Jim Graham: I believe the "paucity of participation" argument is being trotted out once again in an attempt to justify limiting that actual participation. How does consolidating several neighborhoods into a "regional approach" increase participation? Such an effort would, by its very nature, limit that participation. . . . Wouldn't such logic then suggest that combining all the City Council functions of all Metro Cities into a "Regional" entity would also increase citizen participation? . . . Such logic would also suggest that combining all small neighborhood retailers into a few regional Wal-Mart's will also increase shopping choices for Minneapolis residents.
Me: Actually, that's not the logic I used in my question. The question about consolidating, regionalizing into districts, etc., has more to do with how to deal with limited financial resources than with increasing participation (or decreasing participation, if that is your conclusion). After all, would it not be a good idea to have one office and its infrastructure shared by three neighborhood groups--e.g., Powderhorn Park, Corcoran, and/or one other? Along those lines, I don't see the logic that combining resources leads to less participation, nor does it negate the continued existence of neighborhood groups. It just emphasizes, if not requires, collaboration among existing entities, a requirement necessitated by lack of money. Again, I'm not trotting out a general 'paucity of participation' argument. The question I ask along those lines relates solely to the part of NRP that has done poorly: increasing participation among tenants and people of color. Confusing that participation with overall participation in the program, to me, ignores the precise issue. I ask my questions to prompt reasoned and calm discussion on these things, without the rhetoric that people are under attack or others are pretending to be superior. Believe me, I'm not trying to attack anyone, demean a group or leader, or act 'intellectually superior' other than to ask, perhaps, some good questions that deserve some thought. Let's hope we have a discussion along those lines. Gregory Luce Project 504 Residing in St. Paul 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
