Growing up in North Dakota during the 50s and 60s, I was privileged to experience something that's all too rare now - the old-fashioned family doctor. "Doc" delivered babies, set broken bones, treated pneumonia, and helped Grandpa with his newfangled hearing aid. Doc knew the community, the families, and the individuals whose basic medical needs he treated from birth through the end of life. Some of you who grew up in that time, and perhaps in smaller communities, may remember a Doc of your own. . . . → Read More: The Marcus Welby of law, by Lance Heisler | Lampe Law Group
Let’s talk about cats, cats and more cats! Why?? Because Prairie’s Edge Humane Society is full of cats and we have many more arriving daily. As of today, there are 44 cats on the adoption floor with more awaiting their surgeries so they are ready for adoption. There are cats in every corner of the shelter who need homes! We are in desperate need of homes for these cats. We cannot emphasize this enough. So we are having a cat sale and we are calling it Kitty Mania !
The free market does many things well, but we know it does not do everything. Even market fundamentalists concede that the public must build roads, put out fires, police streets, and provide national defense. Most people, at least those to the left of the Tea Party edge of political spectrum, accept that the government must also be involved in education, disaster relief, and health care. That is, certain services must be rendered — necessary services, universal services — whether or not those services are financially profitable. If your house is on fire, you do not have time to . . . → Read More: On Watermelons and Widgets, by Tom Swift
Okay, so most of the news about the Vintage Band Festival so far has been about the bands. But there’s a number of other events during the weekend. Like the VBF Contra Dance, for instance.
The Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance will feature music by The Dodworth Saxhorn Band of Ann Arbor, Michigan and will be led by dance instructor/caller Robin Nelson.
Dancing will begin at 8:30 p.m. with a “Grand March” led by 60 costumed members of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Brigade, followed by a variety of period dances including polkas, contra dances, schottisches, reels and waltzes.
Even before I read the first word of this article I had a visceral reaction to it. The accompanying photographs — my eyes tend to skip over photographs in magazines — affected me in a manner that is difficult to articulate. I knew, immediately I knew, I was not going to like what I was about to read. In fact, for that reason I put the piece aside. Not now, I thought. Maybe tomorrow, I said to myself. But, then, I couldn’t not read it, either. If you have not done so already, I hope you will read . . . → Read More: The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome, by Tom Swift
June may be Adopt A Cat month here at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society and we have lots of wonderful cats, but we also have PUPPIES!
We have a male Newfoundland mix named Chong who is 6 months old, he was a stray so we don’t know a lot about him. He loves to play! We also have three Australian Cattle Dog mixes who are two months old. Marcia, Bobby and Cindy were born at the shelter and spent some time in one of our fabulous foster homes. They are now back at the shelter and ready to find . . . → Read More: Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Kathy Jasnoch
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay for Life, teams of people camp out at local parks or fairgrounds and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events.
Now Showing! Live Kittens playing! You can now watch our adoptable animals at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society (PEHS) live 24/7 on the new Critter Cam installed in conjunction with KYMN Radio. Thanks to the fine folks at KYMN radio we now have a live feed of our adoptable animals showing on our website and KYMN’s website, Tim and Jeff are AWESOME!
Currently the Critter Cam is featuring kittens available for adoption. Watch them play, sleep, eat, and everything else they do 24 hours a day 7 days a week! It’s better than anything you can see on TV! . . . → Read More: Critter Cam live from Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
A BIG Thanks to all of you who came to last Monday’s Volunteer Organization Meeting, and to those who contacted us saying you wanted to help but could not make the meeting.
We have pretty full support for Communications and Design and Build sub-committees, and we got a web graphic designer to help with the site. Alice Thomas is facilitating the Communications group, and Steve Edwins is facilitating the Design and Build group.
Thank you to all of those who came to Alexander Park on a beautiful Saturday morning in May to help support Prairie’s Edge Humane Society!
I have placed all of the fun photographs on my Bridgette Hallcock Photography Facebook page so that everyone can see how much fun we had! See the two 2010 Walk for the Animals albums here and here.
If you would like a print, please contact me, as the proceeds will benefit the animals at PEHS.
