Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________
I have written the following message to StarTrib reporter Tony Kennedy replying to his article citing Jay Benanav and his aide, Jane Prince, as the most traveled of the City Councilmembers and staff over the last seven years. I have for decades been unable to understand the media�s obsession with the travel habits of elected officials. I presume someone tipped the press on this issue to discredit Jay and Jane, two of the hardest-working officials in city government for the last how many years. http://www.startribune.com/viewers/story.php?template=print_a&story=4679690 I believe the Star tribune�s policy of tracking this non-issue needs challenging by all of us. Andy Driscoll Crocus Hill ------ Tony, tell me something. As a journalist, I have never been able to get my arms around the issue of travel by elected officials. Why do you guys hound them on this issue? Jane Prince and Jay Benanav are two of the most responsible public officials I know. And you know. When they say others take a lot of trips at the expense of special interests, they nail it, and it is precisely that issue you should be tracking. But Prince and Benanav aside, why bother? If any elected official has not exceeded their travel budget and, over the last six or seven years, fallen considerably under their allotted expense account � what interest does the newspaper have in making it sound like a taxpayer rip-off? If Benanav wasn�t found to be spending our money on a gambling habit or in brothers or on gold courses, where�s the beef? I�m serious about this as journalistic policy and practice. What is your interest in this non-issue? Only a slow news day would explain this reach for misfeasance � or malfeasance � where none exists. And I need not tell you that I place ethics at the top of my concerns in any government entity. Surely, you people can pursue seriously unethical behavior from which taxpayers are getting it in the neck � like giving away public dollars for private development, including the funding of stadiums and other structures with monies that should be financing schools, human services, public works and infrastructure. Go after that stuff. Go after the power that rich men have in this town that diverts resources to well-heeled corporations while small business struggles to survive. You all really need to rethink this. We live in a regional, national and global environment for governance and business anymore. Well-planned and helpful travel to extract ideas � and convey them � is more critical as going out for dinner with a lobbyist. Find the real issues and report them. Andy Driscoll _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
