Group may sue to force 2003 city elections By Bob Gilbert
Some Minneapolis residents are considering suing the city to hold a City Council election this fall rather than in 2005. Lynnhurst resident Mark Kaplan, a councilmember in the late 1970s, feels the city neglected its constitutional obligations when the 13-member council ran for four-year terms in 2001 but did not use redrawn ward boundaries based on the 2000 census. Currently, councilmembers will serve until January 2006 in wards based on the 1990 census. Because ward populations have diverged greatly since then -- the south-side 6th Ward gained 14.8 percent more people while the southwest 13th Ward lost 4.4 percent -- Kaplan said the current wards violate the "one man, one vote" principle. In the city's '71, '81 and '91 elections, redistricting was done immediately after the census, Kaplan said. The threatened suit is the second the city faces. Councilmembers Natalie Johnson Lee (5th Ward) and Dean Zimmermann (6th Ward) are backing a suit to overturn the 2005 map; they are not seeking early elections. A suit to force early elections emerged after the recent legislative session, where a bill sponsored by Minneapolis Rep. Phyllis Kahn failed to pass the DFL-controlled Senate. Kahn's bill would have apportioned wards based on the 2000 census, held elections this November, and made all current councilmembers at-large. A majority of city councilmembers opposed her bill, Kahn said. Now, she wants the issue settled in federal court. Noting that the future 8th Ward now has no councilmember living in it -- while two councilmembers live in the future 9th -- Kahn thinks some areas effectively have no representation as councilmembers position themselves for reelection. "Why is this important?" she asked rhetorically. "Because there is a whole chunk of people that feel they do not have any representation in the city." Councilmember Robert Lilligren -- who now serves the 8th Ward but lives in the new 6th, said Kahn is wrong. In a letter to Southwest Journal's sibling publication, Skyway News, Lilligren wrote, "I do plan on running for the 6th Ward council seat in 2005... [but] I have sworn an oath to represent the 8th Ward to the best of my abilities, and I take that very seriously. I believe that the best way to prepare for my run for 6th Ward seat in 2005 is by working hard and doing my best in my current, beloved ward." http://www.swjournal.com/display/inn_news/news06.txt Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- __________________________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ 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
