Too bad Gregory Reinhardt has been moved on. Though I argued with him on
some conclusions from his numbers, it was nice to have those numbers and
someone willing to give his own conclusions rather than those filtered
through the "communication" spin doctoring of the Mayor's official
"Communicator". Though I am sad to see Gregory leave the numbers, I hope his
job will be easier with the first sixty of what will hopefully be at least a
hundred new police officers to help Greg do the job I know he wants to do.
PennBroKeith makes a good point about how effective police collaboration can
be on dealing with crime in a given area. The downtown effort is truly
interesting; more for its "social justice" implications than anything else.
Apparently the Mayor felt that crime was a crises downtown and was willing
to put together those resources and outside help necessary to deal with
crime downtown in the business and "Entertainment Corridor". Successfully
do so while the 26th "Commercial Drug Corridor" in the North, and the
Bloomington Ave. "Commercial Drug Corridor" in the South did not rate such a
response for some reason? Of course those areas are in the heart of
residential areas where poor people live rather than more important
business. I believe this is at the heart of our public safety problem in
Minneapolis. It is a matter of equality. Poor people are not viewed as
being important. As such the imperative of public safety simply does not
apply to them. They are viewed as less than the "Public". The present
Mayor even argued in public debates that there was a decreasing crime
problem and therefor it was fear-mongering to suggest that we needed more
police officers.
That is the Mayor argued that it was fear-mongering until RT's handlers
discovered that a lot of those businesses and folks downtown they were
protecting don't live in the City and can't vote in the City. Now magically
crime and public safety has become the highest priority. Oh, and the chance
to take credit for Pogmiller's efforts at the legislature. It's a bit like
standing around watering your lawn while your neighbors house burns and
telling people isn't this great to have a warmer spring night, then when the
fire truck shows up taking credit for putting it out because you had a hose
on at the time. Those same sixty cops that are now being hired to replace
the two hundred police officers we are short should have been hired early in
the year when anyone with any knowledge of the City could tell we were
dangerously short of police officers and firefighters.
This magic act of the Mayors where he makes no problem magically into the
biggest problem, and unconcern into the highest priority, is sort of like a
smoke and mirrors act. Or should I say a "Smoke & Mayors" act. It is
remindful of what occured with NRP. The Mayor and a couple of Council
cronies work for two years to KILL NRP because they feared the neighborhoods
and residents being politically empowered. They are still attempting to
kill it! After promising full funding for NRP during his first run for
office RT attempted to make NRP magically disappear. Then, at the
Minneapolis convention earlier this year when it was apparent that someone
had seen the rabbit, RT's campaign staff passed out flyers with RT Rybak
taking credit for "MAYOR RYBAK SAVES NRP". Now this was a magic act that
caused outrage by many, and laughter about how Rybak needed a better mirror
with that smoke screen for people to believe it. State Representative Joe
Mullory, the NRP Board Chairperson, was so outraged by this that he said
that if he had known RT was going to lie like that beforehand he (Mullory)
would have given a speech endorsing McLaughlin.
There are ways to fund the police officers the City so desperately needs.
Some creative policing that neighborhood folks and good police offers have
suggested. Ways of creating a friendlier more professional police force.
Ways of attacking the crime problem without attacking our less fortunate who
are often the most victimized by crime. But it takes making public safety
and welfare a real priority in poor neighborhoods also. It takes making it
such a high priority that a Mayor takes a leadership role in doing what ever
is necessary to secure those dollars and those man hours for proper
policing. It takes creating a police force with the morale to do a more
professional job. Not just take credit for someone else's work, but actually
doing the hard work himself.
We do not need a flashy magic act with "Smoke & Mayors" trying to fool us
about public safety. What the City of Minneapolis needs is a Mayor who will
do the hard work to make things happen. We need a mayor who will work for
four years not campaign for four years. I have no doubt that Rybak could
have been a good mayor, unfortunately his appointed staff kept him so busy
campaigning for the next election that he never had time to be a Mayor. RT
Rybak is a great person and IS a great campaigner, but what Minneapolis
needs is a MAYOR. Not "Smoke & Mayors" magic tricks that have no substance
after the television cameras stop rolling!
So now that the Mayor sees that it is "Possible", perhaps he will expend the
effort to go get the resources that Minneapolis needs. Please RT, do not
rely on that staff telling you it is not possible or necessary. For a few
months be the Mayor we all felt you had the promise to be when we worked to
get rid of the "Old Guard". A lot of promises were conveniently forgotten
by your staff as it became the "Old Guard", but for the next few months show
us you can keep at least that "promise".
Jim Graham,
a former Rybak supporter in Ventura Village
"The rarest of gems, with the greatest clarity, and with the
greatest brilliance is not the diamond.
The rarest of all gems is the truth.
Yet as scarce as truth is, the supply has always far
exceeded any demand for it. In fact it may well be the
lest desirable commodity in the Universe.
Ask any politician."
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