----------------------------------------------- St Paul Issues Forum - Election 2005 Archive and info at: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/election-2005 -----------------------------------------------
ENDORSEMENT OF RAFAEL ORTEGA, by ROY MAGNUSON
I began supporting Rafael because I had the opportunity to screen him for labor endorsement in the 2000 Congressional race and was impressed with him. Since then I have been impressed with the county board's willingness to act contrary to common political wisdom and dare to increase the tax levy at close to the level of inflation in order to provide services. I am enough of a geek to know that that is not easy to do, even at the so-called invisible level of the county. I also have been impressed with the way that the county quantifies what it does, so that when challenged, they can say, we provide this, and this; for this; and in the past we have achieved the following efficiencies and improved this; and are falling behind in this because of this. Rafael has stood up for the concept that we have an obligation to provide public services, and he has stood up for the people who are the service providers.
Recently, I have spent a great deal of time with Rafael and my personal opinion of him has grown. He is sincere - what you see is what you get - he 'remembers his roots,' He has both a compelling personal story and the ability to run the city (he has already run the County). More importantly, Rafael can be the public face of the city. As Saint Paul evolves, having Rafael as our spokesperson will benefit Saint Paul.
----------------------------------------------- St Paul Issues Forum - Election 2005 Archive and info at: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/election-2005 -----------------------------------------------
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