This is a forwarded copy of a letter to the editor of the StarTribune. It was a response to a written comment by the mayor in last Saturday(3/31)Strib defending herself against an editorial they had printed previously condemning her lack of visibility, saying it does no good for Minneapolis to be more something or greater than St.Paul in some regard if the Mayor is not out beating the drum for the city. I think the StarTribune criticism of the mayor for not touting the greatness of Minneapolis vis a vis St.Paul is lame. At the same time I think she needs to be out front on important issues and I resent her saying she was in the case I mention. It's just not true. I do not like being a pit bull watchdog. I would rather be a more positive voice but when candidates appear to be "truth challenged" it is necessary to speak out. Tim Connolly Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
To the Editor: With all due respect to Mayor Sayles-Belton I must take issue with her assertion that she has confronted the issue of racial profiling head-on. I attended over twelve hours of hearings in two Senate committees over a week and a half time span and the mayor was nowhere to be seen. Her sole contribution to the Senate debate was an innocuous letter to Sen.Jane Ranum patting herself on the back. No representative from either Minneapolis or St. Paul city government appeared bfore the Senate though Jerry Blakey of the St. Paul City Council and Brian Herrron from the Minneapolis City Council attended rallies at the capitol. The sole representative from Minneapolis City Hall was Police Chief Robert Olson whose tepid endorsement of mandatory data collection stood in stark contrast to the testimony and rapt attention of Michael Jordan, St. Paul Police spokesman. One has to wonder if Chief Olson might not favor a diluted anti-profiling measure put forward in the state Legislature by Rep. Rich Stanek of Maple Grove who doubles as an Inspector on the Minneapolis Police Force. Chief Olson's visibility relative to the invisibility of our current Mayor also gives one reason to pause and wonder who is in charge. One might expect a Mayor of a city the caliber of Minneapolis to have both substance and style in abundance. Imagine the compelling testimony Mayor Sayles-Belton might have given about the profiling of her own Civil Rights Director by the Minneapolis Police Force, and were odds to hold true, members of her own extended family. Timothy Connolly 66 So. 12th St. #204 Minneapolis MN 55403 612.339.4557 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/?.refer=text
