Natalie Johnson Lee has some TV ads. They give absolutely no information
about the candidate and where they stand, but is just a song "Vote for
Natalie" with photos of Natalie Johnson Lee.
I have decided to vote for Don Samuels on Tuesday. I had concerns about
both candidates. I've always liked Samuels message about personal
responsibility. I've thought his vigils were grandstanding.
Don Samuels is a democrat, but he made the effort during both of his
campaigns to reach out to Log Cabin Republicans. He stopped by one of our
meetings in 2003, and he came to our fundraiser a few weeks ago. I
appreciate the Democratic politicians who make an effort to reach beyond
the partisan democratic base in Minneapolis. Samuels was very impressive
when he was a guest on David Strom's show on the Patriot.
I've heard from NJL supporters that part of the reason to vote against Don,
is that voting for Don would be bringing Jackie Cherryhomes back to city
hall. I don't agree with this. While I felt Jackie Cherryhomes deserved
to be defeated 4 years ago, the reason was that she was part of the
irresponsible fiscal management of the city - not the venomous bile that
was directed towards her. Jackie Cherryhomes did host a fundraiser for Don
Samuels.
Margaret Martin (David Strom's wife) from Ourhouse blog describes a visit
from Natalie Johnson Lee's husband, Travis:
http://www.ourhouseblog.com/?m=20051015
The things Travis told Margaret Martin were similar to the things he told
me. I did verify from another council member that Don Samuels does have a
low attendance record - and that is something I hope he works on during the
next council.
Ken Avidor has a piece on Lloydletta about Dean Zimmermann's claim that
Heathrow Airport is in Scotland:
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com/2005/11/heathrow-in-scotland-by-ken-avidor.html
Fellow Green Party office-holder
<http://pulsetc.com/article.php?sid=1056>Annie Young once voiced dismay
over Dean's obsessive PRT collaboration with right-wing Republicans like
Mark Olson:
"Zimmermanns party, the Green Party, is however, apparently distancing
itself from Zimmermann." Annie Young of the party said, This is not a
Green Party issue; this is Deans project. Im concerned about his
relationship to Taxi 2000, and about the time hes spending on the project
and whether hes meeting the needs of the people in his ward. There are
potentially some good things that could come from it, and I see what the
point is but Im not sure the timing is right. There are also a lot of
questions about it, like why are the Republicans so interested in it? There
are a lot of good alternatives that we should be working on, and there are
so many transportation needs to be addressed. Im just not sure this is the
best one."
Zimmermann's eagerness to work with anti-transit, pro-highway,
right-wingers confirms what some critics including myself have said that
Zimmermann is anti-LRT, anti-transit and pro-highway himself. Zimmermann
did not get the Sierra Club endorsement this year mainly because of his
many anti-transit statements. Zimmermann's promotion of PRT has consumed a
<http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2005-October/046256.html>large share
of his first term in office. Zimmermann has even traveled to suburbs to
promote his PRT plan.
Unfortunately, the FBI raid on Zimmermann's house has dominated the 6th
Ward campaign. Zimmermann has gotten a lot of sympathy from well-meaning
people who feel that Zimmermann is being "persecuted". The investigation
has allowed Zimmermann to avoid explaining his support for PRT and his
anti-transit rhetoric. For much of his campaign, Zimmermann has been
uncharacteristically quiet about PRT.
Dean Zimmermann's campaign has just released a
<http://votedeanzimmermann.org/news.php?action=fullnews&id=56>position
paper on transportation that repeats the standard anti-transit
disinformation that PRT proponents repeat on their web sites and in their
pamphlets:
"Light rail is great, but costly to build. And buses well, as a friend of
Deans says: I believe in mass transituntil then Ill take the bus.
Weve done better in the past, the street car system was really good, but
we need practical, lower-cost alternatives for the future."
"Council Member Dean Zimmermann advocates for PRTPersonal Rapid Transit.
Like a car, it goes where you want, is available when you want it, and is
as private as you want it to be. Unlike motor vehicles it doesnt burn gas
and it doesnt add pollution to our urban air.
"And its not some pipe dream Council Member Dean Zimmermann cooked up.
Just this month, Heathrow Airport in Scotland signed a contract to build a
PRT system using a technology developed in Wales."
Besides misstating where Heathrow Airport is, the Zimmermann campaign
states that there is a contract to build PRT at Heathrow. The British
Airport Authority announced only a "agreement for the development" of the
ATS "ULTra system "dependent on agreed milestones being achieved." This is
hardly a "contract to
build."
There is a lot to suggest that ATS's Ultra is not PRT, but an Automated
People-Mover (APM) similar to an existing system called FROG. FROG is far
from being a technological breakthrough... it runs on batteries and has a
top speed of 12.5 MPH. I have the details about PRT in Heathrow and Dubai
on the <http://www.roadkillbill.com/PRT-NEWS.html>PRT Skeptic Web site.
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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