City elections November 3
You wouldn't know it by the stillness in the air, but there's going to be a City Election on Nov. 3 to elect a mayor, City Council members, Park Board commissioners and two members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (B. E. T.). There's also a proposal on the ballot to eliminate the B. E. T. There was no Primary Election in September because there will be instant runoff voting in the general election next month. That, combined with the decision of the Star Tribune to only screen and endorse candidates in races where there is no incumbent, will probably mean we should have the lowest voter turnout for a municipal election in the city's history. Nobody knows and nobody cares. It is as though a large blanket has settled over the city smothering any voices of dissent. It would be amazing if any incumbent were defeated. With the exception of Dave Bicking offering a spirited challenge to Gary Schiff in the 9th Ward, the election isn't a race at all-it's a slow walk.
There is a proposed change to the City Charter on the ballot that would eliminate the Board of Estimate and Taxation and replace it with the City Council subject to the powers and duties of the mayor. It's a proposal dreamed up by Rybak and the City Council to virtually eliminate the Park Board.
They tried to eliminate the Park Board with a Charter amendment earlier this year, but the Charter Commission (which is mostly appointed by
the mayor and the City Council) wouldn't go for it. This amendment is a little sneakier. It doesn't really eliminate the Park Board, it just lets the City Council and the mayor veto their budget, and the power of the purse is the power behind the throne.
The mayor has been quite outspoken in trying to eliminate independent boards. His and the City Council's representatives on the B. E. T. voted to deny the Minneapolis Library Board the power to raise additional money through a mill levy and the result was that the library system got taken over by the county. Carol Becker, the incumbent at-large member of the B. E. T., was one of the few to resist Rybak's move and support additional funding for the libraries. There are two at-large seats and Phil Willkie, well-known local progressive, is running for one of them. He says, "Vote for Carol first, but I would appreciate it if you'd vote for me next.
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Comments
Response to Felien - Corrections
Mr. Felien has some of his facts wrong. Mayor Rybak actually asked the Charter Commission, which is appointed by the Chief Judge of the Hennepin County District Court, not to approve a charter amendment to get rid of the Park Board. In a letter to the Charter Commission Rybak, Council President Barbara Johnson and Park Board Chair Tom Nordyke, asked the Charter Commission to let the Council and Park Board “study” the issue and see if they could find ways to cooperate to better serve the City. After the Charter Commission decided not to include and amendment on the Park Board it was Nordyke who in bad faith pursued another charter amendment to separate the Park Board from the City completely. A judge ruled that this could not be accomplished by Charter Amendment and this item is not on the ballot.
A reasonable question is: Why the City Council should not evaluate all of the city needs and budget accordingly? Should parks be in a separate league from plowing and policing, and get a special cheerleader? It might be better to have a Mayor elected citywide and 13 Council members representing their own districts decide on these priorities instead of unknown Board of Estimate members and a Park Board representative whose only concern is parks.
In 2005 the mayor received 43.198 votes and the sitting Council members got 44,758 votes. The top Board of Estimate vote getter got 31,858 votes. Folks call their Council Members and hold them accountable. Who even knows the Board of Estimate members, much less their position on funding anything? Under the current system the levy is set by the Mayor (Rybak), Council President (Johnson), Council Chair of the Ways and Means Committee (Ostrow), Park Board Representative (Fine) and two Board of Estimate Members (Becker and Schwimmer). That means 11 Council Members are not even part of the process. Is your district represented in setting the levy?
Minneapolis is the only system with this archaic system of setting the levy. Aren’t there a lot of other cities with wonderful parks? Wouldn’t any Council Member want to support superior parks along with other important city services? This is some food for thought as you vote on November3.
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