Communications Director for the Captain Jack Sparrow campaign. A pdf file
version of this news release is attached, with a "screen scrape" picture of
information from the Star Tribune's "myVote" voter information tool. --
bobagain
here is a link to the youtube video I put up yesterday;
Candidate Captain Jack Sparrow and Commissioner Peter McLaughlin will debate
today -- youtube video documents Sparrowâs claim: âMcLaughlinâs aide is
implicated in Southwest Light Rail real estate speculationâ -- Commissioner
Jeff Johnson calls for reform
Contact: Captain Jack Sparrow, (612) 812-4867; <email obscured>
Contact: Bob âAgainâ Carney Jr., Communications Director; (612) 812-4867;
<email obscured>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Minneapolis, October 31th â Hennepin County 4th District Commissioner candidate
Captain Jack Sparrowâs accepted Commissioner Peter McLaughlinâs âmeager offerâ
â a fifteen minute debate to be held today in downtown Minneapolis. Sparrowâs
campaign reserved a room at the Minneapolis Central Library. The debate will
be video recorded and posted on line, and will occur between 1 PM and 5 PM.
Contact Sparrowâs campaign for more details about the debate.
Sparrow will be available to the media this afternoon, to answer questions
about his demand for an investigation of âSouthwest Light Rail real estate
speculation by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District [âMCWDâ] Board.â
McLaughlinâs aide, Brian Shekleton, has been on that board since at least 2011,
when the Board paid $15 million to buy a 17 acre property near the proposed
SWLRT Blake Road Station. âMcLaughlinâs aide is implicated in Southwest Light
Rail real estate speculation,â Sparrow said.
Sparrowâs Communication Director and âcandidate-journalistâ Bob âAgainâ Carney
Jr. released a youtube video yesterday -- titled âDemocracy gets the brush-off
in Minneapolisâ -- reporting on both the emerging MCWD real estate speculation
scandal and on what appears to be McLaughlinâs âdismissive brush-offâ of
Sparrowâs challenge, and democracy in general. Referring to an unusual hand
gesture on the videotape, bobagain reported: âMcLaughlin appeared to be
swatting Captain Jack away like an insect.â
The 14 minute youtube video includes a statement Commissioner Jeff Johnson, the
Republican candidate for Governor of Minnesota, made to bobagain Tuesday:â
bobagain: âWhat do you think should be happening on the governance of Watershed
District Boards?â
Johnson: âWell I actually had a pilot project to change overall how theyâre
done â all of our water management organizations are done â and theyâre all
elected officials. And thatâs what I think we should have, in the end. I
think if you have authority to levy taxes, you should be elected.â
The MCWD board has direct taxing power, and currently levies over $8 million a
year. Bobagainâs video includes a May 8, 2011 recorded discussion by the MCWD
Board about the risk of a financial âdisasterâ if Southwest Light Rail doesnât
happen. Board member Jeffrey Casale objection to the word âdisasterâ, saying:
âI would not characterize it at all as âdisaster planningââ. Manager Richard
Miller replied: âWell you can call it what you want but it will be [a disaster]
when the note comes due [in 2017] and we got a third of the value of the note.â
Although Casale is the Secretary of the Board, the board minutes for that
meeting do not recount any of the substance of the discussion.
Referring to bobagainâs new video, Sparrow said: âI think this documents my
demand for a thorough investigation of a major scandal involving my opponent,
and the Hennepin County board. I am particularly concerned about the financial
conflict the MCWD has. Their mission is to protect the environment of the
watershed district. That mission is compromised by the huge real estate bet
they placed on Southwest Light Rail. There is a lawsuit in Federal Court now
demanding the environmental impact statement that is legally required before
the Southwest Light Rail Municipal Consent process can happen. Rather than
supporting Southwest Light Rail at any cost, the MCWD should be defending the
environment of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed â which includes the entire
Kenilworth Trail area -- by joining that lawsuit as a plaintiff.â
Sparrow also took note of what appears to be McLaughlinâs ânon-campaignâ â
referring to the Star Tribuneâs âmyVoteâ candidate information tool.
âApparently Commissioner McLaughlin didnât even bother to respond to the Star
Tribuneâs questionnaire â the site has no information about his campaign, no
link to a website, and even says: âIncumbent: No.â At a minimum, I think
McLaughlin should admit he is an incumbent,â Sparrow said. A screen print of
the myVote information on McLaughlin is attached.
<end>
posted by bobagain, East Lake Harriet
"Candidate-Journalist"; "writer-wing republican"