Six score and 11 years ago, the State Legislature penned the City Charter for Minneapolis to establish it as the great city it is today. It was purposed to provide the guidance and structure for the constitution governing this municipality. It defined the duties and responsibilities of elected officials and the powers that the citizens agreed to give the local government. Embodied in the spirit of that document was the trust of its citizens for their representatives to bring forth the strength and conviction to ensure a high quality of life for all of its individuals.
One hundred and thirty one years later, many citizens of the City and especially the 3rd Ward are sadly crippled by the manacles of dwindling resources and the chains of unvocalized concerns. One hundred and thirty one years later, the 3rd Ward lives on a lonely island of economic disparity in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred and thirty one years later, the 3rd Ward is caught languishing in the corners of Minneapolitan society and finds itself an exile in its own city. And so this election rises at a time when we face appalling conditions and traumatic choices. A time when budget constraints and societal stress have prevented the actualization of the best for the community. In a sense, this election represents the people of the 3rd Ward coming to the polls to cash a check. When the spirit of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was incorporated into the Charter of the City by its architects, they were signing a promissory note to which every Minneapolitan was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men and women would be guaranteed inalienable rights to ensure a fair quality of life, affordable housing and public safety across the City. It is obvious today that that promissory note has been defaulted on insofar as many of the citizens of the City, and especially those of the 3rd Ward are concerned. Instead of this obligation being honored, we have been given a check that has come back "insufficient funds". But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice and equality is bankrupt in the great vaults of opportunity of this fair City. And so we come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of equality and the security of being heard. We have come to this hallowed spot of the entrusted right of our vote to remind ourselves of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of disregard to the sunlit path of true representation. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity and for the 3rd Ward to lift itself from the quicksands of disparate whispers to the solid rock of an Authentic Community Voice to represent it. We cannot be satisfied with "business as usual" or "more of the same", now is a day to break out of the shelters and shanties of the past and press forward and build a home for ALL of our community in the council chamber seat of the 3rd Ward. So send out the word on Central and Broadway, send out the call on Lowry and California. Sing out to all the neighborhoods in the ward that our opportunity can and will be changed with this vote. That the moment of truth has come. That despite the trials and tribulations before us, we still have a dream... We have a dream that the citizens of the 3rd Ward will elect a tried and TRUE voice of the community to carry, our message, our concerns our issues to the council chambers. We have a dream that we will be able to unite both sides of the river in brother- and sisterhood to work for a better Ward on the whole. We have a dream that a young girl from Jordan can find inspiration in the galleries of Botinneau. We have a dream that a young man in Holland can find a commitment to purpose in Hawthorne. We have a dream that the personal taste and not the personal space will be the deciding factor for individuals on both sides of the river between Lucille's Kitchen and Emily's Deli. With this faith we work together to elect Don Samuels because we believe him to be the agent for this change, the leader for this charge, the Council Member for this Ward. So let our message ring out across the Ward. Let it ring from the Hawthorne to Sheridan, from Near North to St. Anthony West, from Jordan to Bottineau, from the Mississippi River to Broadway Avenue. Let the message ring to elect Don Samuels tomorrow for the good of every citizen, for the best representation, and for the shared interests and common goals of all of the 3rd Ward. Jonathan Palmer in Victory TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ 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
