Mayor Rybak is supposed to cancel this fundraiser because it the subject of a news item and a Doug Grow column? I don't see how that is relevant to anything!
People elected to public office need to raise money for their campaigns. That include DFL, Republican, Independence, Independent and Green candidates. There is no public financing of mayoral campaigns in Minnesota and Mayor Rybak does not have the personal wealth to self fund his campaign. There may come a time when things are different (see Terrell Brown's excellent post on this subject) but that time isn't here yet. As to the "campaign promise", well he did say that he wasn't going to do fundraising between campaigns. However, I remember another elected official, one who many of us (myself included) loved and admired who said during his race for the U.S. Senate that he would only accept two terms in office. Sen. Paul Wellstone took quite a beating from many Republicans and conservatives when he decided to seek a third term; they said that he had broken a "campaign promise" and that he was an "insult" or it was an "unforgivable violation of the public trust" or that he was "a bald faced liar". To those of us who knew him, it was none of the above. The man changed his mind and many of us were overjoyed that he did! Sometimes candidate say things because they want to see something happen (or not happen) and make "promises" or pledges that they cannot possibly keep. Sometimes circumstances change. Sometimes, they just promise or pledge too much. Sometimes, they change their minds. Sometimes, new information comes to light. Sometimes, they admit they were wrong for making the promise in the first place. Sometimes they were wrong and don't admit it. I don't know for sure which of these best describes Mayor Rybak in this case. I am more puzzled by the claim of Ms. Hastings that he has broken "another" campaign promise. I did a cursory look and could find no other "campaign promises" that Mayor Rybak has broken. He is still only halfway through his term and seems to be addressing everything that he talked about during his campaign. There seems to be a lot of animosity in some of the posts towards Sam and Sylvia Kaplan. Fact is, they have been generous contributors and fundraisers for many DFL and progressive candidates and causes. Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 7:50 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Mayor Rybak's fundraiser -- he needs to cancel it. I was talking with a friend last night about our surprise that Mayor Rybak has not cancelled his fundraiser at the Kaplan's. We figured that the two article in the Strib...and the clear fact that he has broken another campaign promise would result in his advisors coaching him to cancel. It would be the smart thing to do. Many of the people voted into the City Council and the Mayor's office are there not due to a great faith in their ability to govern. People were just fed up with SSB and the others that displayed no particular concern for what the common folks thought or needed. So, the tolerance for further displays of arrogance is low. And it does seem arrogant to be called on a another broken campaign promise and not take steps to rectify that situation. Instead (per Doug Grow) the Mayor is upset that he was called on this behavior. So, guess I will brush off my winter warm gear and ready myself for standing outside the Gated Community the Kaplan's call home on New Years Eve. Margaret Hastings-Mpls-Kingfield 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 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
