I was at a city council candidate's house party last evening and learned that the planning department is in for some reinforcements in the next budget. Good. That takes away one of my major criticisms of the mayor's administration provided that there is much broader communication between CPED and the city's neighborhoods. I have long advocated breveting junior planners to functional groups of neighborhoods as away of cutting staff overhead in so many individual neighborhoods. While the budget apparently keeps city personnel in city hall - not always the most attentive listening post - beefing up the planning department is a good beginning. I also hope that relations between Miller's NRP agency and CPED can be collaborative, not adversarial.
A second major criticism of R.T.'s administration in my eyes is that the Mayor has been very good at reaching out away from city hall but not very easily met within city hall thanks to a palace guard that routinely turns citizens away when they have arrived in response to the Mayor's "come visit me" remarks. Of course the mayor of a big city needs flak-catchers, but there should be known titles, routine channels, and a much less breezy approach to mayoral invites to "come on down". And there's no overlooking the structural disinterest the Mayor has shown to the bodies that have negotiated about police-community relations and strategized about homelessness remedies. R.T. doesn't have to hang out in these meetings, but surely his subordinates could show their faces and their respect for these efforts. This is the tough part of runnning a city and I can't accept such systemic indifference as appropriate mayoral behavior. Other than that, well, yes, R.T. is the genuine article. So is Peter. I've supported Peter because our inner-ring neighborhoods need genuine advocacy, not lip service. There are entirely too many examples of class advantages - the well-off run the place and the lesser mortals take what they can get. We often see the city government entirely too cosy with developers whose deep pockets necessarily demand respect but ought not connote servile acquiescence. Smart governance sometimes requires "just say no" and sometimes that should be expressed by the city's chief executive, weak mayor system notwithstanding. Gotta keep those foxes out of the henhouse, folks! Fred Markus, Phillips West 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
