That's rather interesting and revealing.The STRIDE website has now been updated with examples of some of the communication coming from taxpayer-funded Smith Parker regarding the Access Project. Particulary interesting is the memo sent by Smith Parker employee Tom Johnson on Phillips Partnership letterhead regarding former PAC member Dave Harstad.
Here's the link:
http://www.stride-mn.org/about-smithparker/taxpayer-funded-bullying.htm
It appears that a vocal opponent of the Access Project has been forced to retract what he said and believes, by his employer because a client of his employer is a strong proponent. Threatening your opponent's ability to make a living is a sure way to quiet them down.
Tom Johnson of SmithParker then appears to go further to twist now watered-down statements of opposition into newly-minted words of support. Somehow Tom's interpretation of a person's position through conversation with a third person hardly gives me confidence that Tom has gotten it right.
Lastly, there's the truly laughable -- or is it ignorant -- statement by Tom Johnson that "the Access Project will not have an impact on 2020 traffic on the east side of I-35W." Hello? No, none, zero, impact on traffic on a street immediately connected to the project? Any competent highway planner will tell you that traffic is systemic -- make one change here, and all kinds of changes ripple down across the system everywhere. But it doesn't take an expert to see that this statement is complete baloney.
I see a fix to this and other problems: Minneapolis should become the City AND County of Minneapolis, and get Hennepin County out of our hair. Next, SmithParker needs to be given a swift kick to the rear, and booted out of government involvement. Lawyers and law firms are a necessary evil in our society, but they are not someone you ask to help when you have lots of alternative choices (and yes, I have friends and associates who are lawyers, most of whom would agree).
Or shall we just stop kidding ourselves about the government of the people, by the people and for the people?
The amount of graft in this case stinks almost as much as that heap of insider telecom baseball over at the Governor's office.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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.)
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