Parks are and should be a place for civic dialog. Mr. Gurban was enforcing no policy I ever heard of in my eight years on the Park Board. I believe a Mr. Stone was well within his rights to be leafleting in the park at the meeting -- as long as he was not being rude or in-the-face of people. The meeting was called to discuss public policy. To tell people that they have no right to be a part of that is totally out of line.
Peace, Dean Zimmermann Mpls City Council - Ward 6 [EMAIL PROTECTED] C: 612-388-1311 W: 612-673-2206 H: 612-724-3888 2200 Clinton Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55404 Surely the most important task for all of us is to leave behind a planet that is fit for our great grandchildren to live on. So all of our personal actions, as well as our political policies, must be tempered with an eye to long term sustainability, not short term profit or expediency -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jason C Stone Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 8:25 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Mpls] Park Board Candidate Considers Legal Action to Protect Freedom of Speech FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Park Board Candidate Considers Legal Action to Protect Freedom of Speech Minneapolis, MN June 9, 2005 -District 5 Park Board Candidate, Jason Stone, reports having been threatened with arrest by Superintendent Jon Gurban of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, for distributing literature in a park. "I came to the park to hand out campaign literature to folks coming out to see the plans for the new Edward Solomon Park. What better place to find people who care about our parks than in a park?" Stone commented. He continued, "Imagine my surprise when Mr. Gurban angrily confronted me telling me I was not allowed to exercise my first amendment right to free speech and that he was going to call the police to stop me from distributing literature." Stone, standing alone outside the park building, started handing out leaflets at 6:25 pm Wednesday evening to area residents coming to a meeting on development plans for the new Edward Solomon Park. He states that after speaking with Gurban, he also spoke with Commissioner Bob Fine and District Manager Eileen Kilpatrick. "I asked all three high ranking park officials if I was acting unlawfully. While Gurban said something about policy, none of them said I was acting unlawfully - so I told Mr. Gurban I respected his perspective and continued handing out literature," Stone said. In the "spirit of cooperation", Stone then moved at least a hundred feet from the recreation center entrance, to a spot on the sidewalk just a couple feet from the parking lot. Three police squad cars arrived simultaneously just five minutes after the original conversation with Gurban. Stone greeted the police and asked if he was acting unlawfully. Stone noted, "The officers respectfully, but forcefully ordered me to stop distributing literature, and said I could not do so on private land. I corrected them, indicating that we were standing on public land. They replied 'sort of', and that I had to stop distributing literature." Stone was further told to remove his name tag reading "Jason Stone, Candidate for Park Board District 5", before entering the park building. Believing he would be arrested if he did not follow the officers' orders, Stone returned the offending literature to his car. Most of the police departed shortly thereafter, while one squad remained behind until Stone left the park entirely. Bill Hood, a neighborhood resident, witnessed what transpired. When contacted for comment, Mr. Hood said, "Mr. Gurban's behavior Wednesday evening at Pearl Park was altogether inappropriate for the event, out of control, hostile toward me watching him and really 'unWirthy' of a Park Superintendent." -more- Stone, an outspoken critic of financial mismanagement, bad process and dysfunctional relationships on the Park Board, says Gurban is upset with his political views on the Board's management of the park system and sought to prevent him from influencing voters. "Literature is distributed in parks all the time. I have first amendment rights that an angry Park Superintendent can not trump." Stone says he has been in touch with the ACLU which has begun investigating the matter. He expects a public apology from the Park Board. "I'm taking action to protect every candidate's right to free speech. This poor judgment, abuse of power, and inappropriate use of Park Police needs to be called out in order to prevent it from happening again," Stone said. "My expectation is that the Board will quickly apologize for the incident, take disciplinary action and develop appropriate policy that protects all citizens' freedom of speech." Jason Stone is a candidate for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. He is working to bring financial responsibility and transparency to the Board. Stone is endorsed by Sierra Club, Democracy for Minnesota, State Representative Keith Ellison and Park Commissioner Vivian Mason. CONTACT INFORMATION: Campaign Contact : Jason Stone (612) 824-2122 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://jasonforparks.com # # # Jason Stone Diamond lake 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 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
