I just got home from the Mayoral forum hosted by the DFL Progressive Caucus and the Urban League. It was very interesting but more on that in a second.
Eva Young wrote: > I assume Rybak did not make an abide by DFL > endorsement pledge this time. Did McLaughlin make > that pledge? Commissioner McLaughlin stated tonight that he will abide by the DFL endorsement for mayor. I assume he made the same promise to Stonewall DFL. Tamir Nolley wrote > Further more, Comissioner McLaughlin's Law-and-Order focused campaign > which attempts to eliminate police accountability (barely achieved, > desperatly needed,) is extrememly dishonorable. I find this comment very unrepresentative of the commissioner's position. >From my understanding of McLaughlin's position, he is very interested in police accountability. His "law and order" focused campaign and you put it, is an attempt to bring the rising crime rate in Minneapolis back under control. This does not necessarily that he is going to eliminate police accountability. To the contrary - commissioner McLaughlin's entire political career has been about building coalitions and bringing people together. I believe that, if elected mayor, commissioner McLaughlin would be in a position to do more in the area of police accountability, while reducing the crime rate, than RT will be. Now back to the candidate forum. I am as of yet undecided in the mayoral race, I will attend my caucus, and I hope to be a delegate to the city convention. One of my main issues is the topic of environmental justice (and environmental protection in general). I asked a question of both candidates about what they will do to address environmental justice if elected mayor. I was more impressed with Commissioner McLaughlin's answer than RT's. RT spoke elequently about some of the successes of the past 4 years. And I agree that he has done great things for the city's environment (e.g. funding for more tree planting, conversion of the Riverside power plant to natural gas...) but his answer was weak about what he would champion in the next four years. Commissioner McLaughlin on the other hand, spoke about the need to clean up polluted sites in poor neighborhoods, about not allowing polluting industries to move into poor neighborhoods, and about the need to raise the economic situation of all neighborhoods in the city. He spoke about how by developing diverse housing stock, by developing the local job market, and by improving city schools, we will develop strong neighborhoods that will have the voice and power to oppose the relocation or expansion of polluting industries. This is just one of the issues that was discussed tonight. Does anyone else that was there have insight on other issues? Randall Cutting Seward REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