Councilor Jon Denison had requested that the second reading amending the Rental Housing ordinance be removed from the consent agenda, and placed on the regular one. At a previous meeting he had opposed the first reading, and now said the membership should be increased to 7, rather than reduced to recommended 5 (in order to avoid potential tie votes). His concern at this meeting was there were not sufficient stakeholders, specifically tenant’s represented. He later requested that the council take action separately on the mayor’s nominees for membership on the board (Andrew Berglund, landlord and David Geist, contractor) because they were not tenants. Councilors Denison and Zweifel voted against the appointments of those candidates.
The council also OK’d five appointments — Andrew Berglund, David Geist, Don McGee, Kenneth Malecha and Bill Simonet Jr. — to the new Rental Code Board of Appeal 5-1. Davis voted no. Denison abstained due to a legal issue with one nominee.
The legal issues mentioned in that article were evidently with Denison’s landlord Andrew Berglund. Other Northfield News articles:
A comment on the article titled Council OKS board appointments on the Northfield New website by someone name Pietro says:
Online district court records reveal that on October 24, 2008 Berglund, once a Denison landlord, was awarded a judgement of $1,471.25 stemming from Councilor Denison having been substantially arrear in his rent. The same records indicate that an order to show cause hearing is currently on the calendar of Judge Thomas M. Neuville for next Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 1:30pm, apparently in the matter of Councilor Denison’s refusal to comply with the court ordered award.
There is also a comment there by reporter Suzy Rook that includes an email from City Attorney Maren Swanson.
I first started looking into this after the article appeared in the Northfield News. I emailed Joel Walinski, interim city administrator about it. Below is what he wrote to me:
Hello Bonnie -
Council Member Denison had informed me there was some past legal dispute between himself and Andrew Berglund, I did not know the extent nor conclusion of the actions taken.
If there is a personal interest which is incompatible with the proper discharge of a public official’s duties in the public interest, or that would tend to impair his independence of judgment or action in the performance of his official duties, then under the city’s ethics ordinance the public official is required to disclose the personal interest and disqualify himself from discussion and voting, except he may participate in discussion as a member of the public.
It is up to the public official to decide whether he or she has such a conflict of interest and if so, to disclose it and abstain from discussion and voting as a member of the council. It is not up to the mayor or city attorney or anyone else to make this determination or disclosure. Mr. Denison apparently determined that he did not have a personal interest in the appointment of Mr. Berglund to the rental board of appeals which required him to disclose the interest and abstain from discussion and voting. Someone else might have made a different decision, but it is up to the officer to make the decision.
If I recall correctly, Council Member Denison’s reasoning for not voting in favor of either appointment to the Rental Board had more to do with the appointment of a renter being appointed, hence Mr. Denison’s request for a seven member board on as earlier item that evening.
I would also suggest that a conflict of interest typically revolves around a personal financial interest in or benefit from a sale, lease or contract the official is authorized to participate in making on behalf of the city. If Mr. Denison had a conflict of interest on the matter of the appointment of Mr. Berglund, it does not appear that it was one of those contractual conflicts which could have such dire consequences.
Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything further from me on this item.
Joel
Joel Walinski
Interim City Administrator
City of Northfield
801 Washington
507 645-3009
At first, I hesitated to go further with this story, since Denison apparently broke no rule. However, the issue inspires some larger questions I want to explore further with the Representative Journalism Project. As Ross Currier put it in one of our discussions on this matter “In a town this size, are we going to undermine economic development and political leadership because everyone has some kind of potential conflict?”
I’d encourage everyone to read the “conflict of interest” section of Northfield’s Code of Ethics in the City Charter before commenting, if not familiar with it. It’s only a few short paragraphs.
Here’s the text of the conflict of interest section that Tracy referenced above:
Sec. 2-127. Conflict of interest.
(a) Personal financial interest in sale, lease or contract with city. Any public official who has a personal financial interest in any sale, lease, or contract with the city shall make such interest known to the city council and shall be bound by state law in determining how to resolve such a conflict of interest.
(b) Other conflicts. Any public official who engages in any business or transaction or has a financial or other personal interest, direct or indirect, including an interest arising from blood, adoptive, or marriage relationships or close business or personal associations, which interest is incompatible with the proper discharge of his/her official duties in the public interest or would tend to impair his/her independence of judgment or action in the performance of official duties, shall disclose the nature of such activity or interest and shall disqualify himself/herself from discussion and voting, provided that such member shall be allowed to participate in discussion as a member of the public. Disqualification is not called for, however, if discussion and action by a public official will not affect him/her more than any other member of the same group, neighborhood, business classification, profession, or occupation.
