ENDORSEMENT OF RAFAEL ORTEGA, BY MIKE HAUBRICH
I have been on the sidelines for many years, watching the mayoral races, city council races and even the presidential races.� I was proud of myself that I have voted in every single election, but last year I finally realized how important it is to involve myself more deeply in the political process.� I attended rallies, I wrote articles, I was a delegate at conventions, I doorknocked and I phonebanked.� I did more than I had before, because I discovered my passion for service to the community that has done so much for me.
I got to know my neighbors better than I had before.� I grew to love my city, the city I have adopted and lived in for 13 years.� I met Rafael Ortega, and then I learned that his commitment to this city goes way back, back to when he first moved here.� I learned that he understood for many years the things that I was just now picking up on.� He learned that the best way to improve people's lives was through the local government structure, to put his ideas into action and to stay close to the people he is working for.� Who is he working for?� He is working for us, for all of us.
He has proven through his work on the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, the Itasca Project, as Executive Director of CLUES (Chicanos-Latinos en Servicio) and his work on the Spanish Speaking Affairs Council (now Chicano Latino Affairs Council) that he has the executive leadership skills that St. Paul needs to move out of the rut we have been in for the last 12 years.� He demonstrated his dedication to the neighborhoods of St. Paul by working with various groups to keep the Ford Bridge open during its renovation.
He is a progressive, with a strong business sense.� He believes that sinking money into a baseball stadium is a dangerous way to try to attract business to St. Paul.� We have other priorities that we need to take care of first.� We need to strengthen our education sytem,� we need to link up with the region in mass transit, we need to protect our neighborhoods and recreation opportunities and once we do that, once we show our commitment to quality of life in St. Paul, then we will attract good jobs and enterpreneurial businesses.� At that point we can take another look at a stadium, but not now.� The danger of relying on major league sports for revitalization has been demonstrated this year by the hockey strike.
I ask all of you to join us.� We are the Hmong, we are the Somalis, we are the Whites, we are the African-Americans, we are the Latinos.� We are St. Paul, and we can united behind Rafael to move us into the 21st Century.
-Mike Haubrich
The author is the Treasurer of the St. Paul DFL Party
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