[Mpls] Brian Rice gets Good Return on Investment

[Chris Johnson]

Eva Young wrote:
> I went to the Park Board Annual Meeting.  Seems like
> they've cleaned up their acts a bit since I last was
> at a meeting.  
> 
> They did hire Brian Rice again - without shame.  I
> asked both John Erwin and Jon Olson about the
> conflicts of interest involved.  Both said Rice does a
> very good job with lobbying.  

That's a rather baffling argument:  "He does a good job lobbying, so let's 
hire him as our legal counsel."  How does that make sense?

Brian Rice was already hired last month to be a lobbyist for the Park Board -- 
and given a three year contract worth $70,000 a year.  Tonight's decision was 
for legal representation and advice, counsel.

Moreover, no amount of skill at lobbying or even at lawyering negates the fact 
that it's a huge conflict of interest.

Apparently the rule these days is not doing what is right, but doing whatever 
you can get away with -- especially when it comes to spending other people's 
money, in this case, that belonging to the taxpayers.


Chris Johnson
Fulton