>>Again, my apologies for being employed, paying taxes, etc..- I take it you want me
>to quit my job and go on the dole so I can attend all these forums? <<<
Dyna,
How is it that you seem to be drawing conclusions from unrelated statements. Mark
said that HE couldn't speak to Don's familiarity with the issues and you stated that
perhaps [Don] was avoiding all issues besides crime because he isn't familiar with
them. Mark said that Olin seemed like he didn't want to be at the forum and didn't
seem to be offering any new solutions for the 3rd Ward issues and you said that this
is because Olin is into "theatrics" and people should look to Don and Shane for that
type of thing. I said, since you couldn't be at the forums let me enlighten you and
you took it to, should I quit my job?
No quitting your job isn't the answer, but being informed is. There are a lot of
people who have to work the "messy" jobs at odd hours, but they also take time to
investigate the candidates, check out their information, talk to people etc. when
they're interested in making an informed decision. If you get sold on your candidate
right off, then you don't have to do that, but if you want to present a logical
argument about why s/he is the best candidate or compare them to others, then it is
imperative to investigate the other candidates, especially if you're going to make
statements about what they do and don't know.
You say Olin's the best, then stick with him, and more power to you. But, your logic
behind not knowing Don or thinking he's as good was that you don't know where he
stands on the issue and didn't have substantial lit and haven't seen his platform on
this list. Well, I have the little 8 1/2 x 11 yellow sheet of paper from Olin he was
presenting at the Convention and also have yet to see his platform either on that or
on the list either. And since you said it was the Green Party's job to persuade the
voters that theirs is the better candidate, shouldn't the same hold true for the DFL?
Shouldn't Olin's campaign be doing the same thing that you're asking for from the
Price and Samuels campaign? And while I agree that candidates should be out
presenting their platform to the public, isn't also every concerned voters
responsibility to find out as much as they can about each candidate so that they can
make the best choice?
I think everyone should support who they think is the best person for they job. But I
think a part of that is really knowing the other candidates. You've asserted Olin's
experience in Sabo's office as being part of what puts him above the rest, and while
that is good, at the first candidate forum when questioned about how they would deal
with a $50M cut from the state in funding, Olin's answer was that because of his
connections and experience, he would go and lobby the state for more money for the
City. So his solution to dealing with a cut from the state is to go ask them for more
money? That seems a bit unrealistic if not self-important. The rest of the City
Council and the Mayor would have to suck up the cut, but Olin would be able to get the
job done where all of these others would fail? If he's got that much clout, why is he
only running for the 3rd ward seat, and doesn't that negate the argument that he's not
a political insider.
I'm not Don or his campaign manager, but I like him and I'm supporting him because of
a number of reasons. Don is an immigrant and his a deep understanding of the
particular challenges that this presents and because of the increasing immigrant
population and focus in the City, that's an important experience to have in your
campaign box, I don't know anything Olin brings to compare to that. Don's been a
single parent and raised a son and now he and his wife are raising their two
daughters. That says to me that he has experience and understanding of family needs
and issues, especially those specific to single parents. I don't know anything Olin
brings to compare to that.
Don has worked in both the public and private sector in significant roles, and thus
brings a balanced understanding of both public and private sector concerns to the
table and the different methodologies need to work with both as well as the management
experience needed in the City. I know Olin's got significant public experience, but
I'm not aware of any significant private experience or anything else that brings that
balance. I've seen Olin's support as primarily the diehard DFL party folk, which in
and of itself is worthwhile because those are generally people who care enough to get
involved, but I see Don's support of his neighbors and community members as well as
diehard political people. The majority of the people in the ward are not diehards or
party hacks, so for me that says a lot that Don's been able to mobilize people who
aren't normally in this. It says that he's gone beyond the diehard few that always
support a candidate and brought in the average person, the man on the street, the
woman in the community, the people who make up the vast majority of ward.
That says something to me.
Everyone should support who they think is the best candidate, but we should all also
take a look at the other candidates really, before saying what they are and are not
doing. Ask the tough questions, but be consistent in our ethics, don't demand
something of another candidate that we would no demand of our own. There's a lot of
good people running, and each one of them brings something different to the table.
Not necessarily better or worse, but possibly a better fit for the ward than the
others. That's what the voters get to decide, and anyone advocating for a candidate
should, in my opinion, be spending more time talking about what their candidate brings
than what the others don't. Otherwise you are simply settling for the lesser of all
evils, and that is the last thing that the 3rd ward or any district needs.
Jonathan Palmer
Victory
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