Residents speak out to county board-Ely Timberjay

It looks like the "We are Watching" campaign is getting some coverage in the Ely area as well...maybe Commissioner Forsman will get some calls and e-mails from voters in his district...we can only hope! Here is the article from the Timberjay:

Saturday, September 08, 2007 Volume 18, Issue 36

Residents speak out to county board
By Marshall Helmberger

There were more angry words at this week’s St. Louis County board meeting, but in the end commissioners found agreement on the need for better behavior from the county’s elected officials.
St. Louis County commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to direct the county administrator to work with other elected county officials to draft a code of ethics. The board gave County Administrator Dana Frey until Oct. 10 to report back on his progress. Currently, county ethics rules apply only to employees of the county, but not to elected officials.

The vote came following an at times contentious county board meeting during which as many as 50 county residents turned out to voice their frustrations with the board and its handling of recent sexual harassment complaints against Dennis Fink and Steve Raukar.

The residents were part of a newly-formed organization calling itself “We Are Watching,” whose mission is to increase public awareness and involvement over county decision-making. Members of the group wore scarlet A’s during the meeting, to underscore their desire for accountability from the board and they called for a code of ethics for commissioners.

Group spokesperson Kathy Heltzer, a UMD employee, said frustration with the board has been building for months, but that the board’s refusal to take action on harassment reports was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” “We felt it was a matter of social justice. We just can’t sit by anymore,” she said. Heltzer said the group hoped to improve the level of debate at the county board. “We’re not attacking anyone, but we want to raise the bar, to be more civil.”

The group has also launched a new website at www.northernmnnews.com that will provide updates on county board actions. The website also provides links to two recently completed county investigations into allegations against Raukar and Fink.

If the group hoped to tone down the rhetoric at board meetings, at least one commissioner wasn’t willing to follow along. Commissioner Mike Forsman lobbed several verbal grenades during the day, at various points referring to the new organization as a “mob,” and accusing three fellow commissioners of serving as puppets for the AFSCME union, which represents many county employees. Forsman also said he recognized some members of the newly-formed group, who he said were part of a blue-green coalition that has supported progressive Democrats at DFL conventions. Forsman said many of them appeared angry and he said he was fearful at times for his safety during Tuesday’s board meeting. He said the group shared the same mentality that led to the lynching of three black men in Duluth in the early 1900s. “Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I saw a mob in front of me,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.

Commissioner Steve O’Neil said he found the group respectful, even though some members were clearly upset. O’Neil said most in the group were older women. “It wouldn’t be a group I’d be fearful of,” he said.

But Forsman’s fears have prompted other unusual actions— such as wearing sunglasses whenever he’s in Duluth. Forsman, who charged Tuesday that county government has become hostile to white men, says he’s wearing the glasses to protect himself from false charges that he might be ogling women.

“It’s a safety thing,” said Forsman. “When I’m in Duluth where the blue-green coalition and AFSCME are based, I’m worried they may use something like that against me because I’m not following their agenda.”

O’Neil said he’s seen no indication that AFSCME has taken any interest at all in the sexual harassment issue. “They’ve never spoken to me about it or been present at any meetings on it,” said O’Neil. Neither of the women who filed the actual harassment complaints were members of a union. “I really don’t know what Commissioner Forsman is talking about,” O’Neil said.

Forsman’s actions left others perplexed as well. He drew fire from fellow board members for wearing the sunglasses and his comments likening citizens addressing the county board to a lynch mob, were panned in a Duluth News-Tribune editorial on Wednesday.

Kevin Skwira-Brown, a St. Scholastica instructor and member of We Are Watching, said Forsman’s comments reflect the kind of language that has raised concerns with many in his group. “When a commissioner accuses others of being puppets when they stand up for human rights, or a mob that lynches people, we’re really getting off track,” he said.

Skwira-Brown said the tone of the county board has become the issue, not disagreements among board members. “There have been some simplistic attempts to frame this as a north-south division or a union issue. I think all of that is really unfortunate as well as inaccurate. I believe people across the county share a desire for greater decency,” he said. “I think this is an opportune time to raise expectations about how we conduct dialogue.”