Has this happened to you? You talk to a candidate before the election (no names, please) and they claim to agree with you about your concerns and swear to do something about it.
After they get elected they start making excuses...for instance..."Minneapolis doesn't control that...some other governmental authority-the Neighborhood Associations or the Planning Commission or the Park Board or Hennepin County or the Met Council or the State or the Federal Government or the Intergalactic Federation controls that. Then there is the "Weak Mayor Form of City Government" or "No money in the Budget" or"the Nasty Suburban Republicans in the Legislature" excuse. I'm not saying these excuses are phony, "my dog ate it" excuses. But they point to a system where a frustrating structure of government allows and encourages excuses instead of action. Most working people can't tell their boss they'll do something and blame their inaction on somebody else. The Anti-Pass-the Buck Punch Card could change all that. It looks like one of those cards Breuggers Bagel Bakery hands out. This is how it works: The candidate agrees to accept a APB card and keep it on their desk. Every time they make an excuse to not do something they said they'd do in their campaign, the card gets punched. A dozen punches and the politician resigns and seat remains empty until the next election. Committees, task forces,hiring consultants and studies not considered a substitute for action. Either more politicians will take action on their campaign promises or they won't try to promise everything to everybody before an election and deliver excuses afterward. If the APB card weeded out a lot of politicians, we would be left with a streamlined government that would run out of other politicians to pass the buck to without having to change the state constitution or city charter. Ken Avidor Kingfield _______________________________________ 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