(c) Disclosure of confidential information. Public officials shall observe the dictates of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minn. Stat. ch. 13) and related laws with reference to confidentiality of information. No public official shall use any “not public data” to advance the financial or other private interest of himself/herself or others.
(d) Gifts and favors. Public officials shall comply with Minn. Stat. § 471.895, which prohibits gifts to local officials. This section shall not make unlawful or unethical any practice allowed under Minn. Stat. ch. 211B or related laws.
(e) Political activity. No public official, whether elected or appointed, shall promise an appointment to any municipal position as a reward for any political activity.
It seems to me that, before he voted, Jon should have:
reminded people that he abstained from a similar vote last fall and reiterated his rationale then;
revealed that he still had a current legal situation with Andrew Berglund that was not yet resolved
given his rationale for why he’d decided that was appropriate for him to vote on Berglund’s appointment to the Rental Board;
explain why the code of ethics wording of the Charter re: ‘personal interest’ and ‘impair his/her independence of judgment or action in the performance of official duties’ didn’t apply in this case.
Without adequate explanation, the public is left to wonder.
I think Denison is in the right to vote on the matter.
If the requirement was for a councilperson to abstain or recuse if they’re being sued, a nefarious citizen could force an abstention by suing. For example, if I wanted to prevent Denison from voting against my bid to build a glass dome over Northfield (like in “The Simpson’s Movie”), I could file a lawsuit alleging that he hit me even though there are no witnesses. I could sue several councilpeople for a conspiracy to violate my civil rights and force them to abstain. So, just because there is a legal dispute is no reason to expect an abstention.
We must not expect that his being part of a legal dispute should force him to abstain or recuse himself.
Whether Denison voted one way or another, his financial or other obligations to Berglund would not change. Therefore he has no “interest” in the vote. If Denison does not like Berglund for any number of reasons, he can still vote impartially. It’s wrong to assume that people, even civil servants, can’t distinguish between their feelings and their duty. When I have been on nonprofit boards, I did not always vote for my friends or against people I didn’t like. I voted in the organization’s interest. So can Denison.
It would be good public relations to disclose his rationale if there is an appearance of conflict. So if Denison has made any error, I think it’s only in the public relations arena. Personally, I don’t think that he erred. He was elected to represent his Ward, so he should vote in accordance with his Ward’s interests. If a councilperson abstained every time an apparent or potential conflict of interest came up, the councilperson would be failing their duty to represent.
I would think the conflict of interest would have to be weighed out against Dennison’s obligation to his ward. After all they are expecting representation.
Mr. Denison has been completely consistent for a year, saying that he would not vote for a landlord until there was a tenant on the board. Mr. Berglund’s nomination came up first, so he was following his stated position in opposing a landlord appointment.
One could argue that he was acting against his own best interests in doing so. Voting for Mr. Berglund might have helped him win a more favorable settlement of his legal case. A critic might say the motive was retaliation, but with another court date pending, a move against Mr. Berglund would be a risky one for Mr. Denison.
Since the critics of Mr. Denison have made it their mission to spread word of his legal problems to all who would listen, I am not clear that a ‘public disclosure’ would have accomplished anything, other than another supposed public embarrassment.
Those who are concerned about Mr. Denison paying his judgment might consider that their constant harrassment makes it all but impossible for him to find work in an already tough economy. Is the point better government, payment of a personal debt or simple cruelty against a person who has dared try to build a life and set an example of service for those who live in the margins of this community?
Instead of publicly trouncing the man, why don’t we find a way to get 75 folks together to give $20 each, and pool that resource so he can clear himself of this financial issue.
Seriously, we can all spare a cost of a decent meal, even in this tough economy to help out our fellow man.
I have met Jon, and I believe he is a good man. I am sure if he had the means to pay this, it would have been taken care of by now.
There are folks struggling all over this community… Open your eyes, and your hearts, show some compassion, and help if you can.
