New ward boundaries would pit Johnson Lee against Samuels By: . . Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Originally posted 3/5/2003
Proposed state legislation would force early special election; Mayor Rybak and others oppose bill on grounds of cost, harm to communities of color By Isaac Peterson III Staff Writer Is DFL Representative Phyllis Kahn�s motivation in pressing for a special election in Minneapolis the principle of one person-one vote? Or is it a politically inspired purge? Is what is lawful always what is right? These and other questions have been raised by communities of color, and more recently by members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee, in a February 26 hearing held at the State Capitol on House Bill 67. A City of Minneapolis Charter Commission had previously addressed the redistricting of Minneapolis wards after the 2000 Census. The redistricting plan drawn up by the Commission left many unhappy, and has resulted in a lawsuit by Minneapolis City Council Member Natalie Johnson Lee and others. The suit recounts many improper actions taken by the Commission and is asking the court to rule the redistricting plan null and void. The redistricting plan would force Johnson Lee to run for her seat against the only other African American on the city council, Don Samuels. Samuels won the February 3 election to represent the Third Ward, but u nder the new ward boundaries Samuels would reside in Ward Five along with Johnson Lee. http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=23571&sID=4 Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- _______________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup Meet Singles http://corp.mail.com/lavalife 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
