I commend Mr. Connelly for reporting what he overheard Former Senator Allen Spear saying to another individual. If people are going to attack Mr. Connelly for what he overheard and for stating his opinion about it, then they can add me to their list of people to be burned at the stake, because I am in full agreement with him. I have been a neighbor and supporter of Allen Spear for years and I believe he is a wonderful person and former Senator who openly supported the gay community. Though I am not gay, I believe that the gay community should be represented and not discriminated against. What upsets me is that many of this very same community who were previously discrimated against are the ones who are blindly supporting other gay candidates. If people start supporting their own race, religion and/or sexuality without any other consideration for other qualified candidates, then I believe this is the beginning of reverse discrimination in politics in the city. Obviously the city of Minneapolis political arena has progressed to the point where today we have an African-American mayor, an African-American councilmember and a gay councilmember. We now also have 4 gay candidates running for city council, not to mention those present in other city/county offices. Maybe even sometime soon we will have Somalian candidates that will represent their growing population here. I hope that people will be open to this idea in the future. Speaking from personal experience, I am a Palestinian immigrant who suffered greatly from Israeli disrimination, but today one of my closest friends is Jewish and my only real estate agent and insurance agent are both Jewish. Let's start looking at people's individual qualifications and ability to represent us on the city council rather than voting for sexual preference. (I could care less who you sleep with, just show me what you can do for the city) With respect to the 10th ward candidates, there is absolutely no question in my mind that Dan Niziolek (sp?) is the more qualified candidate of those running in the ward. I am not going to go through details of my experience with him at this time, but at the same time am not voting for him simply because his is not gay. Please check his vs. Doug Kress' qualifications and then decide who you would vote for. Basim Sabri Mpls Developer _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