In the context of the last 2 years debate, often rancorous, on the subject of conflict of interest, Bonnie makes a valid observation and raises an interesting point. Jerold, you provide a very well reasoned argument in defense of Jon’s position. As expected, Anne and John, you only seem interested in raising the temperature – providing no light only heat.
I have absolutely NO interest in raising the temprature on this. I only comment because, frankly, I am tired of hearing about city hall, and have been for a very long time.
What do you want me to say, or how do you want me to comment?
(not meant to be an argumentative or combative, just a question on how to respond by NOT raising the temprature)
Let me state my position, maybe that will help.
* I do believe that there should be a code of conduct, and that it should be followed.
* I do believe that folks should recuse themselves from known or percieved conflicts of interest.
* I do believe that another persons finances are none of my business.
* I do believe that even public officials should have some rights of privacy.
* I do believe that it is up to each individual to police themselves.
* I do believe that even if an elected offical does what they percieve is the right thing, there will always be someone else in Northfield that will have an alternate view point.
I also believe that:
* I am in no position to judge Mr. Dennison. (Judge not, Lest you be judged…)
* I do not have all the facts.
* I do not have the time, or the want to obtain all the facts.
* Much of the “facts” presented here may or may not be facts.
* Much of what is presented here may or may not be hear say.
* Some of the people that post here may or may not have alternate personal agendas on some of these topics.
Frankly, I didn’t want to comment on the situation at all. The only point I wanted to make is that it would be nice to try to help people instead of looking at them through a microscope.
It would just be nice if we could hear about something good, something positive, and take some positive action on something for once. It just always feel like we are always looking for a negative.
Bonnie does make an valid observation, and an interesting point, and it is probably worthy of discussion. My comment is more of a general statement, about how it would be nice to help out our fellow man, as it may soon be one of us.
I really do not want to enter the discussion of the right and wrong of Mr. Dennison’s actions, as I do not have an opinion at this time, nor enough facts to make a judgement.
I just think that Jon would like to get this behind him, but more than likely there is much more to it, that makes it difficult for a quick fix.
So, hopefully, that explains where I am trying to come from. This was one area where I really didnt want to stir the pot, and turn up the heat.
Peace, Love, Recycle, and help your fellow man. I’m going back to work now, and will look for more comments this evening.
Note: This would be so much easier to have some of these discussions face to face, so maybe I will have to stop down for a pint. It is very hard sometimes to state ones position, and percieve other’s positions through only the text on a page. I know I do not understand it all. I will just continue to interact.
[...] the end, we also touched on the subject of whether Councilor Jon Denison should have abstained from voting on Rental Board appointments last [...]
According to the N’field News Jon D. has had three landlord disputes that have resulted in legal action for back rent and/or damages. I haven’t rented in quite a while, but when I was younger I rented around twenty apartments or houses over the course of fifteen years. I never had a legal problem with a landlord. My guess is that mine was a fairly typical tenant experience in terms of legal actions.
Given that, I will abstain from donating to the Dennison back rent fund.
That information would definitely come under the “I do not have all the facts”.
I did not know that there was more than one issue. I was actually trying to make a generalization about kindness and compassion rather than start an actual back rent fund.
I really do believe that one should help their fellow man, but this does paint a different picture.
I will just have to continue to stand on the sidelines and learn more about this. Thanks for enlightening me.
“After Denison was evicted from an apartment on Third Street in January and found liable for back rent to a third former landlord, questions about his living arrangements have plagued the councilor.”
Griff Wigley: This is comment #35,085 made on the last of 2,976 blog posts, with 187 podcast episodes tossed in for good measure. Now shut down for August. The LoGroNo office at GBM is vacant. But you can follow Ross, Tracy, and I on our...
Griff Wigley: Jane/William, I’m pretty sure I’ve trained you both to behave but I’d have a hard time during the sabbatical not paying attention to see if that was actually the case. I think the more places in Northfield...
Griff Wigley: Jeez, Ross. You adopted Chance? Now we’re going to have to add your new PEHS dog to our About page. No, we’re not changing from the Triumvirate to something four-related, ie, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Phil Poyner: Yes, but where would we put all the egos?
Phil Poyner: Ray, I believe 11 states or so have full military pension exemption, but many others (including MN) have some sort of partial exemption or tax credit. But I know for many veterans taxes are not the number one factor when...
