JUST A "COINCIDENT"
So Rybak's office mailing out 172,000 newsletters in the begining of an election year is "coincidental?"
Sure it is.
It also must be a coincident that Rybak's office decides in the begining of an election year that maybe he should begin to have "a dialogue with constituents."
R.T. Rybak should change his name to B.S. Rybak.
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Rybak mails out 172,000 newsletters
Regardless of who they voted for, every Minneapolis household either has or will soon receive a glossy eight-page newsletter from Mayor R.T. Rybak.
Rybak, who is up for reelection this year, printed 172,000 copies of his first-ever newsletter and had them delivered. The cost was $42,000 to taxpayers for production and postage -- not including staff time spent on the writing, according to the mayor's office.
The blue, black and white newsletter features five photos of the mayor as well as updates on city activities from the City of Lakes Loppet and efforts to restore the Brackett Park rocket to community gardens and leadership changes in the police and fire departments.
The newsletter talks about efforts by the administration that range from "targeting repeat offenders" and "fiscal responsibility" to "airport, air quality and trees."
Deputy Mayor David Fey said that the election-year timing is coincidental and that the office had hoped to put out a newsletter sooner but didn't have the money. Fey said he hopes that in addition to providing valuable information, the newsletter is the beginning of a dialogue with constituents.
Some question the timing of the newsletter, however, and whether it's a taxpayer-funded election-year effort to reach voters. Dean Carlson, a resident of the East Harriet neighborhood, received his letter last week, cringed and immediately checked on whether it was from the city or Rybak's campaign.
"I support the mayor and I'll probably vote for him, but I did feel the piece was kind of 'campaigny' for being from the city," Carlson said.
The piece, he said, presents the mayor's side of topics expected to be issues in the campaign. Fey said, "There's a very bright line between campaign and office activity. We pay attention to that. This is full of good information that people have a right to know. We see this as part of open government."
It is common practice for City Council members to use taxpayer money to send out newsletters to their wards.
The use of photographs, however, is particularly touchy, and Rybak includes five flattering shots. Asked about the photos, Fey said, "Frankly, we were just trying to liven up the layout with some pictures and graphics so it wasn't all text."
A fine line
In recent years, some politicians have run into trouble for coming close to the line between official government work and politicking, especially with the use of photos.
In 1999, a picture of then-Gov. Jesse Ventura appeared on a Commerce Department brochure. While Attorney General Mike Hatch said the photo was OK, Legislative Auditor James Nobles said it violated the law preventing public money from being used to create publications to promote the personal or political identity of a state official.
When Fey was asked whether anyone in the mayor's office referred to the law before issuing the publication, he said, "I did not personally look at it. If you look at the newsletters of council members or former mayors, they've all got pictures. It's pretty typical stuff."
Council Member Scott Benson said he has published a newsletter -- without photographs.
"We're not that high-tech," he said.
The city attorney has not looked into when such publications cross the line into taxpayer-funded campaigning because no one has asked, but Deputy City Attorney Peter Ginder said the key question is whether the reader would be led to believe that the publication was put forward by an individual.
Nobles, who had not seen Rybak's newsletter, said the state may need to draw a clearer line about what is appropriate for official publications, especially given the proliferation of politicians using government Web sites to update constituents.
"I think public officials need to be very careful not to use public funds to promote their personal agendas," Nobles said. "It's against the Minnesota tradition and ultimately it will hurt them politically. The public likes to see campaigns promoted with private money." Source: Star Tribune, January 21, 2005
Sure it is.
It also must be a coincident that Rybak's office decides in the begining of an election year that maybe he should begin to have "a dialogue with constituents."
R.T. Rybak should change his name to B.S. Rybak.
##
Rybak mails out 172,000 newsletters
Regardless of who they voted for, every Minneapolis household either has or will soon receive a glossy eight-page newsletter from Mayor R.T. Rybak.
Rybak, who is up for reelection this year, printed 172,000 copies of his first-ever newsletter and had them delivered. The cost was $42,000 to taxpayers for production and postage -- not including staff time spent on the writing, according to the mayor's office.
The blue, black and white newsletter features five photos of the mayor as well as updates on city activities from the City of Lakes Loppet and efforts to restore the Brackett Park rocket to community gardens and leadership changes in the police and fire departments.
The newsletter talks about efforts by the administration that range from "targeting repeat offenders" and "fiscal responsibility" to "airport, air quality and trees."
Deputy Mayor David Fey said that the election-year timing is coincidental and that the office had hoped to put out a newsletter sooner but didn't have the money. Fey said he hopes that in addition to providing valuable information, the newsletter is the beginning of a dialogue with constituents.
Some question the timing of the newsletter, however, and whether it's a taxpayer-funded election-year effort to reach voters. Dean Carlson, a resident of the East Harriet neighborhood, received his letter last week, cringed and immediately checked on whether it was from the city or Rybak's campaign.
"I support the mayor and I'll probably vote for him, but I did feel the piece was kind of 'campaigny' for being from the city," Carlson said.
The piece, he said, presents the mayor's side of topics expected to be issues in the campaign. Fey said, "There's a very bright line between campaign and office activity. We pay attention to that. This is full of good information that people have a right to know. We see this as part of open government."
It is common practice for City Council members to use taxpayer money to send out newsletters to their wards.
The use of photographs, however, is particularly touchy, and Rybak includes five flattering shots. Asked about the photos, Fey said, "Frankly, we were just trying to liven up the layout with some pictures and graphics so it wasn't all text."
A fine line
In recent years, some politicians have run into trouble for coming close to the line between official government work and politicking, especially with the use of photos.
In 1999, a picture of then-Gov. Jesse Ventura appeared on a Commerce Department brochure. While Attorney General Mike Hatch said the photo was OK, Legislative Auditor James Nobles said it violated the law preventing public money from being used to create publications to promote the personal or political identity of a state official.
When Fey was asked whether anyone in the mayor's office referred to the law before issuing the publication, he said, "I did not personally look at it. If you look at the newsletters of council members or former mayors, they've all got pictures. It's pretty typical stuff."
Council Member Scott Benson said he has published a newsletter -- without photographs.
"We're not that high-tech," he said.
The city attorney has not looked into when such publications cross the line into taxpayer-funded campaigning because no one has asked, but Deputy City Attorney Peter Ginder said the key question is whether the reader would be led to believe that the publication was put forward by an individual.
Nobles, who had not seen Rybak's newsletter, said the state may need to draw a clearer line about what is appropriate for official publications, especially given the proliferation of politicians using government Web sites to update constituents.
"I think public officials need to be very careful not to use public funds to promote their personal agendas," Nobles said. "It's against the Minnesota tradition and ultimately it will hurt them politically. The public likes to see campaigns promoted with private money." Source: Star Tribune, January 21, 2005
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