First, I want to thank Craig Cox and his Ballot Box for giving us a rich and interesting commentary on our Minneapolis campaigns. As a Park Board Candidate I was very interested in Superintendent Gurban's reply to the Pearl Park Incident with Jason Stone. >From the Observer: In Ballot Box: Gurban responds to Stone accusations
Go to: <_http://www.mplsobserver.com_ (http://www.mplsobserver.com/) > and click on "Ballot Box" The last two paragraphs of the Gurban response........... "This incident is troubling from a number of perspectives. Not the least of which was that Mr. Stone attended our Board meeting on the previous Wednesday evening. At which we gave a broad overview of what was acceptable behavior during the "political season". Another matter is that he was told repeatedly, by multiple sources that what he was doing was not acceptable. He refused to modify his behavior, perhaps (my speculation) to create an incident to increase his profile. "The type of activity Mr. Stone was engaged in requires a permit. He did not have one. As a candidate he is responsible to know the rules and regulations governing his campaign." I wasn't at Pearl Park but I did watch the broadcast of the last Park Board meeting. What I think I saw was Park staff dictating a policy to the board that candidates can not freely wander about and campaign at festivals and celebrations. One of the primary functions of the Board is to set policy. The Board is dysfunctional if it does not understand its role in determining policy. There was no board vote or discussion of whether this policy was legal or desirable.( Don't they have a lawyer?) And there was no discussion about a permit to distribute literature. (And no written policy?) Requiring politicians to buy a table or booth was discussed but this should be up to the organizers of a particular festival to determine, and really isn't the business of the Park Board. I have organized festivals where there was never any requirement for politicians to be permitted or charged to participate, but as a candidate I have also had to pay fees to campaign at some events. I think lost in all this was some good advice from the District manager about Park Employees not taking sides while they are on duty. The object of the rules should be to encourage use of our parks, even by politicians. Thanks, Scott Vreeland Seward It seems really odd that the broadcast or the web archive of MPRB is the only recorded archive available, there aren't minutes online available for Park Board meetings any more. So apparently to know the rules, it is my responsibility to watch all the archives of web casts which are really hard to search, watch broadcasts or attend the board meetings. 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