Barry Cipra: Ray, here’s a thought that ties these threads together (and which I think will appeal to Paul): Let’s not tax the income of people with PhDs from accredited universities. When you don’t tax PhD income, you tend...
Ross Currier: Sorry Griff, but that article concludes with the inside-the-same-old-box type of ideas. I suppose that’s what you get when you ask people inside-the-municipal-box for solutions. Hopefully, there will be citizens,...
kiffi summa: Norman and Ross… let me be so bold as to add an observation about this ‘opportunity’̷ 0; I find it so bizarre that mr. Walinski would come up with this staff consolidation plan as a ‘going away...
Griff Wigley: Here’s a silent video of me walking the area around the Scriver Bldg. Note: * the cozy canopy that the trees provide * that there’s only one small tree nearby in Bridge Square * how nicely the two trees frame and...
norman butler: Hayes: Many thanks for the ADA costs, almost $750,000. I assume that additional to this is the remodelling of the second floor etc, at a total cost of, say, $1,000,000 to make this wonderful, ancient, iconic, historic,...
Griff Wigley: I’ve added a straw poll on the trees. See the upper left sidebar.
Griff Wigley: Straw poll results: How should the City solve the geese poop problem along the Cannon River in downtown Northfield? * Harvest the geese for area food shelves (36%, 24 Votes) * Use border collies to chase the geese away (24%, 16...
David Ludescher: Griff: It doesn’t make sense to me that we spent a half of million dollars on places where geese like to sh*t.
Phil Poyner: Excerpt from “Development of a Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard Program at Langley AFB, Virginia.” Canada geese- In June 1999, more than 225 resident Canada geese were molting at Eaglewood golf course adjacent to the...
Michelle Hawkins: As far as Mr Denison and past records of those serving or wishing to serve in public office, I think the public is smart enough to judge for themselves rather than rely on only what they find in a newspaper, for their...
Michelle Hawkins: If a person lives in a drug infested,alcoholic ridden apartment complex and also works on a one to one basis with such while at the same time receives threats as a result of that volunteer work and their work with battered...
Patrick Enders: Carol, Jerry was a plaintiff in a lawsuit in California which Scott found interesting. Scott posted about it here on LGN, and Jerry (Jerold) answered about it here.
Griff Wigley: I’ve added photos I took at the League of Women Voters candidates forum on 7/29 to the blog post above.
Griff Wigley: KYMN Radio video: 07/29/10 League of Women Voters Candidate Forum (Archived)
Griff Wigley: Nfld News: Council candidates weigh in at forum During the first half of the forum, which focused on the Fourth Ward candidates, Gehring expressed his support for an aggressive plan laid out by Mayor Mary Rossing to hire a new...
Sandy Vesledahl: Don’t miss out on “Kitty Mania” today at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society. If you have been thinking about adopting a cat now is the perfect time to do so!
Griff Wigley: Thanks, Tracy. I’ll look at that City Mgr blog in Ventura, CA. I’ll be interested to see if he’s better blogger than former Northfield City Administrator Scott Neal who’s been a blogger client of...
Jerry Bilek: I look at all of this technology as a tool. it has the potential to do good things or is a huge time waster. some blogs are amazingly helpful while others just a way to kill time. For business use, it can be beneficial, but it...
Bright Spencer: orange and yellows are the colors that draw people in, and stimulate intellectual inklings. But, like the sun, too much is not so good.
Bright Spencer: orange and yellows are the colors that draw people in, like the sun, too much is off putting though
Griff Wigley: Would there be a combination of colors that might make the site more agreeable to the eyes? Lots of gray and blue now. Tracy, want to take a whack at it?
norman butler: Tracy; the article you quoted above made mention of the city of Maywood’s services now being provided by a neighboring city: “…The [parking] ticket was issued by enforcement clerks for the neighboring city of...
kiffi summa: If you look at the disbursements in the Council packets, you will see the janitorial work IS being contracted out; here’s some numbers from the July 6 disbursement list: 6/11/10 May City Hall Cleaning – 1282.50...
Tracy Davis: From the Wall Street Journal, 7/19: Cities Rent Police, Janitors to Save Cash
Griff Wigley: A competitor to SeeClickFix is CitySourced: http://www.citysourced.com/
Griff Wigley: Phil, services like SeeClickFix take that into account, ie, people can weigh in to endorse what someone else has submitted. For example, see the service in action at this CT newspaper: http://www.journalinquirer.com / Click...
