Politics in Minnesota: The Minneapolis Park Board, a New PR Position and a Slate of Challenger Candidates
Politics in Minnesota's Weekly Report - 07/08/05 says:
»Ask any Minneapolitan to name the best thing about the city and the answer is usually "the parks." Ask any Minneapolitan to name their favorite Minneapolis unit of government to bash and the answer is usually the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB). Certainly the Park Board has provided detractors with plenty of material. Recently, Jason Stone, who is challenging incumbent District 5 Commissioner Carol Kummer, was accosted by three Park Board squad cars because he was handing out campaign literature to citizens attending a community meeting at a park building. Southwest Journal editor David Brauer provides the details and opines on what he calls the "Tinpot park dictators". The Park Board built itself a $6.5 million (and $3 million over budget) swank new headquarters on prime Mississippi riverfront real estate. And, people are still talking about the lucrative relationship between the Park Board and its attorney and lobbyist, Brian Rice, who earns more than $400,000 a year in fees.
Park Board critics are also fond of using harsh words like "arrogance" and "incompetence" to describe some members of the board, all of whom are up for reelection this fall. Strikes your publishers that the critics aptly describe the latest move by the Park Board: A recent posting for a PR person [PDF]. It also strikes us that nothing could be more arrogant than--in an election year--hiring a person with a salary of up to $75,000 plus benefits to "design and implement marketing campaign strategy with established goals and quantifiable results to further MPRB's base of support."«