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St. Paul E-Democracy - A Citizen Info Network
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(tried to send this earlier today from a different e-mail address, and it got stuck for moderator approval. As I went to re-send it from the right address, I thought of some more to write. Now as I go to send, the first one came through, so please disregard it.)
I am on District 10, so I can answer some questions, but every council can do some things differently. For example, as far as I understand, District 10 is the only council in Saint Paul which allows community votes on hot-button issues. This requires members (residents and business owners in the district) to register three business days or more before they intend to vote for the first time (no renewal is necessary-- you're then registered until you move or remove yourself from the list). I don't know if any registration is tracked in other districts.
In most districts, simply being willing to serve is enough to get elected, as we never have enough people. You're elected in District 10 by community vote when you are nominated or nominate yourself. Other districts may have only council vote. There have been periods when district councils had more help than they needed and the elections really meant something, but it really is more of a formality-- if you're willing to give some time and get a better handle on the way things work, it's easy to get on the council. In my experience, probably about 25% make it more than a year. Many people volunteer/run with good intentions, but then real life butts in, they feel guilty that they don't perceive themselves as "doing" anything to contribute, and they resign. That's OK, but it's too bad, too.
There is a list of District Councils at http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/residents/districtcouncils.html
District 5 is listed there, which answers many of your questions. Some still don't have web sites, but most do.
The district councils are independent of the City, 501c3 non-profit organizations, which means meetings must be public, and agendas and minutes, etc., must be published and available. It also means they have their own by-laws and can set many of their own rules regarding voting, termss, etc.
A major issue before all the district councils in Saint Paul is fighting for funding and therefore therefore their very survival. The money put up by the city for our DC is roughly what another city employee would cost them. However, it gets office space, phone lines, a newsletter, and a full-time Community Organizer (who is wonderful), and it is the instrument through which hundreds (if not thousands) of volunteer hours are organized each year in the form of council members and neighbors giving their time for a wide variety of projects and neighborhood cleanups, etc. So I think the DCs are definitely worth the city's money, if they are properly run... and that's the rub. Some of the DCs have screwed it up for the rest of us.
That's all I have time for, perhaps someone else has info... T
Tony Schaps Como
Is there anyone on this forum who knows anything about the district council? I've read most of that long exchange Tim Erickson posted a link to for last year's DC discussion. I didn't get out of it some questions I would like to have answered, which are:
1. How do you get elected? 2. How/where/by when do you sign up? 3. Who votes for you? 4. What are the requirements? (residency? Criminal record? Etc.) 5. Where does the district council meet? 6. Are non-members allowed to attend? 7. Do they publish an agenda? 8. Who is currently on the council for District 5? 9. What are the issues currently before them? 10. How long is the term of election?
Mary Baker East Side
(and here I thought I was the only one on this forum who was politically ignorant!)
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