While I generally approve of citizen referenda, especially those related to relatively objective (e.g. funding) issues rather than subjective (e.g. constitutional) policies, in retrospect, I do not approve of all the referenda proposed by the city of Minneapolis in the past decade. In 1996, approximately 70% of Minneapolis voters (including myself) voted against public stadium financing, and probably felt more empowered by our referendum votes than by any votes we cast for city offices. (For the record, I�m not a proponent of either the fiction of representative government or of �direct democracy,� with its ever-weak link of majority rule: instead, legislation directed at individual citizens should be minimal and designed to encourage liberty and responsibility.) However, the votes I cast for the Minneapolis library and school (�keep class sizes small�) referenda are two that, in retrospect, leave me with very mixed feelings. Had I known the city cannot afford a new library even with referendum funding, I may have voted against it even though the demolished central library was outgrown and architecturally regrettable. Minneapolis voters approved the smaller-classes referendum, but within a year we were told class sizes might increase anyway due to unforeseen funding problems, with an end result of �larger classes, more taxes.� Minneapolis�s recent library and school referenda have not made me disapprove of referenda overall, but have made me question the wisdom and foresight of specific referenda. Before including a referendum on a ballot, public officials need to research funding issues carefully.
I�m always surprised when contributors to this and the Minnesota Issues Forum write �let elected officials do their jobs.� Citizenship consists of more than casting a ballot every 2-4 years. Many politicians seem to care about their constituents only during election years, and then they often don�t show their true colors (e.g. SSB and Mayor Rybak). Elected officials� �jobs� are to listen to their constituents, make decisions in the public interest, and, yes, to sometimes defer decisions to voters. * * * Although Minneapolis Public Schools obviously have more pressing problems, I would like to comment on the Urban Ventures issue. The most commonsense approach for MPS to take is to allow only school-sponsored and Park Board activities to recruit students in schools. Even when parents research their children�s activities, this is not foolproof. How many parents expected sexual abuse when they sent their children to classes at the Children�s Theatre Company in the 1980s? If I recall correctly, Minneapolis had a �help-keep-kids-off-drugs� program in the 1990s that was actually a front for a drug dealer. Parents generally know what to expect when sending children to the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Jewish Community Center, and YMCA/YWCA, but if an organization is neither well-known nor direct about its religious affiliation, families can be easily mislead. Any credible organization with a religious affiliation will be honest about the matter. Anything else may be a cult. Roberta M. Beach Minneapolis Ward 7, Precinct 5 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
