On Apr 19, 2005, at 12:47 PM, Pamela Taylor wrote:
List Members,
I would like to go on record as saying that IMHO the upcoming 8th Ward forum is an outright slap in the face to all DFLers.
This invite is cleverly worded, inviting the delegates to come, but I feel that the true intent is to welcome ALL DFLers in the 8th Ward, delegate or not, to hear only the candidates that these two newspapers want you to hear.
Hey, clever wording is what we do!
Seriously, here's the deal: Ed & I thought it would be a good idea to try to bring the two sides of the highway together for a series of civic forums. The first stage of the 8th Ward winnowing process is the April 30 DFL convention. That's why we're focused on candidates seeking the DFL endorsement at this point.
Frankly, Ed originally suggested limiting the forum to DFL candidates, and I thought it better to invite everyone. But when the total candidate pool swelled to nine (!), I saw the wisdom of his focus.
It's practical, not ideological: as anyone who's attended a multi-candidate forum knows, there's a number beyond which the whole thing becomes unwieldy. I can't tell you exactly what that number is, but I'm pretty sure nine is a heckuva lot.
So we created the two-forum process. We'd limit the April debate to DFL hopefuls facing off at the April 30 convention, and have a second forum in August or September for everyone who remains.
We are inviting all members of the public to the forum because there's no practical reason to limit the audience. The reason all candidates are invited to the last half-hour is because it's open, informal time where people can mill around and talk to each other. It would be ridiculous to exclude anyone, including non-DFL candidates, from that.
Anyway, these things take work, so I hope the budding onlist controversy at least drives some more folks to the debate. If not, there's another one in August or September.
David Brauer Kingfield Editor, SW Journal & Skyway News
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