I want to take a stab at Tamir's criticism of the new ward plan because I agree with half of it.
Fundamentally, the Redistricting Commission could "conspire" against the Greens if the DFL, Republicans and Independence party reps (two-thirds of the commission, guaranteed by the city charter) decided to. I do think the mess involving Robert Lilligren, Dean Zimmerperson and Gary Schiff was a byproduct of tripartisan collusion - to a point. I do think the Republicans and Independence reps were not unhappy throwing three central-city guys together - the further south councilmembers live, generally the less Green (or Greenish DFL) they will be. Rick Stafford - one of the DFL reps (the council DFLers' choice) is also one of the cleverest operators out there (which is why the DFL majority picked him). I think Rick is so effective he could have prevented Robert switching wards and Gary being thrown into a race with Dean. I would have loved to hear Rick explain to Robert and Gary why this all went down. Perhaps Rick, Robert or Gary could recount that conversation here. That said, if you look on a map, these 3 fine public servants do live pretty close to one another - and the plate tectonics on shifting wards (remember, the 11th Ward just south had to grow the most, and the 6th was one of the big shrinkers) was another key factor in the game of musical chairs. THAT said, Dean Z.'s settlement map showed you could protect all three despite the shifts. I don't think the redrawing of Ward 5 (Johnson Lee's ward) was an attempt to "get" her into a race with Samuels - when the map was drawn, no one knew who he was. The issue with the 5th is whether it should have its current piece of Downtown - which the Commission ended up taking away. But even doing so, they left Johnson Lee with, if anything, a more winnable district. (Remember your history - it was Jackie Cherryhomes who wanted the wealthier, whiter riverfront areas in with the 5th in 1990.) I believe - but cannot prove - that the new 3rd Ward was drawn the way it was to move its center of gravity from the north side to the Nicollet Island-Marcy Homes-St. Anthony East/West area. Perhaps that has the effect of making it less Green-friendly. But that's not the same as trying to screw over the Green Party's Johnson Lee in the 5th. David Brauer Kingfield Redistricting junkie REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
