My high school English teacher, Ms. Adelman, friended me
on Facebook the other day. At first I
thought that was a bit strange, then I thought it was kinda’ cool!
 |
| Keep It Simple Shawn |
All things considered, the timing was pretty perfect. I was on my third version of our Get Out the
Vote blog post and it still felt like it would fail to persuade anyone to “Get
Out of Your Chair” much less get anyone out to vote. How was my blog about a local City Council
election going to compete with other election coverage? The other candidates have Super Pacs raising
tens-of-millions of dollars. Our
candidates have “Super” packs used to carry buttons, posters, and maybe
a laptop. The other candidates get their
messages to thousands of people, instantly, using 140 characters or less. Our candidates consider 140 characters
receiving their message, a HUGE audience. The other candidates are on Late Night
TV. Our candidates TiVo Late Night TV.
 |
| "Super" pack |
So there is a lot of noise that this election needs to
cut through and it is a little disheartening to believe that the hype
surrounding a national election whose outcome and subsequent policies will not
impact the lives of our residents for several years… if at all – it’s
disheartening to believe that noise may drown out this election, this year,
whose outcome and subsequent policies impact this community.
Three versions of the blog and I still wasn’t convinced
that I would cut through the noise. I
was stumped. That’s when I remembered
something Ms. Adelman always said to me when I struggled with a story in her
class. She would say, “KISS it.” as in
Keep It Simple Shawn (I’ve since heard variations of this acronym). She would remind me when we use structure and
employ the mechanics of writing that we learned… the creative elements evolve
from that baseline.
“Use structure Shawn.” I could hear her say. “Lay out the facts and allow folks to
interpret them their own way.” She’d continue. “Keep It Simple Shawn.”
For my money, it doesn’t get any more simple than using
the Five W’s. Please enjoy this old
fashioned ‘Just the Facts' approach to Saint Paul’s Ward 2 City
Council Election.
 |
| Just the Facts |
Who
The Candidates (click on name to learn more about each
candidate):
Michael C. Johnson (none)
What
Greater Saint Paul Building Owners and Managers
Association – BOMA Ward 2 Debate.
 |
| Click above for details |
When
Wednesday,
September 30
7:00 p.m. – 8:00
p.m.
There will be time
after the debate to meet the candidates individually.
Where
180 East 5th
Street, Suite 160
St. Paul, MN 55101
Why
Here is an excerpt – of another excerpt - from an August 3 interview hosted by the BOMA Government Affairs Committee. The issues and impact this election will have on Pioneer Endicott residents are inherent in each of the questions posed:
Q: Economic development is critical to any
city, and people look to a city’s downtown to check how the city as a whole is
doing. There are currently multiple high profile sites available for
development, what is your vision for these sites in downtown?
Q: The city’s PED department has been pushing
the “river balcony,” is that something you support? If so what role do you see
the City playing in its development?
 |
| River Balcony credit: City of St. Paul |
Q: What are your thoughts on transit and
transportation, and specifically what do you think we should do about parking
in downtown? Should it be expanded, contracted, or left as is?
Q: What do you think can be done to make people
feel more comfortable in downtown Saint Paul?
Q: Would you support additional police funding?
If you are interested in hearing the candidates’ answers
to these – and any other topics that resonate with you as a downtown resident –
we encourage you to email them directly and join the debate on September 30.
Rebecca Noecker email is rebeccaforsaintpaul@gmail.com
Bill Hosko email billhosko@yahoo.com
Darren Tobolt email is darren@darrentobolt.com
Sharon Anderson email is sharon4anderson@aol.com
Pat Fearing is email is pat4ward2@gmail.com
Michael C. Johnson email is not available
The Pioneer Endicott will be Tweeting LIVE from the debate using #GetOutTheVote_PE. Follow Us today and watch for our next "Get Out the Vote" blog post next month.
Featuring highlights from the BOMA Ward 2 Debate and interviews with your 2015 Saint Paul City Council candidates!
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