I am not happy with the choices we have in the 8th ward, but of the two
I think Elizabeth Glidden is the better choice.
Marie Hauser has not been very vigilant as a member of the MPRB.
+ she did not take care of either East Phillips Park or Peavey Park,
both of which are in her district, both of which are essential to
healthy kids in the neighborhoods surrounding them. She voted against
Annie Young's proposal, but had no suggestions either on how to improve
the proposal or a counter proposal to put forward. Inexcusable.
+ her vote for the Crown Hydro plan was not a vote I would have expected
from our park district representative, particularly in light of the
fragility of St. Anthony Falls and in light of how little energy would
be produced.
+ her insistence on devoting park land to De La Salle High School I
could not agree with, but beyond the vote, she wrote letters to Roman
Catholics she knows to contact the park board in support of DLS getting
the go ahead. That was low. She was the second MPRB member who is trying
to frame the issue with religion, Dzeidzic being the first to talk about
"a lot of Catholics," to support his and Marie's position on this issue.
That DLS is a Catholic school is immaterial; that DLS is a private
entity is germane.
+ Using Mary Merrill Anderson's photo without permission seemed like a
harmless enough mistake when I first heard of it. However, the more I
think about it, the more I understand it as an insult to African
American culture >in this ward,< even though it may not have been done
intentionally. Hauser has lived in Central for some 30 years, she should
have been able to pick up on the basics by now. I have real trouble with
people who ignore the obvious. If she can't pick up on cultural norms in
the center of the ward where she lives, she'll be less than helpful in
city hall.
Glidden isn't the candidate I wanted to have as a choice either, though
I think she could be a good CM. I cannot see a good fit, yet, but that
could be my blindside.
Even though Glidden will listen to people east of the freeway, that
she'll hear what's being said to her is another question entirely. While
she can point to interactions with the Somali culture, that certainly
does not suffice to deal with Latinos and African Americans. I think she
does know how to work across class lines, however.
We haven't really had a CM to call our own since Mr. Herron, so whoever
wins, that one will have to take the reins of a ward that has changed
drastically with the redistricting. During the coming election cycle
especially, the heavy lifting will fall to the CM who will have to be
able to build bridges. It will also fall on this CM to bring out the
democrats for elections. Glidden, I think, has the better grasp of
what's required of the CM in those areas
The issue of the Access Project is still up in the air. At the caucus,
Glidden supported a no build position, Hauser supported building. I'm
not a one issue voter, but I think the cost of gasoline, heating oil,
and every thing else which gets here on tires will have more to say
about what gets built than Minneapolis CMs.
WizardMarks, Central
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