I've posted on the Wagenius/Skoglund race before and was interested in both
the original message and reply here. I am one of the SD 62 delegates who
will be at the convention on Saturday. Now, I have to say, as one who grew
up in New York City, I am familiar with backroom politicians as features of
the political landscape. What has been amazing to me in my less than one
year living in Minnesota is that I could walk into an open DFL precinct
caucus on a weekday evening in March and, if interested, volunteer to be a
delegate and actually have a say in who will be a candidate to represent me.
No secret dealings. No one checking my credentials (except perhaps my
drivers license to prove I live in the precinct). This is a process a
quantum leap more open than I ever experienced back in my native Empire
State.
I for one am glad that Wes Skoglung decided to run for the Senate. It means
that those of us who live in 62B can actually get the benefit of two
experienced legislators without having to choose between them. I think it's
a win-win situation. Now, will they win? I agree that history is on the
side of the DFL candidate. For better or worse (and I would argue better
more often), the DFL is the dominant party in Minneapolis. I am all for
competition, however, and I truly believe that the Green Party (I just can't
bring myself to add the Republican Party in there) provide some real
alternatives and I think serve to keep everyone on their toes. This is as
it should be. But, let the ideas, positions and records of the candidates
speak for themselves. If, in the end, Holle Brian will have to convince a
majority of folks that she would be a better representative for 62B. And
Jean Wagenius will have to respond with her record on behalf of the people
she has represented and why she should be allowed to return.
To my mind, much seems to have gone right under DFL leadership in
Minneapolis. And some things have gone wrong, hence the need for a strong
progressive voice reminding elected officials who they serve. That could be
the Greens or through other progressive activities. But I think it serves
the process more to focus on what people say, have done and plan to do than
to impugn them for having served in office and won re-election. To me, that
sounds like success in a democracy.
Steve Marchese
Hale
House 62B
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 16:29:54 -0500
To: mpls-issues <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: Tim Bonham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Wagenius vs. Skoglund contest ends before it begins?
>This message is just oozing with arrogance. The clear assumption is
>that only DFL candidates matter ... only DFL candidates are deemed
>worthy in the grand back-room shuffle.
Well, you could call this arrogance . . . or you could call it
being realistic. Take a look at the voting history in this legislative
district, and see which candidates matter to the voters of this
district. They haven't elected anyone other than a DFL'er for the past
quarter century.
And back-room shuffle? The DFL endorsement will be done in a
public meeting at Roosevelt HS this Saturday, with hundreds of delegates
present and making the decisions. The 1200-seat Roosevelt Auditorium is
one heck of big "back-room"!
>I have a mental image of DFL bosses with cigars, leaning over the Big
>Board -- like a scene from one of those old WWII movies with the RAF
>Bomber Command and long cues for pushing around the tokens: "Let's
>see ... Johnson will occupy the Northern Provinces, Kelly will take
>the Southern, and Olson will clean up the Central. Yeah ... that's
>the ticket." ... followed by much congratulatory backslapping.
Well, whatever you were smoking to give you that "mental image", I
hope you enjoyed it. But try not to confuse your "mental images" with
reality.
>Are there no other candidates running for these seats? The last time
>I checked, there were THREE other major political parties in
>Minnesota, and two of them are viable forces in Minneapolis.
These other parties are welcome to run their own candidates in the
election, and let the voters decide. We in the 62nd DFL are quite ready to
take them on.
>Meanwhile, Wagenius has been on the public payroll for 16 years, and
>Skoglund has been collecting his checks for 26 years! Both are about
>60 years old, and both appear to be hanging around for their
>government pension. Is this what "public service" is for?
Or you could say that voters have been so satisfied with them that
they have re-elected them every other year the last 2 & 1/2
decades. That's grassroots democracy in action. And that "public payroll"
is much less than they were making in private industry. Plus for years,
Wes Skoglund has declined to take the per-diem payments that he was
eligible for.
Also, both of them were fully vested in their government pension
long ago, and could have retired and taken life easy if that was all they
wanted. But they have gone through the effort of campaigning on their
record to the voters every election, and then fighting with a republican
leadership in the legislature to try to get equitable treatment for
Minneapolis. Yes, that IS what I call "public service"!
Tim Bonham, Standish-Ericcson neighborhood, deep in Senate District 62
> >
> > Ah, but what if they BOTH switch?!
>
>Ah, but what if they both LOSE?!
>
>I've seen way too much smug disdain for grassroots democracy from the
>DFL. But the voters of Minneapolis should not be pawns in a game of
>political chess. It's time to break up the DFL hegemony and restore
>some humility to our political culture. It's time to elect more
>Republicans and Greens.
>
>Melanie Gilbert
>Kenwood
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