Park Board and Library Board endorsements
Nov. 8th, 2005 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomikritzerI spent the last couple of hours clicking through candidate statements and websites, trying to figure out who the heck to vote for tomorrow. For any Minneapolis procrastinators on my friends list, my suggestions are below the fold.
Library Board
I have decided that I strongly (if belatedly) support Alan Hooker and Sheldon Mains. Mains in particular understands the complexity of the financial problems; both have ideas for solutions that are more workable than "we'll tell the state legislature that they need to give us our Local Government Aid money back." (I agree that they should, but this is totally out of the Library Board's hands.) Hooker also has a sense of humor. His website is cool.
I also support Rod Krueger and Samantha Smart. Krueger has a wide range of endorsements. Smart led the fundraising to keep Nokomis Library open more hours. I like her passion and energy and ability to inspire involvement in others.
(One of my frustrations with library fundraising -- back when the budget was first slashed, someone figured out that if everyone in Minneapolis donated just $11 or some similarly small amount, that would make up for the budget cuts. Which is great and all, but there was no way that EVERYONE in the city was going to donate that, and to be blunt, I'm not willing to throw money at the library's general fund. In this respect, I am very selfish: if I donate money, I want it to go towards keeping my branch library open more hours. Since a lot of people are selfish this way, I wish that they had done a better job of targeting the fundraising in that particular way, because I think a hell of a lot more people would have donated money.)
We get to vote for six people, and I have two more people on my list, but my reasons for picking them over the other strong contendors were so frivolous I'm embarrassed to tell you who they are. It would be easier if more people put substantive stuff on their websites. I pretty much ruled out all the candidates without websites. That's a basic tool of communication these days; if you can't be bothered to put one up, I have grave doubts about your ability to be a decent public servant, frankly. (I decided a long time ago to vote for Jason Stone for Park Board simply because, when Kummer was appointed, it was an absurdly long time before she got an e-mail address.
Park Board
For my district seat, I'm voting for Jason Stone. For the at-large seats, I'm voting for Meg Forney, Tom Nordyke, and Rochelle Barry Graves. I was really impressed by the detailed, specific information available on Meg Forney's website -- most candidates try to stick to vague generalities, and she embraced specificity. Tom Nordyke has a lot of experience as a fundraiser and was endorsed by a ton of people. Rochelle Barry Graves, hmmm. She's endorsed by Minneapolis Citizens for Park Board Reform, which I think is a good thing, and by the Sierra Club, which is definitely a good thing. However, I will admit that I also like Annie Young. If you're letting me pick your candidates for you, though, definitely vote for Meg Forney.
The Big Races
I am voting for R.T. Rybak for Mayor and Kevin McDonald for City Council. The mayor and council races have gotten pretty good coverage, though; unless you've been hiding in a hole for the last six months, you probably already know who you're voting for there.
Library Board
I have decided that I strongly (if belatedly) support Alan Hooker and Sheldon Mains. Mains in particular understands the complexity of the financial problems; both have ideas for solutions that are more workable than "we'll tell the state legislature that they need to give us our Local Government Aid money back." (I agree that they should, but this is totally out of the Library Board's hands.) Hooker also has a sense of humor. His website is cool.
I also support Rod Krueger and Samantha Smart. Krueger has a wide range of endorsements. Smart led the fundraising to keep Nokomis Library open more hours. I like her passion and energy and ability to inspire involvement in others.
(One of my frustrations with library fundraising -- back when the budget was first slashed, someone figured out that if everyone in Minneapolis donated just $11 or some similarly small amount, that would make up for the budget cuts. Which is great and all, but there was no way that EVERYONE in the city was going to donate that, and to be blunt, I'm not willing to throw money at the library's general fund. In this respect, I am very selfish: if I donate money, I want it to go towards keeping my branch library open more hours. Since a lot of people are selfish this way, I wish that they had done a better job of targeting the fundraising in that particular way, because I think a hell of a lot more people would have donated money.)
We get to vote for six people, and I have two more people on my list, but my reasons for picking them over the other strong contendors were so frivolous I'm embarrassed to tell you who they are. It would be easier if more people put substantive stuff on their websites. I pretty much ruled out all the candidates without websites. That's a basic tool of communication these days; if you can't be bothered to put one up, I have grave doubts about your ability to be a decent public servant, frankly. (I decided a long time ago to vote for Jason Stone for Park Board simply because, when Kummer was appointed, it was an absurdly long time before she got an e-mail address.
Park Board
For my district seat, I'm voting for Jason Stone. For the at-large seats, I'm voting for Meg Forney, Tom Nordyke, and Rochelle Barry Graves. I was really impressed by the detailed, specific information available on Meg Forney's website -- most candidates try to stick to vague generalities, and she embraced specificity. Tom Nordyke has a lot of experience as a fundraiser and was endorsed by a ton of people. Rochelle Barry Graves, hmmm. She's endorsed by Minneapolis Citizens for Park Board Reform, which I think is a good thing, and by the Sierra Club, which is definitely a good thing. However, I will admit that I also like Annie Young. If you're letting me pick your candidates for you, though, definitely vote for Meg Forney.
The Big Races
I am voting for R.T. Rybak for Mayor and Kevin McDonald for City Council. The mayor and council races have gotten pretty good coverage, though; unless you've been hiding in a hole for the last six months, you probably already know who you're voting for there.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 12:54 pm (UTC)$12 to save the libraries
Date: 2005-11-08 06:16 pm (UTC)I've thought of running highways on the public broadcasting model, except with no government money. That is: Every now and then, there's a fund drive -- and traffic doesn't move till the goal has been reached.
Re: $12 to save the libraries
Date: 2005-11-08 08:08 pm (UTC)And your highway model is hilarious. Personally, I'm okay with paying taxes to cover the cost of things like roads and schools and libraries, but the "let's do roads on the public broadcasting model!" is a great suggestion to throw out the next time I run into someone who thinks that the bus system ought to be turning a profit.
Re: $12 to save the libraries
Date: 2005-11-08 10:18 pm (UTC)