I want to thank j harmon for this post. As I think about this, I am reminded of the Mayor's paternalistic attitude towards me when I questioned the constitutionality of some CODEFOR policies (debriefing and the focus on livabilty crimes) at a community meeting.
Every time someone uses their "qualifications" to explain why they are a better choice for elected office, I wonder if it is a true representative democracy that we live in. In some ways this very issue of a candidate's relative experience can be a deterrent, fueling calls for term limits and other ways of preventing someone from becomming entrenched and deaf to the voices of their constituents. The Mayor is a perfect example of this, using her "experience" as her primary argument for her reelection and her apparent entrenchment and insider nature being her opponent's primary argument for her ouster. The discussion is rarely about the vision either candidate has. I fear that the Sixth Ward race is about to degrade to the same banal unimportant level about whether which candidate is part of the system and which is not. I think that either one of these arguments are anti-democratic. The whole point of a representative democracy is that anyone, with any level of experience should be able to serve in the government only because people agree with her or his ideas and platform. Contrary to the editorial views of the Star Tribune, being an entrenched political insider with powerful friends should never be a prerequisite for serving in public office, and in fact makes me wonder if I should rethink my positions on term limits. (I currently think term limits are also anti-democratic, but I would like some way of insuring that everyone has a chance to effect change.) I was at the Independence Party convention during Wade Russell's endorsement by the party. I was impressed that he also agreed that simply being a citizen is enough of a qualification and doesn't see himself as above anyone else, a sharp contrast to the Mayor's insulting tone towards people who disagree with her policies. Also, a sharp contrast to those running for office because they feel it's something they deserve. Ultimately, I long for the day when the average panhandler can run for office and have a real chance at being elected, but we're obviously not their yet. Tamir Nolley Whittier 6-7 --- j harmon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > There�s been a tremendous amount of discussion on > the list about the value > of experience among election candidates and going > with �what we know� (i.e. > incumbents) with regard to the upcoming election. > There seems to be an > insinuation that many of the challengers seeking > office don�t know the first > thing about it and apparently haven�t the drive nor > the intellect to begin > to understand how to wade through the sometimes > endless process of 'the > process' that goes along with being an elected > official. > As much as I hate this phrase (gulp) public service > isn�t rocket science. > Board members, council members and mayors throughout > history learned the > ropes just like those that came before them and > those that will follow. > Certainly some are more driven, more vocal, or more > controversial. Some have > a couple of big issues they deal with; others know a > little about a whole > lot of things. The bottom line is they all have to > start somewhere. > When Alice Rainville left office, both Cherryhomes > and then council member > Dziedzic credited her with teaching them and rather > guiding them in the ways > of the process, and touted her as a much-respected > veteran of the system. I > just refuse to buy into the idea that candidates > seeking office today are > any less able or less qualified to do just as good a > job as anyone else. I > think elections are about people simply seeking the > opportunity to do so. > With that, I�ll shaddup already. > JHarmon > Cleveland > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at > http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp > > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic > Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
