st. paul

AFTER THE MONEY RUNS OUT, it is quite amusing to see DFL infested St Paul arguing with the DFL infested public employee union. Perhaps there would be more funds available if the Mayor would rescind his public declaration that St Paul is a santuary city.

No kidding. Coleman has been a democrat in name only for some time now. Kowtowing to large institutions like St. Thomas and Macalester, bowing and scraping to the University Ave. Developers, using city money to finance market rate developments that no bank would fund. All the while forgetting that real people live and work in St. Paul. The only difference between him and Norm Coleman is that Norm actually came out and declared his republican-ness. Chris stays in the closet.

The chickens do come home to roost.

Who works for who here? Isn't the employer the one who decides the staffing level not the employees?

dflleft, Is it amusing because Republicans give up individual thought and march lock step with the party?

Minneapolis and St.Paul have cut police and fire departments to bare bones since 2002. I am sick of hearing that due to economic conditions they need to cut the budget at the expense of safety needs for the cities residents. If the cities need to save money find the money elsewhere. Every day I see city employees sitting in cars and trucks for hours doing NOTHING! That is a good place to start!

In general, interest groups of all stripes - business lobbyists, anti-tax groups and unions included - have a tendency too often tend to be a drag on the political process and the ability to reach sound judgements in the public interest. In this case, Coleman is being as reasonable as the union; they just disagree, and neither side has any divine claim to their viewpoint. Unfortunately, St. Paul will likely endure more fireworks and divisive posturing before we actually get down to a resolution. One could hope for the sake of our collective sanity that resolution comes sooner rather than later.

Mayor Coleman is the worst mayor in Saint Paul history. As a democrat I will even vote for whoever the republican challenger is over him.

This is not good news for the people of St. Paul. Public safety agencies operate under guidelines established by their respective professional associations. Those guidelines which call for specific staffing levels for a certain population have a direct bearing on insurance rates. The fewer firefighters and law enforcement offiers there are means your homeowners insurance premiums could go up, anf those of business could increase as well, because the city is less protected. This is a case of city officials cutting off their noses to spite their faces. I don't care if its a democrat or republican at the helm, they need to maintain public safety services to be able to attract new businesses and new talent to the city. Continue cutting and the people will eventually pay a high price.

Cry. Why do entitled union members expect that they are untouchable?