What's Left of Maplewood (MN)

We can't draw, so we are left with verbal cartoons about Maplewood city politics.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

A Council Meeting Best Served Cold

The big news at last night's council meeting was of course the Gladstone redevelopment plan, which was put on ice by the council minority. The 4-1 supermajority required for amendments to the comprehensive land use plan gave Rossbach and Juenemann a rare opportunity to flex their governance muscles.

But let's not lose sight of the majority's continuing commitment to vendetta. At the tail end of the meeting, the votes were tallied for the Police Civil Service Commission seat of Debra Birkholtz. No other eligible candidates applied, so it was aye or nay votes on whether to reappoint Ms. Birkholtz. It should come as no surprise that the nays carried it 3 to 2. Evidently a record of holding state law above the council majority's longing for vengeance meant that she made it onto the enemies list herself. I guess this means the seat remains vacant until the council majority can recruit a more malleable individual to fill it and do their bidding.

3 Comments:

  • At 10:33 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Is it true that Longrie dismantled the Citizen's Committee for Gladstone? Isn't this saying that the City really doesn't care what the citizens who will be affected by Gladstone think of the project or what they want? She sure is taking credit for Gladstone, even though this project was well underway prior to her taking office. It should be stated that if this project was considered "stalled", it could be because the City was working with the Citizens Committee to determine what the right "fit" for the neighborhood would be.

     
  • At 10:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    You know, I keep telling myself the council can't be any more blatent in their vengence-seeking, and the council keeps proving me wrong.

     
  • At 10:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Jackson, have you read the article about the mayor in the Pioneer Press on 2/25 titled "The Eye of the Storm?" The quote below is from that article. I think this says a lot about her attitude. The rule of law obviously does not matter to her as long as she gets what she wants in the end.

    "Longrie seems too fixed on the ends to worry much about the means she takes to get there, and she shakes her head at the question of whether she regrets any decisions or actions."

     

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