I suggest that it is no different, and that, if placed in proper perspective, it all reeks of corruption - labor unions and landowners alike, all of whom benefit from the cozy relationships and influence no other citizen could possibly enjoy. No public figure should be held immune from scrutiny when such conditions ignore the public interest and taint transactions when deciding where public resources will be expended.
These are the arrangements that cynically and persistently unravel the fabric of public trust, thread by thread, until nothing is left of our sense of control, our belief in self-governance. And democracy cannot sustain itself when one the one hand the public is unable to have faith in its elected officers and on the other those officers betray them day in and day out, year after year by succumbing to the seductive siren of power and money and walk away from their constituents. Of course, Stenglein has a financial interest. It may not be formal, but all signs point to a political and economic benefit for him and his wealthy landowner friends. If the editorial page ignores this in its long odyssey in quest of new stadia for professional sports (and in direct contravention of their overall social priorities for other public duty), they will betray themselves as the hypocrites these officeholders and developers have shown themselves to be. And the Dan Dobsons best know that St. Paul's political, business and labor triad are the beneficiaries awaiting - and pushed for the collapse of the Hennepin County deal for the same reasons. And that includes a rankled Pioneer Press - another self-serving critic of a publicly funded stadium in this town. Any time those forces conspire to redirect public dollars and other resources into the already wealthy pockets and purses of private individuals, corruption is afoot. The question is this: do enough responsible people give a damn? Andy Driscoll Saint Paul -- The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men: Plato "Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity." - Lord Acton -- > From: "David Brauer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 14:58:05 -0500 > To: <[email protected]> > Subject: [Mpls] Stenglein and Lambrecht > > Just for the moment, let's assume that, as Mark Stenglein has claimed, > there's no financial interest between him and Bruce Lambrecht, part-owner of > the stadium land. (*) > > That would leave us with these points from Mike Kazuba's excellent piece: > 1. Lambrecht was a key Stenglein campaign advisor. > 2. Stenglein leased campaign office space from Lambrecht. > 3. A Stenglein aide took an unpaid leave to work Lambrecht, then came back. > 4. Stenglein's campaign manager, after the election, lobbied for Lambrecht. > > My question: > How is this different from, say, local candidates who have union officials > as key advisors, who may have leased space from unions, whose aides cycle > between unions and the halls of government, and whose campaign managers are > union employees on leave, or who end up taking union organizing jobs after > the race? > > I'm not trying to pick on unions - they're just the commonest similar > paradigm I can think of. Are our standards elevated because the ballpark is > the issue, or is there something different about the Stenglein-Lambrecht > ties? > > (*) - not taking a position on whether there should be further investigation > of direct financial ties, but Kazuba's piece contained no evidence that > there was, thus my assumption, for discussion purposes. > > David Brauer > Kingfield 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