Phil Poyner: I see a downside to what you’re saying. Theoretically it may make sense to have a single problem submitted just once. But my experience has been that until a group of people submit the same problem, the problem can be...
Griff Wigley: Hey Don, great to hear from you… and that you’re still doing the outdoor thing. I’d never heard of water cycling.
Don Haugo: Cycle America was started in 1988. In 1997 Greg Walsh took it over and has been running it since. I live in Bloomington, Minnesota and am about to start marketing a couple of new outdoor adventure events for next year, the...
Sean Hayford O'Leary: That’s a shame, Erica. But since we now know that a (brief) crossing period can be accommodated without interrupting traffic at that particular intersection (which has the shortest crossing distance and relatively...
Erica Zweifel: It appears that the automatic crossing was temporary, this Saturday I had to push the button to get the pedestrian signal at 5th Street.
Griff Wigley: Sean, I’ll try to capture the audio at a low traffic time so everyone can hear the loud beep-beep and the quiet messages. And I’ll check the 5th St. intersection but all the improvements there look to be the same as...
Griff Wigley: MPR’s Question of the day: Do you depend on sirens to alert you to severe weather?
Griff Wigley: Jane/Josh, thanks for the reports. I’ve blogged your comments with some photos at: http://locallygrownnorthfield. org/post/18720/
Josh Dale: I live on the north-east corner of St. Olaf property, off Highland Ave. The power went out shortly after 1am. No power=no warnings, other than a lightning strike, blown transformers or downed power lines…it was a good...
Griff Wigley: You’re welcome, Jeanette. The slimy handshake was memorable!
Jeanette Nelson: Hi Griff, Thanks so much for receiving so graciously, however reluctantly, a hug from a fellow Norwegian! Oh, and also for the wet slimy handshake.
Kathie Galotti: What Rob said–about Crazy Days. I kinda like the new layout of LoGroNo, though, myself.
Rob Hardy: No. I LOVE downtown Northfield, but I prefer its charming everyday self, not the hyped-up crazy version. I grinchily observed Crazy Daze this year by riding my bike out to Target. Also: while I’m being a Grinch, I hate the...
Bright Spencer: You mean have Crazy,Crazy Daze? Always have a plan B and maybe even C. C?
kiffi summa: Jane: you are correct about the randomness of the discussion that followed… in some ways that is understandable as someone (MNDOT) had just thrown a big wrench into the works of the Council’s fast moving train. I...
Jane McWilliams: I was pleased to read that the council has decided against a November referendum, but I was dismayed at the randomness of the discussion which followed. It would serve them well to put the whole project on ice for a few...
David Ludescher: Ray, It might happen now with a number of new Council members and a new City Administrator, especially if this Division Street site is a real, and not a fanciful, option. It sounds as if the City Council still doesn’t...
Sandy Vesledahl: We will be selling luminaria’s on Bridge Square during Crazy Daze for Relay for Life of Rice County. If you would like to purchase one to be lit at this year’s event to honor a loved one who has been affected by...
kiffi summa: Forgot to mention that I believe this agenda item was titled specifically to avoid controversy. It is true that the position also entailed the Welcome Center duties , that may have been the majority of the job’s hours, but...
kiffi summa: Was doing the Observing for the LWV… so yeah… Council voted 4-3 to table ’til the Aug 3 meeting. C. Pownell had asked C. Zweifel to table the issue (Zweifel had asked for the reconsideration) because C. Pownell...
Tracy Davis: Funny, Griff, I posted this link on the wiki thread before I saw you put it here!
David Henson: Tom, food prices have fallen for years and years (decades and decades) in the USA (free market). And the government in every country mentioned for riots has grown so your cause and effect seems either driven by an emotional...
Griff Wigley: I forgot to tell Tom to link to his Writer’s Notebook blog: http://tom-swift.com/weblog/ I’ve added it to the bottom of his blog post above.
Griff Wigley: Kaufman has a blog and he’s got the pdf of his Food Bubble article on it. His blog has links to other media that have covered the article.
