that if the CIB committee members are being chosen by the Mayor from a pool of folks that come mainly from the district council system, then it is flawed, inequitable and so unfair system and will choose to spend tax dollars on projects that they and their peers perceive as important. And as far as accepting or admitting your own privilege thats between you and your conscience.
Caty (and all):
I'd like to suggest that we be careful about where this topic is going. The original accusation was that the CIB process is "hand picked" by the mayor. Now, the criticism is that the CIB process is greatly influenced by the effects of "white privilage".
These are entirely different points and need to be separated. I don't think that anyone in this forum has said that the CIB process is the best possible system for citizen input or even claimed that minority groups are adequately represented.
The only claims that I have heard are:
#1) That the body is not "hand picked" by the mayor. In fact,
it appears that neighborhoods have a great deal of
influence on who is on it.
#2) That the body is more inclusive than just about any
other political body in the city.Its completely possible for both of these statements to be true AND to still claim that the process if far from "open and inclusive."
Just to summarize. For the sake of clarity, I would suggest that if we proceed with this topic we be clear about which issue we are talking about.
Are we concerned about the Mayor "hand picking" the CIB committee?
OR
Are we talking about racism and the effects of "white privilege" on citizen participation?
If we are to have a productive discussion, its essential that we all be talking about the same thing! I suspect that when Bob said he was "not privileged," he was speaking in terms of "having an 'in' with the mayor," which is far different from saying that he does not have "privilege" in comparison with some of the very poor and disadvantaged communities in our city.
In short, I'm not sure I see disagreement on this issue as much as I see different people talking about completely different things. That's not to say that real disagreement will not emerge as we proceed.
Thanks,
Tim Erickson Hamline Midway
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