How about a two tier system? One tier has one representative per county, which would limit the effect of Hennepin and Ramsey counties, or give more weight to the wholly suburban counties (with Hennepin being torn between urban and suburban interests). And another based more on population, which would be skewed to Hennepin County (and in particular Minneapolis) and Ramsey (which is mostly St Paul).
My understanding on the rest of the country is that our Met Council is looked to as a model for regional planning. Another question is does the scope of the Met Council need to expand, in other words should it include more counties in which there is growth occuring that is really a part of the metropolitan area. Josh Kroll Minneapolis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Searles" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 9:18 PM Subject: [TCMetro] Elect Met Council? There are several messages on the Minneapolis list advocating the election, not appointment, of the Met Council. Once you get past the considerable rhetoric, they do bring up an interesting question. Would we be better off if a.) The Met Council was elected? b.) The Met Council continues to be appointed? c.) The Met Council is disbanded and its duties are passes backed to the existing layers of government. The way I see it a.) Minneapolis and St. Paul would always be in control. Never a good thing for the rest of the Metro area. b.) More volatility every 4-8 years, but at least the pendulum swings back and forth. c.) Not a bad idea. I wonder how many other urban areas around the country have an equivalent council. Throw our your ideas. Tom Searles Waconia, Twp. _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day. _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