Tom Swift: Here’s one response to those numbers, Griff: “If we use the ratio from the last quarter, it implies Amazon has sold around 22 million Kindle books so far this year. That’s just the equivalent of 6 percent of the...
Griff Wigley: NY Times: E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon Amazon.com, one of the nation’s largest booksellers, announced Monday that for the last three months, sales of books for its e-reader, the Kindle, outnumbered sales of hardcover...
Bright Spencer: Rob, I read about half and skimmed thru the other, I have never liked to read through the excess of words that are often set before us because people are getting paid by each word they write. I will give myself a chance to...
Tracy Davis: I met with Rhonda Pownell yesterday on another issue and asked her about this. From her comments I wondered again whether the Council was given adequate and thorough enough information upon which to base their decision....
Jessica Paxton: Wow. These are stunning. Too bad the City didn’t consider looking in its own back yard and hire someone like Mark to produce its promotional video….
Northfield 4th Ward City Councilor Jon Denison voted against the appointment of Andrew Berglund and David Geist to the Rental Board at last Monday’s Council meeting, even though he abstained on a similar vote last September. According to Jane McWilliams’ LWV Observer report: 
but I’d have a hard time during the sabbatical not paying attention to see if that was actually the case. I think the more places in Northfield...
I first started looking into this after the article appeared in the Northfield News. I emailed Joel Walinski, interim city administrator about it. Below is what he wrote to me:
At first, I hesitated to go further with this story, since Denison apparently broke no rule. However, the issue inspires some larger questions I want to explore further with the Representative Journalism Project. As Ross Currier put it in one of our discussions on this matter “In a town this size, are we going to undermine economic development and political leadership because everyone has some kind of potential conflict?”
I’d encourage everyone to read the “conflict of interest” section of Northfield’s Code of Ethics in the City Charter before commenting, if not familiar with it. It’s only a few short paragraphs.
Here’s the text of the conflict of interest section that Tracy referenced above:
It seems to me that, before he voted, Jon should have:
Without adequate explanation, the public is left to wonder.
I think Denison is in the right to vote on the matter.
If the requirement was for a councilperson to abstain or recuse if they’re being sued, a nefarious citizen could force an abstention by suing. For example, if I wanted to prevent Denison from voting against my bid to build a glass dome over Northfield (like in “The Simpson’s Movie”), I could file a lawsuit alleging that he hit me even though there are no witnesses. I could sue several councilpeople for a conspiracy to violate my civil rights and force them to abstain. So, just because there is a legal dispute is no reason to expect an abstention.
We must not expect that his being part of a legal dispute should force him to abstain or recuse himself.
Whether Denison voted one way or another, his financial or other obligations to Berglund would not change. Therefore he has no “interest” in the vote. If Denison does not like Berglund for any number of reasons, he can still vote impartially. It’s wrong to assume that people, even civil servants, can’t distinguish between their feelings and their duty. When I have been on nonprofit boards, I did not always vote for my friends or against people I didn’t like. I voted in the organization’s interest. So can Denison.
It would be good public relations to disclose his rationale if there is an appearance of conflict. So if Denison has made any error, I think it’s only in the public relations arena. Personally, I don’t think that he erred. He was elected to represent his Ward, so he should vote in accordance with his Ward’s interests. If a councilperson abstained every time an apparent or potential conflict of interest came up, the councilperson would be failing their duty to represent.
Are there any tenants among the people appointed to this board? I do recall that we (tenants) were supposed to be represented.
I would think the conflict of interest would have to be weighed out against Dennison’s obligation to his ward. After all they are expecting representation.
Mr. Denison has been completely consistent for a year, saying that he would not vote for a landlord until there was a tenant on the board. Mr. Berglund’s nomination came up first, so he was following his stated position in opposing a landlord appointment.
One could argue that he was acting against his own best interests in doing so. Voting for Mr. Berglund might have helped him win a more favorable settlement of his legal case. A critic might say the motive was retaliation, but with another court date pending, a move against Mr. Berglund would be a risky one for Mr. Denison.
Since the critics of Mr. Denison have made it their mission to spread word of his legal problems to all who would listen, I am not clear that a ‘public disclosure’ would have accomplished anything, other than another supposed public embarrassment.
