To the Minneapolis Issues Forum, BTW, the forum at ESNS on the 12th is sponsored by Concerned Citizens of Marshall Terrace. ---- Candidate platform for Margo Ashmore Third Ward City Council
I am running for 3rd Ward City Council as uniquely qualified to represent both North and Northeast. I�ve had a business in Northeast since 1981, and I�ve lived in Northeast since 1989, most of that time in Columbia Park. My businesses are the Northeaster and NorthNews newspapers (we started NorthNews in 1991). I was active in running the papers until 2000, after which I worked as a consultant for various businesses and non-profits. My volunteer and civic involvement has been with commercial associations, organizing celebrations, and working with neighborhood groups on both sides of the river. I am running not only because I want to represent North and Northeast but because I believe I can provide leadership in bridging the gap between. I�ve already worked on one of the key issues that unites us all - the future of our riverfront. I helped design the Citizens Advisory Committee process that will implement the upper river master plan. I am committed to working for an environmentally responsible city - for clean air and water, for clean soil where we have made mistakes in the past...and for responsible pro-environment decisions at all levels of city government. I look forward to working with neighborhood and environmental groups to ensure that our decisions are not short-sighted. On The Arts: It�s no secret that Northeast has become a mecca for artists. We enjoy new businesses and new excitement at our business nodes. We have new ways of building community, and a host of joyful events, from gallery shows to Art-A-Whirl, which I coordinated these last three years. It is not as well-known that artists have, and are, buying homes and creating businesses in NORTH Minneapolis. They are. I will continue supporting artists through the Northside Arts Collective, an organization I helped found. In Northeast, we are implementing the Arts Action Plan that I helped initiate; I will continue as a steward of the plan. The city is about to develop a new cultural plan; I�ll advocate that the Northeast and North arts community take a leadership role. I want the Northeast plan to succeed, and to see the lessons we�ve learned bring life to the City�s cultural plan. On Public safety: An essential factor in strong neighborhoods and healthy commercial corridors, it�s one of my top priorities. As we strive to revitalize Broadway, Lowry, Central and Marshall, we can incorporate design elements that increase public safety. My foresight brought Central Avenue the CPTED project - and I will advocate to bring Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design to all of our commercial corridors. Business district revitalization is one of the areas I understand best. We need to address the complaints of Northside residents that police response is slow or not forthcoming. I want to implement old-fashioned good-government evaluation practices to solve this problem: We need to ensure that the police respond as quickly in the Hawthorne neighborhood as they do in the Holland neighborhood - and indeed, in all our neighborhoods. We need to allocate police resources effectively to make this happen. Residents need to have faith that they can call and report crimes, that they�ll be respected as the information is gathered. My priority will be improving basic city services. On City Management: I will work with the Council, city departments, and MCDA to incorporate a far stronger evaluation process for city government. I�m a business person who is excellent at customer service while managing to the bottom line. For the past three years I�ve been in the nonprofit sector, I�ve been held accountable for stakeholders served as well as quality of service. City government needs to adopt these business practices. We need to know who, how many, and at what cost each and every city program is serving so that we can make responsible budget choices in these times of financial crisis. On Housing: I agree with Joe Selvaggio, that all should be housed in dignity. The infrastructure for doing this on a home by home, person by person basis is here, we need to fund it, without fanfare. On Commercial Development: I recognize that we just don�t have the money to continue major commercial development as we have in the recent past. Again, I will be guided by neighborhoods. It�s time to encourage development without city subsidies - our work with TIF and NRP was supposed to encourage private investment - not to institute public subsidy as the norm for city development. On NRP: We�ve invested in over a decade, we�ve developed a lot of valuable citizen participation and expertise. We need to finish the job. It�s got my vote. On Job Creation: Most new jobs are created by small business. (My small business grew from 1 person to 6 or 7 over the years.) Let�s make various city processes easier for small businesses, because they create jobs and serve the neighborhoods� needs, serve as eyes on the street and provide positive places to gather. I also have direct experience as a volunteer helping small businesses with marketing and financial planning, and look forward to encouraging those who will continue that work. My vision of serving the 3rd Ward includes all residents - those active in the party process, and those who aren�t. Hundreds more citizens attend neighborhood and civic group meetings month after month - I know because I�ve been at many of those meetings for the past 20 years. Thousands more attend no meetings - and I�ve met them covering events at our parks, our high rises and our community celebrations. When I decided to run, it was with this vision in mind: I really believe that the job of a city council member must contribute to the faith, pride, and creativity of the ward�s residents, because our willingness to pull together and make the city great comes from each and every one of us. I know from 20 years of volunteerism that citizens are willing to work hard when they believe the City will do its part. Margo Ashmore Candidate for Third Ward City Council _______________________________________ 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
