It has pained me for some 8 years now listening to the mayor stumble and
mumble through various "sorry I was late" public speaking engagements. Her
constant "and um..." ramblings leave much to be desired. I've always felt
that part of the draw of any politician is the ability to speak concisely,
if not eloquently about what they plan to do during their tenure. I've never
heard a politician with such a poor command of the language and of public
speaking in general. And as far as her rustling in some 40 minutes late, I'm
reminded of a post during the last week or so lamenting about how the 'poor
thing' works such long hours and has children to care for.....
Should have thought of that before she took the job.
JHarmon
Cleveland
----- Original Message -----
From: "timothy connolly" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 6:28 PM
Subject: [Mpls] The Race for Mayor.....
> For those of you who read my previous post about the
> People's Institute you will understand what I have to
> say in the context ofremarks by Ron Chisom, Co-Founder
> of the People's Institute.
>
> He urged us not to talk about each other, about what
> we might feel about what another person is or is not
> doing, or how the are doing, etc.
>
> I agree with him. Like most people I've been known to
> gossip. I do not particularly like that quality in
> myself. I do not like passing judgement though I do.
> Often it seems, on this forum.
>
> But there comes a time when change becomes necessary
> and the only way to make that point is by speaking of
> another and making a judgement.
>
> Today the Mayor arrived at the press conference for
> the People's Institute 40 minutes after it began and
> was accorded the respect of being given the podium
> upon her arrival.
>
> I understand the Mayor is busy. I can only imagine how
> busy. I can only imagine the demands on her time. I
> suspect that other Mayors would do the same. I am glad
> she was there.
>
> She began by apologizing for not having been there to
> hear the other speakers. Fair enough.
>
> She then spoke of talking to Jim Cook, executive
> director of Sabathani, years ago about this. I was
> unsure whether she specifically meant the People's
> Institute or what.
>
> Then she got off into talking about planting seeds and
> growth and nurturing. As much as I love gardening my
> mind began to wander.
>
> As she was talking, I started to wonder why People's
> Institute North is headquartered in Duluth rather than
> Minneapolis.
>
> This is not a matter of civic pride in the sense that
> cities around the state in the 1850's-60's were vying
> to be sites for the State Capitol, The University,
> etc. That sort of competition serves no good purpose.
>
> I think it is fine the office is in Duluth. I just
> sort of like the symmetry of Minneapolis and New
> Orleans and the Mississippi River running between us.
> I am funny that way.
>
> It is of concern in that I wonder "why not sooner" in
> Minneapolis? It is not as though we do not have
> isssues of racism in our city just as they do in
> Duluth or Pequot Lakes or anywhere else throughout the
> state.
>
> As the largest city in the state with the greatest
> number and percentage of minorities and, it would
> stand to reason, the greatest number of opportunities
> for racist incidents, it only logically follows that
> we should be out front pushing the dialogue and the
> process forward.
>
> Wouldn't it be great to see the Chief of Police in
> Minneapolis quoted in the literature of The Peoples
> Institute saying what Chief Scott Lyons and Deputy
> Chief Roger Grytdahl of Duluth have said of their
> training workshops?
>
> Instead we have our Mayor and any number of people
> tripping over each other to a podium to make excuses
> and to talk about "how good things are here in
> Minneapolis".
>
> Yes, in many ways it is good here. But in a lot of
> ways and for a whole lot of people it is not so good.
> And we can and must do better.
>
> The Mayor said we are going to have to recruit more
> people into the discussion region wide. Definitely!
> All one need do is look at how the metropolitan region
> has dealt with low cost and affordable housing issues
> over the past 25 years to know the truth of the
> Mayor's statement.
>
> The City of Minneapolis has a dismal record as far as
> insuring the availability of decent affordable housing
> for all citizens but we have plenty of company.
>
> The Mayor spoke of looking for the elements of racism
> in all areas of our society. I might add we need to
> look at elements of sexism as well. We need to look at
> all of our prejudices.
>
> Today I stopped a young woman exiting the construction
> site at the new Target office tower. I asked her how
> many women worked there. She hesitated so I asked "can
> you count 'em on two hands?" She said, "less." So then
> I asked, "how many workers on that site, a guess?" Her
> answer: "About 400."
>
> Now you tell me: do you think there are only eight
> women qualified to work construction who are looking
> for work and who would like to be making $18-$22/hr in
> this city? And how many people of color work at that
> site?
>
> The Mayor continued "As Mayor and as a private citizen
> I am prepared to do more."
>
> She concluded her remarks saying "it is not acceptable
> to stand on the sidelines and bark."
>
> Your Honor, I agree. I would add that it is totally
> unacceptable to sit in a third floor corner office at
> City Hall, whether it be at the southwest or northwest
> corner, and do no more than whimper.
>
> We need new leadership in this city and I am putting
> myself into the game.
>
> I will file for the office of Mayor of Minneapolis on
> Friday, July 13th and I will not butt in line should
> anyone be ahead of me.
>
> Timothy Connolly
> Candidate for Mayor
> Ward 7
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
> http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
> _______________________________________
> Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy
> Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
> http://e-democracy.org/mpls
>
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
