http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2002/07/08/news/export4374.txt
Brian Rice's law firm, Rice, Michels & Johnson, got $439,000 in 2001 from
the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board for contract legal work as
general counsel and lobbyist.
Rice gave as well as received. He, his wife, his law firm and its members
gave more than $5,000 to candidates in the 2001 Park Board races, campaign
finance records show. Two groups that Rice represents as a lobbyist, the
Minneapolis Police Relief Association and the Minneapolis Fire Relief
Association, contributed another $3,600 to Park Board races. In addition to
his donations, Rice said he helped organize a fundraisers for Park Board
candidates.
Because Park Board campaign war chests are relatively small, with most
raising under $10,000 in 2001, a few large contributions go a long way.
Six of nine sitting Park Board members received 13 percent or more of their
2001 fundraising from Rice and his connections. One, Ed Solomon, received
40 percent of his fundraising from Rice's group.
***********snip*********************
Park Board president Bob Fine wonders why Rice's contract is getting extra
scrutiny, saying Rice's donations are no different than those made by
political action committees and other interested parties in City Council
and other local races.
Rice said it is "the community standard" for law firms to contribute to
political races. "I am happy to contribute to them," he said.
He stands on his record, Rice said, noting he recently won a court case
that tried to block the Park Board's development of the Fort Snelling
athletic complex -- complete with lights and bleachers.
When John Belfry looked into the contributions and saw connections between
Rice's law firm and a group that rents space from the Park Board in the
former superintendent's house -- a group Belfry said has a sweetheart rent
deal -- he got suspicious.
EY: Mark Ritchie told me that the Institutute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy also bid to rent the Wirth house - and bid significantly higher than
Gurban's organization.
Interestingly enough during the park board forum a few weeks back, there
was some disagreement over whether asking Park Board staff for financial
information was "micromanagement". Some of those running said this was
micromanaging, and others felt Park Board members doing due diligence
should get that information. Rochelle Berry Graves was outspoken on this
issue - that asking for financial information was not micromanaging.
Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lloydletta's Nooz
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
Dump Michele Bachmann
http://dumpbachmann.blogspot.com
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759,
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/1381.html
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