Hear Hear, Bert Black. Where we differ is that in nonpartisan races as city races are, the process can, indeed, be different from the state. If parties really wanted to engage debate about issues when only one party so dominates as the DFL, the party could (and should) consider multiple endorsements.
Of course, in both jurisdictions, the party could promote multiple candidates, i.e., endorse more than one person with the primary serving as the final arbiter for nomination. The dominance of the DFL in Minneapolis is waning with the rise of the Green Party and its representatives on the City Council, Dean Zimmermann and Natalie Johnson Lee (and, almost, Cameron Gordon, who helped oust Joan Campbell). No small feats, those. The problem with all parties has been the obsessive need to put on some phony show of unity as if the party has but one face and one monolithic view of all policy matters when everyone knows how bogus that belief really is. Bert's lament that good policy discussions have been discarded in a single-party dominance can be assuaged by recommending to voters two, perhaps three qualified candidates who present different perspectives on local governance. Let's hope that the strengthening presence of Greens for all offices in the local government mix creates a resurgence in local debates. In many cases, the DFL behaves more like the conservative opponents it used to face: standing for preservation of the ever-lovin' status quo. Too much money has corrupted the old grassroots DFL because it came to dominate local government. The Green Party's increasing successes testify to voter disgust with that migration. Andy Driscoll Saint Paul ------ "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." - Benjamin Disraeli > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 09:12:57 EDT > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [Mpls] School Board Endorsement > > The whole point of the DFL endorsement process was and is to do exactly what > Michelle objects to. It is to stifle all but the endorsed candidates. > > There are good reasons for this, in the present, in the past, and > specifically in Minneapolis' past. > > Until relatively recently, Republicans were a strong and often controlling > force in this city and state. The only way to assure a shot at election for > DFLers was to eliminate all but one candidate per office, to assure unity > against the Republicans. > > That is still the case outside the core central cities of Minneapolis, Saint > Paul and , to a certain degree, Duluth. > > Inside Minneapolis, in the recent past, there have been no Republican > officeholders, with the exception of Denny Schulstad. The last Republican > school board member in Mpls was Jim Pommerenke, and that was many years ago. > > But as a statewide matter, Mpls cannot have a different system than the rest > of the state. > > As a result of our one-party success, we have suffered through many ills and > dysfunctional behavior. The cult of personality has taken over, to the > detriment of public policy. > > We were a better party, and a better city, when we had the good civic debate > that organized opposition provides. > > > Bert Black > King Field > 'Retired' DFLer > _______________________________________ 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
