With no inkling of criteria used to "endorse" and Insight's obvious
obliviousness to the candidates, or at least their clear disrespect for
them in spelling some of their names wrong, (Louis Birnstein??, Tracy
Norstrom??), how can we take these "endorsements" seriously? Or maybe
the obvious answer is, we shouldn't...?
One other question: Given the number of folks on the list who were
unhappy with the Strib's Park Board calls, I wonder if it is
appropriate to ask the Strib editorial board what their process was,
what the interview questions were (assuming there were interviews), and
what their criteria for endorsement are - for ALL offices? That would
help me understand some of the story...
scott marshall
kingfield
On Nov 3, 2005, at 4:01 PM, Krueger, Rodney wrote:
Insight News Endorsements:
Thursday, November 03, 2005
http://www.insightnews.com/articles.asp?mode=display&articleID=2066
Twin Cities voters are at a crossroads. While differences in
candidates for important local offices may not seem great, we believe
they are appreciable and bear scrutiny and analysis by voters. Having
conducted public policy forum broadcast interviews with those seeking
office in the upcoming election, Insight News endorses the following
candidates based on our observation of the candidates' relationship to
and history with the Twin Cities Black community. These endorsements
reflect our belief that the candidates have a genuine commitment to
empowering our community through a vision and policy of inclusion that
will be evidenced in support for programs that mean growth and
development of Twin Cities Black communities.
Mayor:
For Mayor of Minneapolis, Insight endorses Peter McLaughlin.
McLaughlin is a career politician and a career public servant whose
service brings honor to the art of politics and governance. McLaughlin
ably serves our region as a Hennepin County Commissioner. As Mayor of
Minneapolis, he will provide hands-on, hard-ball management and policy
experience that will advantage the city. McLaughlin was successful at
the county level in creating a hedge against state and federal budget
cuts because of strong and respected ties to state and federal policy
makers, and because on his watch, the county has been effective in
managing taxpayers' money.
City Council:
Insight endorses Don Samuels for Minneapolis 5th Ward City Council.
Samuels continues to articulate a vision for maintaining and growing
our community by encouraging Black business investment and development
on the Northside. Samuels promotes the idea that if Asians have been
supported in their desire to create a business and cultural
destination, University Avenue in St. Paul, and if Latino communities,
have been supported in their desire to establish their cultural
identity as a Lake Street business asset, so too should Black people
expect and gain support for establishing West Broadway as a vibrant
economic gem that incubates, grows, and celebrates businesses that
reflect the strengths of Black culture and identity.
While others may criticize him for being absent from City Hall to
conduct vigils in North Minneapolis to note and mourn the victims of
murder, we say it's about time for someone in City Hall to take Black
life seriously. If every senseless killing were given the attention
and scrutiny Samuels is calling for, even to the point of some other
city business not going forward, because the city feels a duty to fix
the conditions that make murder an option for the hopeless, that
perhaps would be a sign that our city is on the road toward equity and
parity for our community in governance and public life.
Insight endorses Diane Hofstede for Minneapolis 3rd Ward City Council.
Hofstede has been a visionary pioneer in public education and
particularly in stewardship in the Minneapolis Public Library system,
where she has served with distinction as an elected director.
Insight endorses Ralph Remington for 10th Ward City Council. Remington
has done his homework. He is knowledgeable, articulate, capable and an
effective bridge builder. Remington's is a bellwether candidacy,
through which some learning may be gained regarding white voters'
capacity to see beyond race and prejudice which appears here as
"Minnesota Nice", this millennium's reincarnation of the Nixon-Agnew
theology of benign neglect. Remington is the best candidate for the
mostly white 10th Ward and 10th Ward voters should affirm him and
themselves in selecting him.
Insight endorses Elizabeth Glidden for 8th Ward City Council. Glidden
is a civil rights and workers' rights lawyer who has cultivated
progressive coalitions that stand to serve the predominantly Black 8th
ward well. Her opponent, Marie Houser, crossed the ethics line,
damaging her own credibility, by unauthorized representation in
campaign literature of Mary Merrill Anderson as a supporter, even
after it was demanded of her that the literature not be distributed
further. Her continued use of the questionable and possibly illegal
literature shows a callous disregard for Merrill-Anderson, for Black
people, and for voters in general. A commitment to expediency,
especially when it might be deceptive, rather than principle, has no
place in City Hall.
Library Board:
Insight endorses Sheldon Mains, Laura Watterman Wittstock, Alan Hooker
and Rod Krueger for Minneapolis Library Board. Each has demonstrated
clear, expansive visions of how libraries are foundational
underpinnings of successful community life. They understand that
broadened access means access to the business of building and
maintaining the library system, as well as to the rich content held
therein.
Park Board:
Insight endorses Rochelle Berry Graves for an at-large seat on the
Minneapolis Park Board. Insight encourages bullet balloting in Berry
Graves favor. Though voters are asked to vote for up to three
candidates in the citywide seats, a vote for Berry Graves alone
strengthens the likelihood of her election over her competitors. Berry
Graves' voice is a necessary one for the residents of Minneapolis.
Warning: some on the Park Board don't think the big business-like
economics of the Park Board system is something "little people" ought
to be concerned with. However, voters would be wise to prevent old
style back-room dealing that may not serve the public interests in the
long run. Berry Graves is a voice of conscience and of reason that we
can count on to serve our interests.
In Park District contests, we endorse LuAnn Wilcox, Jason Stone, Louis
Birnstein, Traci Norstrom, and Scott Vreeland.
- - - - - - - - - -
Rod Krueger
Nokomis East
http://www.rodkrueger.org
-
-
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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
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E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[email protected]
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