Believe me, St. Paul people are, in the main, as embarrassed by Tom Osthoff as anyone. We know evil over here when we see it, and this divisive and unrelentingly abrasive and abusive public official is among the worst many of us have encountered in decades of public policy work.
He will not be missed as he retires from the Legislature this year. Please do not use Osthoff and his statements as a barometer for how St. Paul people feel. He's the type that makes our friendly rivalry a mean-spirited one. Minneapolis is, partly, a victim of its success. As the largest city in the state, its movers are the richest and most powerful in the state. This may draw some resentment from St. Paul, which has often felt like the inferior twin (and behaved like it - petulantly), but more from other parts of the state. From a policy perspective, St. Paul has likely been seen as a less-threatening power center by suburban and rural legislators, therefore a beneficiary of state largesse likely to be viewed as sticking it to Minneapolis. There is also a general sense (I have insufficient information to share this sentiment) that Hennepin County, which embraces not only Minneapolis but all of its wealthy residential suburbs, works mightily to dominate all of Minnesota's governance and development. Thus, while Minneapolis suffers from jealousy in its own right, its role as county seat also engenders undeserved resentment. Andy Driscoll Saint Paulite who loves my sister city. ------ "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." - Benjamin Disraeli > From: "David Brauer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:42:44 -0500 > To: "Mpls list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [Mpls] Grow on Mpls stadium bid > > Doug Grow takes some shots, fair and unfair, at Minneapolis leadership's > conduct during the stadium debate. > > http://www.startribune.com/stories/465/2848617.html > > Grow examines a lot of canards and is usually pretty good at puncturing > them. But he lets this quote from Tommy Osthoff go unchallenged: > > "I think Minneapolis and Hennepin County have more lobbyists over here > than the rest of the state combined," Osthoff said. "They're always > claiming that everything that's happening on their side of the river is > regional. Everything else in the state is local and some of us just get > tired of that." > > What a crock. The state didn't pay for the Convention Center - > unarguably an asset of regional significance - the city did. The state > didn't pay for the Metrodome - it was a local bar tax and a user fee. > Target Center? Aside from a $750,000 state annual payment, all financed > by Minneapolis. > > Meanwhile, St. Paul has the state-financed Science Museum, Children's > Museum, and Xcel Arena, which has beaucoup state bucks. But > Minneapolis's Planetarium? Sorry, pay for it yourself. > > At least when it comes to major education/entertainment thingies, the > Capitol City has us whupped. So at least in this "regional" competition, > it seems to me Minneapolis has reason to whine, at least compared to > Osthoff's St. Paul. What I am missing? > > David Brauer > King Field > > _______________________________________ > 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 > _______________________________________ 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
