[Summit] On the Recall Kevin Jackson Steering Committee Letter

[Michael McGlynn]

Let's ask the recall committee directly if they were the source of the
letter. I've CC'd their communications person, Art Norwalk, on this message.

On Tue, Jul 11, 2017 at 1:18 AM Robert Mathiesen <rmath13 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'd like to know whether the letter really is from the Recall Steering
> Committee, or whether it is a piece of deception coming from some other
> source.  We live in an age of behind-the-scenes political manipulation and
> disinformation, after all.  --  Bob M.
>
> On Tue, Jul 11, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Annie Voss-Altman <ahava27 at telus.net>
> wrote:
>
>> We received a disturbing letter in the mail today, as did, we assume,
>> many others in Ward 3.  It was in a plain envelope and bore no return
>> address.  When we opened it, we saw that it was a letter from the Recall
>> Kevin Jackson Steering Committee, purporting to inform us of the Ward 3
>> candidates’ positions on the recall.  We are writing this letter to the
>> community to object to the Committee’s decision to engage in politics in
>> this manner.
>>
>> First, despite the Committee’s claim that the candidates’ response to the
>> recall is “indicative of their engagement in the Ward,” it is nothing of
>> the kind. While the Steering Committee’s hard work admirably bore its fruit
>> in the Spring, that work is now done, and the candidates’ positions on the
>> recall are no longer relevant.  This letter rehashes an old vote without
>> substantively engaging current concerns.
>>
>> Second, asking the candidates how they voted on the recall is effectively
>> creating a simplistic litmus test based on that vote (and tacitly violates
>> the privacy right that attaches to the fundamental right to vote) without
>> asking the candidates to substantively address the important issues the
>> Jackson debacle raised – such as what they would do to fix the ethically
>> broken system that resulted in the recall in the first place or prevent it
>> from recurring.
>>
>> Third, this election is about our shared future.  The house meetings,
>> town hall forums, and personal visits that have been going on these past
>> two to three months have emphasized the issues of concern to Ward 3: our
>> schools, our community, public safety, affordable housing, and the overall
>> quality of life in our city.  Asking about – and publishing – their
>> opinions on Mr. Jackson’s recall offers little substance to us, the voters,
>> and has the potential to negatively influence the tone and direction of the
>> campaign.
>>
>> We applaud Ms. La Fortune’s decision not to respond to the Steering
>> Committee’s request.  We also lament the Steering Committee’s decision to
>> probe the candidates for this information in the first place, then use its
>> time and resources to publish it in a mass mail out.  Given the many
>> important issues at stake in this election regarding our future, we are
>> sorry to see that the Steering Committee is still mired in our past.
>>
>> Howard & Annie Voss-Altman
>>
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>>
>
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