It *is* sad that nice people get caught up in a web of relationships and behavior that do them in, despite their sterling personalities. Often a function, I'm afraid, of the natural isolation from reality that elected office brings.
I, too met Joe when we were both working to ban metal shredders - his Kondirator, our Alter Metal Shredder in St. Paul. Joe went to England, took great pictures of the all-new way to recycle automobiles than crushing them and allowing mercury, benzene, etc. etc. fly through the air. (The "way" is to disassemble them and harvest useable parts and separate unusable materials for recycling separately.) Joe was excited over the opportunity to provide alternatives to the Kondirator, but it was an uphill battle and failed in the courts. Now this. Certainly many will remember his corrupted behavior and he must pay for his deeds, but it's never a good thing when all we do is hate the man for the deeds. He'll do his time and pay the bill. He's already paid dearly for his arrogance in allowing his power to run to his head (happens too often to repeating incumbents after a few terms). He'll survive. The system has survived and all will be better for it - the community, trust in government (I hope), even Joe. I wish him well. Andy Driscoll Saint Paul -------- "The most consistent and ultimately damaging failure of political journalism in America has its roots in the clubby/cocktail personal relationships that inevitably develop between politicians and journalists. When professional antagonists become after-hours drinking buddies, they are not likely to turn each other in." --Hunter Thompson � Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail �� 1973 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 11:14:16 EST > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [Mpls] Biernat - Another Viewpoint > > Please don't flood the list with replies to this, because it's a different > viewpoint that I feel compelled to present. > > I worked with Joe Biernat for a little over five years. I did not know Joe > prior to joining the crew on the third floor of City Hall. I'm not a member > of the political party to which Joe belongs. What I do know is that I've > never met anyone as kind and hard working as Joe. No matter how early you > came in in the morning and no matter how late you stayed at night, Joe was > there. Joe was one of the hardest working members of the Council. He was > not there for any glory to himself (he just wasn't that kind of a person) but > he cared deeply for the residents of the Third Ward. I just hope that the > person who replaces Joe will have the same work ethic. > > Joe treated everyone the same at City Hall. Their gender or their color > meant nothing to him, they were all the same. He is a kind and compassionate > man and I'm so sad about what happened to him. I'm not trying to minimize it > or blow it off, I'm just deeply saddened that it happened. > > Karen Collier > Linden Hills > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
