I have to agree with Mark Snyder on this one. Let me begin by saying that I am supporting neither Rybak nor McLaughlin (though if I were to support a Democrat, I think I would be in the McLaughlin camp). Instead I am supporting Farheen Hakeem for a plethora of reasons...she's radical, she's feminist, she has excellent position statements, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum.
But back to the issue at hand. I worked for a couple years at YouthLink, which is the largest provider of services to homeless youth around these parts. And while Rybak was no majorette in terms of his support of homeless youth issues, he was informed and was accessible when the agency had issues and concerns. For example, our agency was one of those that were a bit upset when MnDOT pulled their shenanigans with the bars beneath bridges. When that first escapade took place it was laid squarely at the feet of R.T., who was in fact not in support of the placement of those same impediments to dry sleeping spaces. I think it is a stretch to say that Rybak was anti-homeless or not in support of homelessness issues. I also wouldn't try and paint the guy as an ardent homeless advocate. McLaughlin, however, I would describe as a strong advocate for homeless young people. He made regular appearances at YouthLink during special events, and he supported Commissioner Dorfman when she would go to bat for homeless youth services at the county level (particularly when Comm. Opat was attempting to yank all funding for homeless youth services). I personally think Gail should be canonized a living saint of homeless youth. Now the real question is this: how much of Peter's support of the homeless can simply be attributed to the fact that it is the COUNTY and not the CITY that provides 99.9% of services to the homeless. Quite simply, Peter has had exponentially more opportunity to provide leadership around homelessness issues than has had RT due to services jurisdiction. The city does provide financial support to organizations that work to fight and/or alleviate homelessness, which, can be attributed to RT and the City Council. Tricky tricky isn't it. In the end, of course, Farheen would be a tireless advocate for homeless individuals and would work jointly with the county to create a cooperative working environment wherein services between the two could be better coordinated. She would address the criminalization of the homeless, which in my opinion is OUT OF CONTROL in this city, and she would push for more state dollars to address the root causes of homelessness (contrary to what many conservatives would have you think, I have yet to meet one of the 800 homeless youth that sleep on the city streets each night that is homeless because it's cool and hip and they would rather sleep on the street that in the safety of a home with the love and support of family). And, Farheen would encourage more and better partnerships between private philanthropic sources, public funding streams, and public and private organizations to do the work to eliminate homelessness period in this fair hamlet of ours. -Brandon Lacy Campos -Loring Park 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