Those who are concerned about Mr. Denison paying his judgment might consider that their constant harrassment makes it all but impossible for him to find work in an already tough economy. Is the point better government, payment of a personal debt or simple cruelty against a person who has dared try to build a life and set an example of service for those who live in the margins of this community?
Instead of publicly trouncing the man, why don’t we find a way to get 75 folks together to give $20 each, and pool that resource so he can clear himself of this financial issue.
Seriously, we can all spare a cost of a decent meal, even in this tough economy to help out our fellow man.
I have met Jon, and I believe he is a good man. I am sure if he had the means to pay this, it would have been taken care of by now.
There are folks struggling all over this community… Open your eyes, and your hearts, show some compassion, and help if you can.
With this economy, you could be next.
In the context of the last 2 years debate, often rancorous, on the subject of conflict of interest, Bonnie makes a valid observation and raises an interesting point. Jerold, you provide a very well reasoned argument in defense of Jon’s position. As expected, Anne and John, you only seem interested in raising the temperature – providing no light only heat.
Norm,
I have absolutely NO interest in raising the temprature on this. I only comment because, frankly, I am tired of hearing about city hall, and have been for a very long time.
What do you want me to say, or how do you want me to comment?
(not meant to be an argumentative or combative, just a question on how to respond by NOT raising the temprature)
Let me state my position, maybe that will help.
* I do believe that there should be a code of conduct, and that it should be followed.
* I do believe that folks should recuse themselves from known or percieved conflicts of interest.
* I do believe that another persons finances are none of my business.
* I do believe that even public officials should have some rights of privacy.
* I do believe that it is up to each individual to police themselves.
* I do believe that even if an elected offical does what they percieve is the right thing, there will always be someone else in Northfield that will have an alternate view point.
I also believe that:
* I am in no position to judge Mr. Dennison. (Judge not, Lest you be judged…)
* I do not have all the facts.
* I do not have the time, or the want to obtain all the facts.
* Much of the “facts” presented here may or may not be facts.
* Much of what is presented here may or may not be hear say.
* Some of the people that post here may or may not have alternate personal agendas on some of these topics.
Frankly, I didn’t want to comment on the situation at all. The only point I wanted to make is that it would be nice to try to help people instead of looking at them through a microscope.
It would just be nice if we could hear about something good, something positive, and take some positive action on something for once. It just always feel like we are always looking for a negative.
Bonnie does make an valid observation, and an interesting point, and it is probably worthy of discussion. My comment is more of a general statement, about how it would be nice to help out our fellow man, as it may soon be one of us.
I really do not want to enter the discussion of the right and wrong of Mr. Dennison’s actions, as I do not have an opinion at this time, nor enough facts to make a judgement.
I just think that Jon would like to get this behind him, but more than likely there is much more to it, that makes it difficult for a quick fix.
So, hopefully, that explains where I am trying to come from. This was one area where I really didnt want to stir the pot, and turn up the heat.
Peace, Love, Recycle, and help your fellow man. I’m going back to work now, and will look for more comments this evening.
Note: This would be so much easier to have some of these discussions face to face, so maybe I will have to stop down for a pint. It is very hard sometimes to state ones position, and percieve other’s positions through only the text on a page. I know I do not understand it all. I will just continue to interact.
[...] the end, we also touched on the subject of whether Councilor Jon Denison should have abstained from voting on Rental Board appointments last [...]
John T.
According to the N’field News Jon D. has had three landlord disputes that have resulted in legal action for back rent and/or damages. I haven’t rented in quite a while, but when I was younger I rented around twenty apartments or houses over the course of fifteen years. I never had a legal problem with a landlord. My guess is that mine was a fairly typical tenant experience in terms of legal actions.
Given that, I will abstain from donating to the Dennison back rent fund.
William,
That information would definitely come under the “I do not have all the facts”.
I did not know that there was more than one issue. I was actually trying to make a generalization about kindness and compassion rather than start an actual back rent fund.
I really do believe that one should help their fellow man, but this does paint a different picture.
I will just have to continue to stand on the sidelines and learn more about this. Thanks for enlightening me.
John T…
From the Northfield News website:
“After Denison was evicted from an apartment on Third Street in January and found liable for back rent to a third former landlord, questions about his living arrangements have plagued the councilor.”
William, again, Thank you. No further comment.