In regard to the City Council's organizational decisions, I've reflected on the Doug Grow column published in the Star Tribune on December 31.
Grow wrote about efforts under way by "a few party insiders and a couple of union leaders" to scuttle the election of 13th Ward independent Barret Lane to chair the Ways and Means committee. Grow pointed out that "R. T. Rybak has applauded the choice of Lane" and quoted a message from Rybak posted to this list: "Barret knows the budget backwards and forward. We are in dire need of Barret's knowledge, innovation, and exceptional commitment to fairness." Rybak concluded: "I don't want any part of the backroom politics of exclusion that was soundly rejected in race after race in the last election." Whether Mayor Rybak wanted it or not, it looks like he received a heaping plate full of "backroom politics" on Wednesday and, ironically, it was served up by some of the new Council members who supported him during the recent campaign. In fact, the defeat of Lane for Ways and Means chair looks more and more like a major defeat for Mayor Rybak and his reform agenda, handed to him by some of his reputed allies. Why some of the "progressive" newcomers sided with the remnants of the old regime to shoot down the mayor's key ally on the budget deserves further explanation. The other matter raised by Grow was that of competence and qualifications, whether "competence might matter more than tired, old allegiances" in the new Council and administration. There's no question that Lane was ready and able to take the lead on addressing the City's budget problems. Now the question is whether Council Member Johnson is up to the task. Johnson does not seem to be off to a good start. I understand that the newly elected chair of Ways and Means did not attend Minnesota Finance Commissioner Pam Wheelock's special briefing for city officials on Thursday about the state's budget problems, even though Minneapolis is facing potentially huge cuts in local government aid. The governor showed up, but the Council's new leader on the budget wasn't there. What's the deal with that? There's also the urgent matter of the additional budget cuts to City departments, 2.2 percent across the board. It will be interesting to see how Johnson handles this challenge. At this point, it's difficult to predict how the new Council will operate. In any case, trust and allegiance don't seem to be factors in play for some of the members. Expect the unexpected, indeed. Doug Grow figured that by exposing backroom machinations and insider deals, Barret Lane's talent and ability would be recognized and rewarded by the new Council. It doesn't seem to have worked out that way. I believe that Mayor Rybak, and the overwhelming majority of voters who supported him and his reform agenda in November, will pay a heavy price for this outcome. Dave Delvoye [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fulton neighborhood The (still) independent 13th Ward Get your free Web-based E-mail at http://www.startribune.com/stribmail _______________________________________ 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
