I believe if Mark read many of those posts he would find that I have been
very, very critical of the City Council that has allowed the deterioration
of the City. Plain and simple we do not have adequate leadership of the
City. The Council bears a great deal of the fault because in a "Strong
Council" system they should be in a leadership role. Unfortunately, the
Mayor' staff seems to be the ones doing the leading. Mark is correct in at
least ONE aspect of his criticism the Council bears tremendous fault for
allowing the Mayor to get away with dragging them around by the nose. Can
anyone imagine Alice Rainville, or Tony Scallon allowing what has gone on.
To the Council's credit they did not allow Rybak to successfully use his one
veto while in office to support that criminal Basim Sabri. Though he and a
couple of Council Members tried.
The Mayor also is the "face" of the City and has dictated the action while
in the role in cutting back the public safety sector; both Firefighters and
Police. The Mayor's office is also "Executive Branch". That means the
execution of policy. Many of the real problems of the present
administration is that they have taken sound public policy and ideas totally
screwed them up.
The problem with "StormwaterGate" is not the original idea and policy, the
problem is one of execution. The policy has been stupidly carried out;
unless the intent was to create a regressive hidden tax upon poor people in
neighborhoods with high numbers of rental units. I will leave it to the
reader to decide which is worse, stupid execution or evil intent. I had
taken the high road and defined it as just inept leadership.
Another important reason I pick out the Mayor is because of the blame I
might share for having been one of those "suckers" who believed so strongly
in the "promise" that I not only supported the Mayor when he ran for office,
but for having worked for him and talked others into supporting the Mayor.
Some of them have bitterly reminded me of that over the last couple of
years. However, I can not be blamed for having supported any of the present
City Council Members.
Forgive me if I bring up the failed promise and promises that RT Rybak
represents. I remember having a fight with that "Property Rights" group
when some of them attacked the Mayor a year after he was elected for not
fulfilling his promises. I asked that Rybak be given two years to implement
the changes to make a better City. When accused of just being an Rybak
friend and supporter I promised that if RT Rybak proved to be untrue that I
would be leading in that criticism and effort to get a new Mayor. When
after two years I realized RT was not going in the right direction on
Police, NRP and other issues I prodded him "On List" that it was not to late
to become that Mayor he promised but that he was running out of time. That
it was not to late to be what he could have become. Unfortunately RT was
too busy having fun acting like a Mayor, rather than BEING that promised
Mayor.
Unfortunately we failed to assure early on that RT made the appointments
necessary to be the Mayor he could have been. By doing so WE are to blame
for RT not being the Mayor we wanted. RT Rybak, perhaps unfortunately,
really cares about people, and really wants to please everyone. RT is a
really good guy! Unfortunately he is so busy pleasing who ever is with him
at the time that he forgets commitments to others. And unfortunately those
close to him most of the time is that dismal staff he so unwisely appointed
in the beginning.
I have to admit in the last few weeks with another election looming (on NRP
and police hiring) RT has started acting like that Mayor he promised to be.
I just wish he had done so three years ago. I can't trust that to continue
because four years ago, before his first election, RT also made promises. It
is just to risky for someone engaging in the "risky behavior" of living in
the inner-city of Minneapolis
Jim Graham,
former RT supporter from Ventura Village
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