Re: State Constitutional Amendment to allows permanent residents (non-citizens) the right to vote.
For anyone who's interested in reading the current text, it's detailed in Article 7, Section 1: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/rules/mncon/Article7.htm I wonder if there is any interest in allowing minors to vote in some local elections or have a minor representative to local boards... Speaking of constitutional rights, I think that since Minneapolis is arguably the hardest hit by drug laws and the "drug war", State Representatives from the area should propose a bill disavowing federal drug laws as a federal constitutional violation of state held rights. If the state wants to have their own drug laws, that is it's right, although prohibition has never been a successful policy. More on that if I get the chance to finish writing a response to Ed Felein's question. Re: Jason Samuels, intern turned candidate. I can see the reason for your concern and the concern of the director of the internship program, however, I don't think that there is anything for you to be upset about in this case. As you said, there is no evidence that he misused his access to your information, and based on my vague recollection of his announcement of candidacy, the reason why he ran was not to win but to give you an opponent to debate with regarding various approaches to and stances on progressive issues. What I recall reading is that he has great respect for you and wanted to do his part to offer a foil to help tune various aspects of your platform. From my impression of his purposes, if there were a serious challenger to your campaign, he would not have run against you. It's always a little disappointing when a candidate doesn't have any opposition as it removes the primary source of democratic participation. I don't feel that your concern is that a (hopefully) friend is running against you. Hopefully, you will note if he gets much voter response and take those votes not as votes against you but votes suggesting some of your constituents desires. In State Representative District 59A, voters have the choice between "write-in" and Len Biernat. To remedy this situation in the spirit of offering democratic choice, I am announcing my write-in candidacy for the Minnesota House representing Legislative District 59A. No campaign contributions will be solicited or accepted. No endorsements will be solicited. Endorsements may be accepted with the understanding that they will grant no special interests for the endorser. Self promotional campaigning will be avoided in favor of discussion of issues, policies, and philosophies. If I should receive a reasonable number of votes, I pledge to offer to meet with Rep. Biernat in order to discuss policy and other matters of state. If I should win the general election, I pledge to serve District 59A to the best of my ability. - Jason Goray, Sheridan, NE ind. cand., SRD 59A __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
