The Park Board article in today's Star tribune focuses on this last year's power struggle and what effect the elections might have on Board Leadership.
It is not that this is an unimportant issue. But with such a small amount of space allotted to the Park campaign, I would have wanted discussion of issues that would help to engage voters and interest them in finding the best candidates. Instead of candidate profiles, we get inside baseball. In all the campaigning I have done, not one person has asked about Board dynamics.
This week people have asked about: How can we get lights on the Powderhorn tennis courts? How can we get better soccer fields? Who is supposed to clean up Matthews park and why can't they do a better job? How can we keep referees from being assaulted? After all the planning, why doesn't the park board stick to the plans for Above the Falls. How can we clean up Lake Hiawatha? Why does Lake of the Isles get 11 million and Powderhorn nothing? Are they going to fix this tennis court? Where should we put the skate board park?
People want beautiful parks that are well managed that serve diverse communities. We are passionate about our parks and the many details that make the Park system what it is. What we need is an articulated vision for the next 25 and 100 years that puts these kind of questions in a framework of accountability and expectation so we can give a solid answer about what projects will be worked on and why.
There is nothing unfair or untrue about today's coverage, but it is the kind of slant that adds to voter cynicism about politics. I think the article being a substitute for candidate profiles gives the impression that who sits where at board meetings is somehow more important than the passion some of us have for preserving our natural treasures and places to meet and play.
I would also like to provide a slight correction of sentence structure and/or punctuation. The quote " ...Scott Vreeland, a Seward neighborhood carpenter,....."
While it is true that I am the Builder of the Marshall Fields Christmas and Flower shows as the technical director and lead carpenter, my wife can attest that, I do almost no carpentry in the Seward Neighborhood.
Thanks, Scott Vreeland,
Candidate for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, District 3,
Board Member of the Seward Neighborhood Group,
Board Member of Parents and Elders for Common Efforts (P.E.A.C.E.)
member of Seward Redesign, Friends of the Mississippi, The Seward Environment Committee, The Community Building Committee, The Gateway Art Project, Mississippi River Gorge Stewards, Mayor's Graffiti Task Force, 3rd. Precinct Police Advisory council, and Block Club leader.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think that I am the first candidate to be endorsed by both the Green Party and the Star Tribune.
