Thank you for responding to my letter. 1. If you honestly believe you didn't say anything about a flyover ramp being in the works for 28th Street in talking to representatives of Wells Fargo, then I must believe you. Mr. McGreevy believes you did say something like that. It seems probable that there was a meeting with you and then-Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton and then-Council Member Brian Herron and members of the business community last year during which you may have talked about the flyover ramp (which had been a part of the Honeywell and Allina-sponsored transportation study as proposed in 1998). If you would have acknowledged that the new tenant on the Honeywell campus, Wells Fargo, had been informed of the flyover ramp (which, of course, they must have been informed of the study by Honeywell as part of the purchase agreement), and you reported this as something Wells Fargo was pleased about, then it is possible that observers may have concluded that you had given your support to the flyover lane, and that this was one of the sweeteners for Wells Fargo to purchase the Honeywell properties. This explanation would support both you and Mr. McGreevy. Unfortunately, Mr. McGreevy is out of town and can't be reached today.
2. The assumption in all this, and one which you do not contradict, is that you support the flyover ramp. Do you support the flyover ramp? That is the point! Observers believe you do support it, because, if you didn't, the proposal would have died years ago. It is further assumed that you support the proposed entrance and exit ramps at Lake Street. It is assumed that you support the widening of Lake Street from six to eight lanes from Blaisdell to 5th Avenue. What is your vision of what will happen with 35W? We all have a right to definite answers to these questions. 3. The article has already been published in Pulse. You are welcome to write a letter, or you can trust me to write a correction next week that would be similar to point 1 above. Before the article is published in Southside Pride, I will change the lead paragraph to say something like: At a meeting a year ago some neighborhood business people got the impression that Peter McLaughlin supported the flyover lane and that Wells Fargo was happy about Peter's support. Is that a fair summary of your position and the facts as you remember them? Would you rather write a short statement outlining your position on this matter? I would publish that alongside the article. I want to be fair, but I do believe the readers are entitled to information on this issue. 4. Finally, the confusion of my identity: am I a candidate or a community journalist? A few weeks ago I was annoyed that Minnesota Public Radio gave you air time to talk about how you were going to make cuts in the budget at the County as a result of the Legislature's actions last spring. You told them you were even cutting your office by 1%. What you didn't tell them was that you had raised the budget for your office by almost 20%, so the net increase to your office in the last two years has been 19%. I don't blame you for putting the finest gloss possible on the facts, but I did blame MPR for falling for it. I asked for equal time, describing your remarks as an adroit political finesse. They refused, saying your remarks were part of a legitimate news story, and, therefore, I was not entitled to equal time. I believe the story I wrote on 35W was a legitimate news story. I wrote it because I knew more about the topic than the few other writers we could use. I am not required to give you equal time. The FCC probably figures print media has a rough enough time as it is. But I want you to get your position out to our readers, so my pages are open to your letters or statements, and I will pay to print them and distribute them. Am I a candidate or a community journalist? I am a citizen. I believe in the First Amendment. Just like everyone else in America, I have a right to express my political opinions. But I know that right is empty without the power to exercise it, so I have spent a great deal of time and money insuring that I have the means to express my beliefs. I happily extend that power to anyone who wants to use it, but I will not have it taken away from me. As a community journalist I have expressed strong opinions. But public officials and politicians generally have done their best to ignore them. As a candidate I feel at last I have the right to say to a politician (in this case, you, Peter), "I disagree with your policy on this," or "I think it would be a good idea if we did this," and demand a response. I thought I was being pretty fair to you in the 35W piece. I'm sorry we disagree about the opening quote. I can't guarantee you that my opinions won't intrude into my journalism (anyone who gives you that guarantee is a liar or a fool), but I will make every effort to be fair. We're both going to be around here after November 5th. We're both committed to South Minneapolis. Let's use the few remaining weeks to debate strategies and define hopes. Ed Felien Powderhorn _______________________________________ 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
