Wizard Marks posts <<I'm so angry I could kick the seeds out of a pickle. One of my friends who lives in the middle section of the Eighth Ward called me to ask how Robert Lilligren had helped produce Portland Place and the Joe Selvaggio inititive in the North end of the Ward. She said Lilligren had called to solicit her vote and told her how he'd helped out with that.>>
I made no such statement about Portand Place or JSI. Actually as a neighborhood activist I was vocal in my criticism of the Portland Place project as it progressed through the neighborhood approval process on two major points: 1. the bulldozer- (now called Hollman-) effect of eliminating the housing for a very vulnerable section of our population without planned replacement; and 2. the elimination of reclaimable, historically significant housing. There is no denying that the Portland Place development is a sweeping and important project. As we proceed to develop housing in the core city I think we must protect the interests of those already here in our communities, as well as those we want to attract. Not all of the residents of the 2600 and 2700 blocks of 5th and Portland Avenues we drug dealers or undesirables. Even if they were, affordable housing solutions will need to address the needs of all concerned - be they chemical dependency, un- and under-employment, etc. My other connection to Portland Place is that I moved the one and only existing building off the site before demolition. It took a year of hard work and the bringing together of the City, MCDA, Honeywell, the neihgborhood and a long list of other folks to accomplish this nearly impossible task. I was told at least a dozen times, "This will not happen," by people who were in positions to say "No". Not only is this building a surviving relic of the site, it is a testimony to how well I can bring people together to accomplish something difficult. Also, this project's construction site will be the location of my campaign's Election Night Party (2919 3rd Ave) - announcement/invite to come. I'm guessing this rumor that Ms. Marks heard from one of her friends started because of the appearence of my new campaign literature piece today (Sat.). On it is a quote from Joe Selvaggio, local founder of PPL, 8th Ward resident, and affordable housing guru, who I met in 1981 when he was working on the brownstone renovation at 18th and Elliot (City View Co-ops) and I was a 21-year-old renovation groupie. Quote Mr. Selvaggio, "I think Robert Lilligren has demonstrated his commitment to community development. We would be fortunate to have him as our council member." Yours, Robert Lilligren City Council Candidate Ward 8 www.voterobert.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
