I first met Paul Wellstone at the 1998 College Democrats of America converntion in Washington, DC. He spoke to the 500 some delegates, and I remember sitting at a table of Minnesota delegates feeling an overwhelming sense of pride in the fact that this man was our Senator. Many of us had just voted in our first election in 1996, and we were proud to have been a generation of youth that helped send Paul back to Washington.
The following summer, I had the honor of interning with Senator Wellstone's St. Paul office. I worked with the immigrant and refugee community, helping to reunite families and help folks navigate our cumbersome INS and visa procedures.
I was floored by the number of staff and interns Wellstone had working expressly on refugee and immigrant issues. It was astounding. And it didn't go unnoticed.
This weekend, I had took several cabs shuffling friends around the city. Each of the cab drivers I had this weekend (five total) were all immigrants. Four of the drivers were Somalian refugees and one was a refugee from Kenya. Each of the drivers was visibly saddened by the death of Paul, and one had even spent all of Saturday in mourning with his family. Each of them had a personal story of how they met Paul, and each of them knew without a doubt that Wellstone and his staff played a key role in their ability to flee near certain death for a better life here, in Minneapolis. One cab driver, whose uncle is a leader in the Somali community in Minneapolis, had just had a meeting late last week with Paul and other leaders from the Somali community. What was most striking, was that none of these cab drivers were citizens, neither were most of their family members. Yet, each one of them had met Paul in person, and most on more than one occassion.
There were definately issues that I did not agree with Wellstone on (Israel...DOMA...), but I'd rather elect Wellstone's dead body to Washington, DC than an opportunist like Coleman. I wonder, if Coleman had died this weekend, who, other than Republican voters, would have missed him.
-Brandon Lacy
-Powderhorn Park
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Mpls] Remembering Paul
Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 21:41:33 EDT
Paul seemed to have a gift for making each person he met feel special,
noticed...I did.
I heard Paul speak at the 1988 DFL state convention in Rochester. I didn't
know who he was, but he made a big impression on me. Today he's probably the
only thing I remember about that affair - no, I take that back: I remember
the fuzzy pink slippers Eva Young wore during a floor demonstration, too.
In May 1989 Paul had announced his long-shot intention to run for US Senate,
and Scott Adams, Paul's lone campaign worker, phoned me and asked if I'd host
a house party/fundraiser for Paul. When I said yes, Scott was astonished.
Seems that he'd been working his way through the state delegate list to find
support for Paul and he'd called through all the "A's" and well into the
"B's" before he got to me, Berget, the first "yes".
So on a cold day in June I invited 50 friends and neighbors in to meet Paul.
Most of them had never heard of him. He arrived with Sheila. She was so
nervous her palms were sweating and I don't think she said 10 words that
evening. Paul stood on the piano bench so people could see him when he gave
his trademark stemwinder speech. When he came to the end of his remarks,
David Tilsen said "Paul, you forgot to ask for money." Paul said he couldn't
do that, that he hated to ask for money. Tilsen said, "Okay then, I will."
So Tilsen asked for contributions. I don't think we raised $100 that night,
but the race was on.
The 1990 campaign was a high water mark for me and for just about everyone
who joined in. I don't think I ever believed in another political effort the
way I believed in Paul. He was the genuine article, passionate, idealistic,
tireless and principled. Not only that, he had the ability to inspire those
around him to work for their beliefs and to believe that through their work,
all things were possible.
Paul showed us the way by working for his beliefs every day of his life. We
can keep his spirit alive by putting his lesson to work in our own lives, in
our own communities. There may be no finer tribute...
Ann Berget
Kingfield
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