Having more than a passing familiarity with the Department of Justice's Community Relations Division, I'm troubled that the Department's mediation in Minneapolis is off to a rocky start. For a mediated agreement to be credible and effective, the entire process by which it was reached needs to be recognized as credible and effective by all concerned.
Unfortunately, the proces by which the "community representatives" were selected is unclear. Inexplicably, it appears that at least two major civil rights organizations were not engaged in the process. Now this morning's Star Tribune reports that the community representatives, except for the "spokesman," have chosen to remain anonymous. Of course, anonymity makes it impossible to assure the community that the representatives are, in fact, truly representative of the diversity of community interests. More importantly, anonymity creates barriers for neighbors impacted by crime and law enforcement who wish to communciate their concerns and be represented in the mediation. Clearly, Mayor Rybak was prudent in postponing the first mediation session until these important issues can be addressed. Now he should insist that, for everyone's benefit, the entire process be more transparent. David Lillehaug Downtown attorney _______________________________________ 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
