Vanessa, Well I'm having a great holiday, thanks for mentioning it.
If I could clarify a few things that I'm assuming that you are not aware of because of being new to the political process. �But they could very well be just your opinion (VF) To say that is two years down the road, is just not really caring about the citizens that "DO" live in the third ward. I do not want the office to sit empty again because, we as "VOTERS" did not think of this when we needed to. JP: Every four years the offices are up for election, and thus have the potential to "sit empty" �Most candidates do not run and announce right before the election that they will run again in 4 years. �Will Olin run again in 2 years, he hasn't said, and just because a candidate lives in the ward doesn't mean that s/he will run again on the next election cycle. �If you want to know so much now, how come you haven't asked Olin. �More importantly, since you feel he is the best candidate, how can you reconcile the fact that he hasn't stated his intentions with your belief of the necessity of knowing this? (VL) This is the problem now, We have many other people telling "US" who to vote for and they don't live here. Like we don't have a brain or reasoning for our own selves. I don't understand this logic. JP: First of all, there's a big difference between voicing your support and "telling "US" who to vote for", but if you really believe this, then I would question why you would support Olin or any endorsed candidate. �The majority of those people making the phone calls, and doorknocking and giving endorsements for endorsed candidates do not live there. �Once one gets the endorsement, then one gets a whole bunch of people who "don't live there" to come in and "tell [YOU] who to vote for. �If you feel this strongly about outsiders, then you may want to consider supporting another candidate, but you'll be hard pressed to find anyone running for office without any support from outside the ward. �As I understand it though, Don's graphic designer, printer and mailing house for his Lit are all minority owned business(es) from the 3rd ward. �That shows a committment to economic development in the 3rd ward. �Can Olin say the same? �Where is the majority of Olin's support and his investment of campaign dollars coming from and going to in this campaign? (VF)List, I lived here since early 90's. I seen things come and go and come and go again. But, I never heard of Don Samuels, and I live right next to Jordan, in Hawthorne to be exact. Also, I lived in Jordan before coming to Hawthorne. JP: Well, I find this ironic since no one that I talked to either at or before the 3rd Ward Convention knew who you were. �Yet you still felt it okay to run. �And outside of political circles, I haven't found many people who know Olin. �For candidates that are the most well known, I think you'd have to look to Shane whom you say the ward doesn't need. If you're going to take this as a prerequisite, again, there are other candidates you could support, but more importantly, it raises the question of why you felt it was okay for you to run. And since you said you'd never heard of him, I'm not sure where you were doing to riots but not only was Don out there, but the Strib and other News media did a stories on him and his efforts. �And seeing as the riot coverage made the national news, it seems strange that anyone living in the ward would not be aware of what was going on and who was involved. (VF)The problem that either Don had only attended a couple of meeting's while on the JACC board is every bit of important to "ME", as this shows "ME" that the priorities were not there to begin with. Even if he disliked what was going on, you still hang in there until changes are made. JP: You know, by this logic, Joe Biernet shouldn't have resigned and people who feel this way should have hung by him until he corrected his behavior. �Obviously (and I'm being ironic here) the 3rd wards priorities were not there to begin with if they didn't just hang in with him. �And a more national example would be that obviously the priorities of people who fought for civil rights weren't there either. �They should have just stuck in there, allowing second class citizenship to continue until changes were made. The way that changes get made such as with civil rights and with Don's work with the community is by thinking outside the box, and finding new ways to do things such as what Don did. �Great social change has always been brought about by people who stepped outside the "normal" way and instead of saying "why" found a new way to achieve the goal. �Otherwise, women will still have no rights, GLBT communities would live under the same oppression they did even 20 years ago, African Americans would still be in bondage, etc. �Change requires authentic voices from the community such as Don to step up and and step out. (VF)and anyone who thinks the DFL is so important as to seek the endorsement, but will not follow the conventions rules, such as Don Samuels and Margo Ashmore. This shows me that you wasted the delegates time. Time they spent away from their families and missing work to show up at the convention. "A BIG KICK IN THE TEETH." Such disrespect.... JP: While this is a bit dramatic, it's also in error. �There is nothing in the convention rules that says that neither Don nor Margo could run. �Both disclosed that they would run regardless of the endorsement. �The delegates, therefore had that information to factor into their decision, and Don still got more votes than you or Margo, and was the only candidate without several friends and family members as delegates to make it pass the first ballot. �That speaks more to how much people feel that his voice is needed. �If you think this is really disrespectful, perhaps you should talk to the delegates who, knowing that he would run anyway, still voted for Don. The bottom line is that no one lives in a vacuum, and you will have "outside" people and voices stepping up because this will affect the whole city and not just the ward. �And there are many people, such as myself, who are so drawn to the strength and compassion and capability of a voice like Don's that they cannot sit idly by, but rather have to support however they can the best choice for the City Council, Don Samuels. Standing WITH Neighbors Who Want an Authentic Community Voice and not MORE of the same old thing. Jonathan Palmer Victory "�w���b��,����� (��� �ǝ +�p8�r�,��̜@ޚ�+ȉ��fz���-�f���&�[&��+�j+�+����m�'���r��x8�z�Z�٨��m���yצ���s*+����
