I attended the DFL convention and was struck by how
civil people from opposing camps were to each other. I
think both Coleman and Ortega set the tone for this
early on. Neither really criticized the other
throughout the campaign. As a matter of fact, I was a
bit disappointed that there wasn't more of an
examination of the candidates' actual records.
Having said that, one incident did bother me. During
George Latimer's speech nominating Coleman, he
mentioned something to the effect that we need a mayor
who is comfortable and able to interact in corporate
boardrooms. There are certainly innocuous ways to
interpret a statement like this but, personally, I and
a number of other people around me (I was an Ortega
supporter) found it somewhat offensive. Was it
implying that an Hispanic mayor would be less able to
deal with businessmen on behalf of the city than would
a nonhispanic, white mayor?
Whatever Latimer was trying to say, I think, should
have been phrased more clearly to avoid the reaction
that I and others had to it.
Charlie Swope
Ward 1
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