[Mpls] 5th Ward Forum

[megan goodmundson]

First off - let me say Im really confused. When I read Michelle Hill's post there is something confusing that I couldn't understand. I will point it out here and let other's decide for themselves.  Michelle starts to re-cap something said by CM NJL but then she goes into first person:
 
'As CP Johnson-Lee said, 'people are not low-income by choice." I talked about what 
every group could continue to make the 5th ward thrive economically.'
 
Who is really writing these posts????
 
But anyway, I guess we weren't watching the same debate, because what I saw was a leader who clearly communicated his vision to those he wants to serve, as well as a room filled with supporters for both candidates so there was little swaying of votes.  I really think if one is going to say that they're neutral they ought to talk about both candidates, not just one.
 
But the interesting thing is how Michelle has truncated the messages.  Anybody can look bad when taken out of context, and that what we have here.  For example, when Don was talking about the baggy pants, he didn't say that all boys who wear baggy pants are criminals, what he said was that he has been holding these vigils, as he promised, to show the deceased, their families, and most importantly those left alive that that person's life had value no matter what they had done and no matter what stereotypes were associated with them.  This is where the baggy pants comment was made, that the person that was killed and those who survived, may have had a gun, or baggy pants or hung out on corners or anything, but they're life still had value.  So what he was saying was no matter what preconceived notions you had about someone because of their appearance, their life still had value.  Which is quite a bit different from the portrait Michelle is painting.
 
And Michelle actually illustrated what he was talking about with regard to the middle class, that people need to remember where they came from as well as the position that the most disadvantaged of us live in, and not run away from that but stand there, arm in arm.  Move into the low income and impacted neighborhoods, don't run away from it, don't think you're better than it, be a part of it.  Which is again a different reality from the one you recapped.  The question that was asked was regarding the concentration of poverty.  Don's answer was that concentration of anything is bad. That the Jordan neighborhood needs to be inundated by middle class families to find the right balance of poverty, middle class, and other faxtors that make a neighborhood thrive. 
 
The only way to truly get what people are talking about is to listen with an open mind.  I was at the debate, and I do live in Jordan and I do support Don, but more importantly, I support truth.  I look at Don and I see a CM who works across boundaries for the broader good.  I look at Natalie and I see someone who'd rather pick a fight just to show off.  I look at Don and I see a CM who has worked with different levels of law enforcement and tried out of the box solutions to get things like the 12 state troopers that helped keep the peace and the Probation House the provides significant safety for the Northside, then I look at Natalie and I see a person who has picked a number of fights with the MPD, but built no relationships, what exactly has she done to improve public safety on the Northside?
 
It's Our Time Northside and we need a leader who can get us there, not someone who will just shout to draw attention away from the fact that she's not doing anything.  We must have been at different debates because an unbias person couldn't help but walk away from tonight without thinking, "I'm voting for Don."  
 
And that's what I'm going to do.


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