"But ultimately, facts are facts." That is how Carol ended her commentary defending the Mayor as having run a well managed city. There are two issues raised in this discussion. The original issue raised regards the Mayor's claim as quoted from the list of accolades on her web site, which states that Minneapolis under her tutelage is: "THE BEST MANAGED CITY" Governing Magazine 2000 and 2001. That is not a fact. Unless the Mayor has a way to define fact differently then I was taught. No where in that article was Minneapolis rated "The Best Managed City". As for being rated such in 2001 I find no reference at all to a followup rating for this year. The question is why does the mayor in her web site state a falsehood? Probably because it sounds better than saying, "Minneapolis, Rated Highly in 2000". The second issue raised by this discussion is whether the Mayor can claim to be running a well managed (B+) type city. Carol apparently has so many good reasons why the Mayor deserves credit for this that she overloaded the Issues List computer system. This question will not be answered by Governing Magazine or by Carole's post, but by the people of Minneapolis starting tomorrow. The fact that her own party would not endorse her, that twenty some people have chosen to run against her and that three of those candidates have achieved significant followings does not speak volumes about the quantity of people who believe they live in "The Best Managed City" in the United States. More importantly, those that do feel we live in a strong vibrant city, apparently do not believe the current Mayor deserves credit for her management abilities in achieving the good things we have. Nor do they apparently believe that she will take us in the direction we want for the future. My frustration with the Mayor is simple. I believe that during her tenure, a period of strong financial growth for the economy, she has not been a careful steward of our finances. Except for those she and her partners on the Council favored with subsidies, we will all have to pay to work out of the financial status she turns over to the next mayor. Bob Gustafson MMM __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger http://im.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
