elite was looking a little
> >challenged, why send in the troops - pull them out of other meetings and
> >pack, pack, pack! Then on Monday evening, time for the Mayoral event and
> >another variation on this theme - was the incumbent's pre-eminence in
> >jeopardy? Get on the horn and get some warm bodies into that screening room!
>
> I talked with Walt Gutzman last night. Gutzman will be running against
> Brian Herron. There is a third candidate also. Gutzman has been active
> with CNIA for years. That's how I have met him. He was on the CNIA board
> of directors before the most recent board elections. It sounds like
> question 2 on the Stonewall Questionaire--the one regarding whether a
> candidate will abide by DFL endorsement is preminent. If folks don't
> answer that one right, then they get a "not recommended" rating, though
> Stonewall does let them know that they filled out the questionaire. There
> is a racial undercurrent behind this. The 8th ward is supposed to be the
> ward represented by an African American. Brian Herron is African American,
> Gutzman is caucasion. Which begs the question.... Don't all of us live in
> the ward. Are there really "African American issues" and "caucasion
> issues"--and we don't have concerns in common? This reminds me of some
> private email I got regarding asking Neva Walker to work on the sodomy
> laws. This person told me that there are "white legislators and glbt
> legislators who should do that". But this confuses me. Rep. Walker is the
> person who represents me. By that logic, I suppose I should be calling
> Scott Dibble (who does not represent me) to talk to them about the sodomy
> law.
>
> Anyway, I look forward to some candidate debates. I wonder if there is any
> interest in say an 8th ward e-debate with the various candidates? I would
> be glad to volunteer to help set up such a forum.
>
> Eva Young
> Central
>
> >This is like cramming for exams - you can puff up a test score, but the
> >information fades fast after the exam paper leaves your fevered hands. The
> >critical vote on Monday evening - were all three mayoral candidates (Sharon,
> >Lisa, and RT) "acceptable"? Answer: No, on a vote of 15 to 14. I'm told it
> >took several mayoral staffers present and voting and some last-minute phone
> >calls to get those 15 votes assembled - hardly a balanced decision and where
> >in this is the leitmotif of the group identity involved? Instead of the GLBT
> >interest, we see a DFL interest expressed and a remarkably specialized DFL
> >interest at that.
> >
> >Stonewall members stayed away in droves and crass manipulation of the
> >outcome was obvious to the participants - leaving those on the losing side
> >to consider their options in the run-up to the various DFL conventions and
> >leaving the city's electorate presumably impacted by a campaign meant to
> >give the impression of freely given issues-based support when in fact
> >incumbents and their seasoned supporters engineered outcomes at the expense
> >of the indentity-based interest group.
> >
> >Now it's true that those who show up rule the world and a refreshingly
> >different case in point was the Ninth Ward scene last Saturday where Gary
> >Schiff supporters buried the "yellow dog" DFLers - good, say I, a seasoned
> >queer activist gets a vote of confidence from a queer screening process.
> >Will the Stonewall DFL Board (Stonewall members recommend, but the board
> >decides) honor that unmistakable message - i.e., Gary had many more sardines
> >than the other guy - or will there be a new squeeze play at the board level
> >and an outcome at odds with the preference of the ordinary fishes? We'll
> >find out this coming Saturday.
> >
> >I expect to see schools of fish. It's the political season, after all. But
> >the action was really about trying to force candidates to adhere to the DFL
> >endorsement outcome in advance and dumping them as "unacceptable" if they
> >would not commit to this no matter the strength of their issue profiles and
> >personal attributes. Not a pretty sight and guaranteed to cheapen the value
> >of the DFL ward conventions in March and the DFL city convention in May. One
> >may hope that DFL delegates will see past the incumbency protection game,
> >think about issues, and evaluate candidates on their merits. One may also
> >expect that determined candidates will see past the stacked DFL decks and
> >take their shows on the road in the primary season where outcomes can't be
> >manipulated so readily.
> >
> >Fred Markus, Horn Terrace, Ward Ten
>
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