Wow. I just read the Mayor's irresponsible,
bitter and over-the-top reaction to the Police endorsement of R.T.
Frankly, I think it is meant to distract from the
real story:
None of the four big unions that actually work for
the City (and have to deal with the Mayor) are endorsing her re-election.
Not the Minneapolis Professional Employees Association nor the Police (which
have both endorsed Rybak). Not the Firefighters (which has not
endorsed). And despite a full course press by the mayor and her
staff, not AFSCME (which has broke from the party line pushed by the AFL-CIO and
repeatedly voted not to endorse the Mayor.)
The mayor would have loved the police endorsement;
she lobbied for their endorsement. The people who actually work for the
City are tired of an A.W.O.L. mayor's office. They're tired of not having
a leader. I would
propose the police endorsement says more about their frustration with the
Mayor than it does about R.T.
So to distract from the real story, the Mayor
recklessly, falsly and without merit assumes a quid-pro-quo by RT.
But this assumption says much more about the incumbent than it does about
R.T. If the Mayor is used to making quid-pro-quo deals, she may assume
that other people operate the same way. Like millions for the Target
corporation and Ryan construction and over $10,000 in campaign contributions
from Target and Ryan management and owners? Anyone listening to RT knows
ending this destructive culture of ignoring good civic policy and back
scratching is the foundation of RT's campaign. Who ever heard of a major
candidate for mayor in a major metropolitian area running, and winning, without
accepting PAC money or contributions from people doing business with the
city?
Sayles Belton's sour grapes speak most
loudly about her leadership and the desperate state of her reelection
campaign.
Sincerely,
Joseph Barisonzi
Lyndale, Ward 10
