Commissioner Hauser has an incumbent's cross to bear and the same can be said of Commissioner Kummer. Four years of going along with the other commissioners who have created such an alarming and bullying atmosphere on the Minneapolis Park Board is pretty hard to explain away. I was musing about terminology the other day and finally looked up the word "oligarchy" to refresh my memory. Sure enough: Yourdictionary.com explains the term as "Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families". Does this shoe fit? A negative connotation comes readily to mind and not just in the context of abuse of process on the Park Board itself. Others have done a sterling job in describing shoddy practices in the exercise of that Board's functions and the larger-than-life steering that emanates from senior management staff. Tunnel vision about DeLaSalle's ambitions is also easily observed and one may hope that persons of Rip Rapson's caliber will find a reasonable resolution to that contretemps.
I've earlier expressed reservations about Commissioner Hauser's desire to have one "Last Hurrah" in seeking advancement to the City Council seat in Ward 8, noting that her agreeable temperament may stand in the way of the hard moments of decision that routinely confront our city council. To this I must add more than a little concern about the episode of the Hauser campaign literature that expropriated the images of two others running for office without their permission. Ah, yes, and the match-up of Commissioner Kummer's image with that the Ward 12 incumbent - done with permission, granted, but giving Commissioner Kummer the opportunity to bask in the reflected glory of a DFL endorsement she was unable to achieve on her own merits. We are in fact governed by a few individuals. That's the Faustian bargain we make as a practical reality. But it's reasonable to expect high standards of public behavior and that's where incumbency becomes more than a matter of atmospherics. Don't listen to what is said so much as watch closely to what is done! Fred Markus, Phillips West Measure twice and cut once. 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
