Brian: thank you for providing the links. I had
wondered what other districts were affected by the
redistricting policy, since the election only focused
on the 3d {and 5th} Ward.
Which leads to my next point: I greatly appreciate the
news and views I've heard on this forum. News about
Mpls. is virtually nonexistent up here, and Twin
Cities about the 3d Ward race has been minimal
compared to what this list provides.
Because I'm not connected to the issues like you guys
are, I am going into a lurk mode for the rest of the
campaign. It's not enough to say "I like this
candidate" without offering a list of concrete
reasons. My support of Don Samuels is based on
personal reasons, and though people may scoff at those
reasons, I'd like to share them anyway.
When my husband and I looked for our first house in
Mpls. in 1988, we found a restored Victorian house in
the paper for $40,000. Convinced it was a misprint, we
called the realtor and drove out to see the house. It
was a beautiful house, all right, on Hillside Av. in
north Mpls. Admittedly, we were scared off by the
neighborhood and continued our search, ending up a
little further north in Folwell, where we stayed for
11 years.
The fact that Don Samuels wasn't scared off by
Hillside--in fact, he may be living in the house that
we looked at--to me shows a commitment to hunkering
down, spreading roots, and making a difference.
People have asked if being present at a riot qualifies
someone to be CM. That reason alone, no. But that is
the reason why Don Samuels caught my attention. People
from disenfranchised neighborhoods usually don't wind
up at City Hall. I had mentioned earlier that Don's is
an important voice to hear, as is Natalie
Johnson-Lee's. {It's a shame that they would be
battling for the same job if Samuels wins.}
Which leads me to my final point: while I appreciate
the news and views on this list, I am mystified by the
anger expressed by Olin Moore's supporters. What is
the reason for that anger? That Don Samuels is
running? That ANYONE is running? Should the preferred
scenario be the DFL endorsee against a Republican
candidate against all other third parties? The anger
over "bucking the endorsement" reminds me of Ari
Fleischer's anger when someone dares to criticize GW.
I don't know Olin Moore, but I would think that he
would welcome any and all comers.
Susan Maricle
wishing everyone a Happy New Year
from Bruno MN
.
--- "Melendez, Brian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> For the redistricting process generally, the
> Geographic Information
> Systems office--which the Minnesota Legislature
> established as "the
> repository of statewide boundary information for
> legislative use"--maintains
> a great website with information about federal,
> state, and local
> redistricting at
>
http://www.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/gis/html/redis-list.html.
> The
> "Redistricting 2000" guide gives a good conceptual
> overview.
>
> For Minneapolis redistricting, the City
> Clerk's website furnishes some
> information at
> http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/redistricting/. The
> redistricting webpage gives a brief overview of the
> process, and links to
> the Minneapolis redistricting plan (with a
> statistical breakdown at
>
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/redistricting/20020430planstats.asp).
>
>
> _______________________________________
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