Mark Knapp (City council ward 10 ), Fran Dassier (Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board, District 6 ) and Scott Vreeland (Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board, District 3 ) were endorsed by the Green Party on April 7. A
press release was sent to the city beat reporter. There are already Green
Party members on the Park Board, and there is a very good chance that there
will be Green Party members on the city council. The Green Party has major
party status.......But does the Star Tribune report the news of some
interesting races? No
As one of the endorsed candidates I called the city desk editor on the
following Monday to ask that the results be reported. He did not return my
call. I spoke to the "reader's representative," Lou Gelfand, the next day. He
said the Green Party endorsement should be covered and that he would find out
why the Green Party coverage was excluded. He has not responded to my phone
call and made no mention of this problem in his weekly excuse column. I have
over 64,000 constituents in my district to connect with. Media coverage makes
a difference. Our city official's decisions have a huge impact on our lives.
It is too bad the Star Tribune does not have more commitment to understanding
and reporting city issues.
As a Park and Recreation Board candidate, I find the lack of coverage ironic.
If we look back in history there was a 25 year battle to establish the Park
System. There was tremendous and very vocal resistance from the city council
and the public. According to Theodore Wirth, the establishment of our
wonderful park system in 1883 was largely due to advocacy of the Morning
Tribune and the Evening Journal.
Thanks, Scott Vreeland, Seward, Ward 2, Park District 3
