Some list members have flayed Paul Ostrow's council-president campaign because he supports a Twins stadium. Robert Lilligren even suggested voting for Ostrow might symbolize being in the "pro-stadium" camp.
I think that's questionable - but not outrageous - so I'll accept it for purpose of this post. But I submit that some anti-stadium Johnson backers oppose a person with a known position (Ostrow), while giving a free pass to his opponent without studying her record. So where does Barb Johnson stand on a stadium? In June 1999, the council voted on its most important recent stadium resolution. The resolution called for a city partnership with Hennepin County that would pay for a new downtown stadium and a host of other sports and non-sports projects through a half-cent countywide sales tax. Ostrow voted in favor. So did Barb Johnson. In fact, Johnson argued passionately for the funding, that Minneapolis had to act to head off St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman. "Norm is deadly serious out there, folks, and we are playing around," she said. (This comes from the Strib account) True, Paul has been louder about his recent support - but remember, Barb is being pushed by labor, one of the biggest power interests backing a stadium. Ok, you say, but what about the coalition each candidate brings? In the Ostrow camp, I count two possible pro-stadium votes (Ostrow, Colvin Roy), two reliable nos (Goodman, Lane), and two I'm-not-completely-sure-under-the-$10 million-referendum-limit (Zerby, Benson, Niziolek. When I refer to not completely sure, I mean me, not them). In the Johnson camp, I count two possible pro-stadium votes (Johnson, Schiff), two reliable nos (Zimmermann, Lilligren) and two I'm-not-completely-sures (Johnson Lee, Biernat. Johnson Lee was not absolute anti-stadium when we at Skyway interviewed her this fall, and Biernat voted no in '99 but has voted both ways). Just keep in mind the full record when you decide which horse to back. It would also be interesting to see what the president hopefuls' comparative records are on affordable housing. David Brauer King Field - Ward 10 _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.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
