I don't question Shane Price's intentions, but I do question his tactics. If anything, Price's qualified support for a stadium deal is going to isolate the constituency he wants to help from many of their potential allies. A HUGE majority of voters in Minneapolis said "no" to putting up money for a stadium in every referendum that's been held on this issue. Support for a stadium deal and other corporate welfare programs by Sharon Sayles Belton and Jackie Cherryhomes was certainly an issue in the 2001 elections.
The City of Minneapolis doesn't need to put up money for a stadium to give it the ability to influence hiring practices in the building trades, in other fields of employment, and in the housing market. And I believe it is not in the interests of most Minneapolis residents, especially those of us who have to work for a living, to allow ongoing, illegal discrimination in the employment and housing markets to go unchecked. The city, especially the Minneapolis Community Development Agency and Minneapolis Housing Authority has the clout to enforce fair labor and housing laws quite effectively. The city is simply not using the leverage it has toward that end. -Doug Mann, King Field and the new 8th ward, http://educationright.tripod.com In a message dated 12/20/2002 8:52:33 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > I talked directly with Shane Price regarding his position on the > stadium. My understanding is that is is not particularly in favor of a > stadium and that he would much prefer that our limited public resources > go into different sectors where there are much more pressing needs. > However, he feels that there are strong forces behind the stadium at the > local, county, and state levels and that some type of stadium deal is > likely to go ahead whether he supports it or not. If that is the case, > he wants to make sure that the benefits of this public spending (jobs, > contracts, etc.)are spread around to include historically disadvantaged > groups in the city and the Third Ward. > > While people might disagree on Shane's analysis on the liklihood of the > stadium deal, I don't think his position is unreasonable or something > Green Party members or anti-stadium Third Ward voters should be > overly-concerned about. I do think that the published platform could be > a little more clear about defining the above rationale for his position. > _______________________________________ 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
