All,
 
Frankly I was initatially stunned to see the mayor take the lead on cynically using the September 11 terrorist attack to rebuild political support for her mayoral campaign. 
 
After I got over being stunned, I was dissapointed but not suprised.
 
This election is about leadership.  Which is why I am supporting RT Rybak.  I have worked with RT professionally and as a volunteer and have found him to be a positive leader that organizes around a positive and realistic view for the future.  He may not have been in office for almost two decades, that is true.  He has earned his experience in the neighborhoods and in the boardrooms of this city.
 
Are people scared after the WTC bombing? Yes. Are people worried about local security? Yes.  Is that a reason to maintain the status quo? No. 
 
Are people concerned about how the local economy will be impacted by the global changes? Yes. Are people concerned about how changes in the political and economic landscape will impact our ability to secure housing for the 1000 kids who sleep each night in a homeless shelters? Yes 
 
And those are the reasons that on November 6 we should vote for new leadership.  
 
 
 
Despite calls on this list to the contrary, I hope RT does not get involved in a dialgoue about the mayoral response to the WTC bombing. I am confident that RT's experience in civic leadership will call him to rise above attempts to be divisive in the current environment.  I hope he respectfully supports the Mayor in any effort to make appropriate changes after the bombing. But I hope he will not allow the terrorist attack to be turned into a campaign issue. I hope he remains focused on his campaign for affordable housing, city services, the urban environment, and new civic leadership.
 
 
 
Joseph Barisonzi
Lyndale, Ward 10

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