[Mpls] Former Seattle Director of Neighborhoods Jim Diers in townMonday, June 6

[gemgram]

While it may be interesting to get Jim Diers take on "community 
empowerment", it is a bit like hauling coal to New Castle. Interested in how 
both Seattle and Vancouver handled carriage houses and accessory units I, 
and some other Ventura Village Neighborhood and a group of American Indian 
folks, have studied the two Cities extensively.  Vancouver of course is the 
model of what "Citizen Participation" and community empowerment in Planning 
can accomplish. It makes a fun vacation to go and dig into each of these 
Cities.  The Native culture in Vancouver is particularly rich and welcoming.

 In meetings with Seattle's planning department we were immediately struck 
by how much more involved our own Minneapolis neighborhood and community 
groups were than Seattle's .  In fact a couple of the Seattle planners were 
also not only amazed by how much further ahead Minneapolis was, they were 
downright envious of our NRP program.  So hopefully some of the Minneapolis 
neighborhood people will be able to attend the session Becky mentions and 
there will be an opportunity to share our own brand of "empowerment" with 
Mr. Diers. Of course everyone can learn something from others. Hopefully, 
Center for Neighborhoods will go out to our own neighborhoods sometime and 
bother learn what we in Minneapolis do, and in fact do better than almost 
anyone.  Then perhaps they may become supportive of our own "community 
empowerment". After all we have so far won in our fights with City Hall in 
this administration's attempts to kill NRP, and limit citizen participation.
-----------------------------
On an entirely different note, Anne McCandless and Kayla Smith are correct 
in their assessment of the ridiculous comparison of the Pease Foundation to 
a "gang".  Perhaps someone should venture out into a real impacted 
neighborhood with real bullets flying before making such an unfounded 
statement.  No matter how distasteful one might find the political cronies, 
you still do not have to worry about them pulling an illegal pistol and 
shooting your child.  Perhaps not adequately fund the Police Department, but 
not randomly shoot up your neighborhood.

As for Kayla's disappointment about people making hidden political 
statements on behalf of some candidate, perhaps the reason the person making 
the statement supports a particular candidate is that they already hold 
those opinions themselves.  Most people are fairly clear about who they 
support.  Of course in the reverse, many are as opposed to a particular 
candidate because of a history of bad management as they are FOR a 
particular candidate.  Remember, the very heart of the Rybak campaign four 
years ago are now just as strongly opposed to him.  Of course employees 
pandering to their political bosses is another story.  But then they are 
usually "outed" by someone else on List before too long. And believe me 
there has been far more support for the DFL on List than there has been 
opposition to it.  Heck, 90% of the List is from the DFL.  Several people 
who were critical of DFL, such as Vicki Heller ,have been so savaged by 
rabid DFL'ers that they do not even bother writing any more.  Too bad, 
because their opposing opinions offered both perspective and entertaining 
discourse.

Jim Graham,
Ventura Village Neighborhood of Minneapolis

>"We can only be what we give ourselves the power to be"
 - A Cherokee Feast of Days


>"The people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our 
>liberty."
- Thomas Jefferson