David and others: I've often wondered how effective it would be to get an exemption on phone junk mail for public notices. For example, Norm Coleman tried to use warning sirens to alert people to parking restrictions. Well, couldnt you read most people with a phone call? Well over half of homes have answering technology. And if you sent the mass phone call at 8pm, a lot of people would even answer the phone (avoid dinner time!) And it would have to be one of the CHEAPEST solutions possible.
--- David Brauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Really? Having looked a "war chests" over the
> years, I think just the
> opposite. Most candidates don't plan to be
> candidates four years in
> advance; incumbents do. My guess - and it is
> only that - is that people
> decide to run at most two years in advance.
> That gives incumbents a
> two-year head start on fundraising. Such
> "off-year" war chests have
> scared many a good opponent away.
>
> That said, perhaps a compromise is to extend
> the meaning of election
> year from calendar year to 12 months prior to
> the election, for a little
> longer fundraising time.
>
> More importantly, though, banning off-year
> fundraising (in whatever your
> off-years are) removes one avenue for private
> interests to influence
> public officials. Money for campaign is a
> necessary evil, but it does
> distort the body politic - and we should reduce
> that distortion as much
> as possible...taking it off the table for 2-3
> years would be terrific,
> in my view. And ethical.
>
> > Second, office holders use much of their
> campaign funds for
> constituent
> > services. Unless the city decides to fund
> these services it is to the
> > advantage of many of the constituents that
> these services (i.e.
> > newsletters, handouts at neighborhood
> meetings) be provided.
>
> Well, this is exactly what the city should do.
>
> I've heard the "I need to communicate with my
> constituents, so let me
> raise campaign funds" explanation countless
> times - but just as often,
> said "constituent services" amount to campaign
> propaganda.
>
> And of course, depending on such "private
> funds" for public business
> means they don't have to fall into the city's
> ethics code.
>
> The council's budget for constituent
> communication - and here, I'm
> talking notices of meetings, straightforward
> public info etc. - should
> be raised if it is too little. This is not a
> frill; this expenditure is
> essential in a democracy. I doubt the public
> would scream if they paid
> more taxes for what amounts to better service.
>
> I still think there should be an Office of
> Email so that the city can
> email notices to interested citizens (and,
> long-term) save budget on
> mailings. I do this for my neighborhood on a
> volunteer basis, but it is
> an appropriate role for taxpayer $$ - not
> campaign $$.
>
> David Brauer
> King Field
Keith Nybakke:"Hiawatha speeds are rational. This doesn't mean they are safe. Just that most drivers will rationally look at the driving conditions and adjust their speeds to match the conditions. Disregarding the extreme drivers and the obsessive law-abiding types, Hiawatha is judged by
most drivers to be a 45-50 MPH road. It doesn't really matter that the signs say 35 MPH. Drivers decide all the time to drive Hiawatha at just under a 45 MPH average."
This discussion strikes me as dated. When Hiawath used to join Minnehaha in that area, it WAS very dangerous. But nowadays the reroute has eliminted the combined descent-swerve and traffic light that made things treacherous. I'm not a big reroute fan, but that's the one thing I think it did that was defensible.
Neal Simons is right about his email notification, but he didn't say HOW he got signed up for it. How? The Strib used to have a schedule on this, but they dropped it for undisclosed reasons.
Jim Mork (Cooper Neighborhood)
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