A little out of context here...I replied to Scott's post which asked the
question
who won?....to which I made my reply. No one won ..this is not a label..
nor would I use one. I thought everyone did a great job and truely enjoyed
the process otherwise I would not have wasted my time with a post to tell
everyone to try and attend a forum. There is one at Washburn today at 2:00
Dorie Rae Gallagher/nokomis
dorie wrote No one really won since they all spoke with knowledge and heart
with
some being better in oratories than others.
And in a somewhat related thread, Dean Carlson responded to a Minneapolis
Observer article which claimed that "No one, however, seemed to have an
answer to the system's ongoing budget crisis, beyond sending a more
city-friendly governor to St. Paul in 2007" when he wrote:
This is the most important issue facing the library system
and 13 potential libary candidates didn't seem to have any answer?!?
I'm sorry but a more city-friendly governor is NOT going to magically
fix the library funding crisis.
My response:
All my fellow candidates truly have heart-felt passions for the reasons
they are running. Some are running because their employment with the
library system has been threatened or terminated due to the draconian
budget cu
However, I hope those who attend or read about the forums (not debates)
will be careful about using labels such as "winners" and "losers". In my
humble opinion, all these candidates, by the very nature of putting their
neck on line and facing the incredible personal costs in terms of time and
finances, are "winners" because they are voters with a wealth of choices.
As a result, Minneapolis will be the ultimate winner.
Let us also remember that given the number of candidates and the
time-limitations placed on candidates to answer complex questions is most
often 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Further, due to the structure necessary to
conduct these forums, not all candidates are afforded the opportunity to
answer the same questions that some other candidates are asked. All this
adds up to, at times, an inability to adequately provide specific or
detailed answers to complex questions. Candidates are often forced into
sound bites when what we truly want is to lay out our ideas and plans
before a buzzer sounds or voters' eyes glaze over. This is why it is so
important for voters to take the time to speak to candidates before and
after forums, when the come to your front door, and even when they are
standing in line at the grocery store.
Lastly, to my friend, Park Board candidate Scott Vreeland's comments about
never seeing a library board candidate with a book (good-naturedly
inferring that we may not be readers of literature), I ask that he and
others visit my website <alanhooker.com> and click on "Alan's Faves &
Raves". There is a list of not only books I have read and treasured, but
my favorite music and film and artists whose works can be found in
Minneapolis libraries. I'm sure Scott knows that libraries are much more
than just books. Just as parks are more than only trees and grass.
Alan Hooker
Victory Neighborhood
Candidate for Minneapolis Library Board
DFL / Labor Endorsed
www.alanhooker.com
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