[Winona Online Democracy]
Ouch.
Guess I asked the wrong question this morning.
;->
Seriously though.
And people wonder why more local elected officials don't take part in Winona
Online Democracy, and those that do, have almost always left.
Is it "wiser" and safer to avoid these discussion groups and say nothing at
all?
Look at what happens when you take part in them.
How many times has Bob Sebo said a County Commissioner has not "demonstrated
a real agenda?" How many other County Commissioners have ever taken part in
this listserve? What is the lesson other elected officials might take away
from all this? Should they take part in discussion groups like this or not?
Would you?
I'm a strong believer in real and robust public discourse as opposed to the
shallow and insipid sound bite ad campaigns that most of our campaigns have
devolved into.
I also try to have a thick skin.
It would be easy to shut up and close up but I hope my gravestone will never
read that I walked away from a good or important discussion. People may not
always agree with me but I sure hope they know where I'm coming from.
In the hope that we can rise above the blog standards...
======
About the "Gang Green" blog.
I do not know Mark Knapp very well but here is what I know. Mark is a very
intelligent person. Many years ago we talked a few times. He left
Minnesota a few years ago because he thought Greens in Minnesota were not
good or pure enough for him. He now lives in Oregon. I'm not sure if he
has even ever been to Winona. Still, he raises some valid points that
should be responded to. I'm sorry for what will probably become a long
e-mail. I know some (many?) people think I write too much.
1. When I was elected to serve on the County Board in 2002, I came to
represent the 49,827 citizens of Winona County, NOT the agenda of the Green
Party.
2. Once you are elected and you sit in the hot seat, you have to move
beyond simple slogans and a simple black and white universe. You have to be
extra careful to base your decisions on facts and what is most fair.
Sometimes that even means disagreeing with some close friends and
supporters. It isn't easy to do but it's important to do.
3. Big farms are not always the problem. The pictures that Mark Knapp
showed in his blog web page are not from Winona County and are no where near
the size of the hog feedlots in our area. They are misleading pictures.
There are also misleading descriptions of local farmers on the web page.
Greg Smith and Chris Sauers are not corporate farmers. Truth be told, many
of the problems with our water and soil also come from small and medium
sized farmers. Another big problem are those failing septic systems from
people who like to live in the country but who don't want to smell farms. I
was the fourth generation born to my family's dairy farm. As a young boy I
watched the family farm go broke and get torn apart. I saw my father and
grandfather watch the top soil they worked on for many years get dug up so
people could build $300,000 houses on nice rural 5-8 acre lots. Trust me, I
want to help small and medium sizes farmers survive. But it's not the few
big farms with a lot of regulations and restrictions placed upon them who
are the source of all the problems. Some people like to create nameless and
faceless boogey men to scare people (like other politicians do at the
national and international levels) so they then can reduce complex problems
into simple bad guys. Our water and soil problems in Winona County are way
more complex than any simple slogan could solve.
3. People like Mark Knapp give all third parties a bad name. The more I
serve, the less partisan and more independent I become. When you serve, you
have to be much more pragmatic. You need to work with people where they
are, not where you want them to be. I wonder if Mark Knapp has ever served
in any kind of elected office.
======
About Bob Sebo's comments.
Bob said I have not "demonstrated a real agenda."
Maybe that is accurate. I will grant him that possibility.
Bob, help me understand though what a "real agenda" looks like.
Could you please name another County Commissioner or other local elected
official who has "demonstrated a real agenda" in your eyes?
Here is what I have tried to help do.
I have tried, albeit not always successfully, to work with others to
implement projects like these:
1. Local Government Summit
2. Combined Local Land Planning
3. Getting Winona on the front edge of Renewable Energy Development
4. Increasing open and honest discourse about local events
5. Not following the crowd when it comes to out-of-state conferences, per
diems, elected official salaries, term limits, etc..
And there are other smaller things.
That is my record.
I will readily admit I'm not perfect but I'm trying my best.
Sorry for the long response.
"I may not agree with what you have to say but I will defend with my life
your right to say it."
-- Paraphrasing Voltaire
Dwayne Voegeli
Sept. 25, 2006
=====================
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Sebo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 4:26 PM
Subject: [Winona] Should I Do It?
[Winona Online Democracy]
OK...here goes
Commissioner Voegli has matured over the years in a very positive
way...and
I (Bob swallows had) agree with Linda Fort when she says he is voting the
law.
But Dwayne hasnt demonstrated a real agenda for me during his time as a
commissioner...and he has alienated the small number of Greens...he loses
to
Pomeroy I think.
That would make for two new members on the county board in 2007.
Bob Sebo
Winona
=========================
[Winona Online Democracy]
Jim Galewski wrote:
Let's see ... What can we talk about? Surely we can come up
with a tangible issue.
Here's something to consider. The only elected Green on the County
Commission supports large-scale livestock confinement operations --
casting the deciding vote on two permits less than a year apart.
Ecological wisdom? BETRAYAL is the more accurate description.
Representing the antithesis of the green worldview, the local
Chamber of Commerce recently chirped, "Good call Commissioner!"
http://www.knappster.org/gangrene.html
Mark Knapp
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