Reaction to the Mayors speech.

What a joke of a paper. Look at this reaction to mayor Bergson's speech. I talked to or over heard convasations of at least 100 people last night that did not agree with the mayor's speech. Yet the paper choice to only interview people from the left and many that have ties to the social issues that is supporting. The choice to not interview the many politicians, business owners, and private citizens that disagreed with the speech.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13590304.htm
REACTION: Residents respond positively to Bergson's speech.
BY JOHN MYERS
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Scattered among the nearly 500 city employees, activists and business leaders at Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson's State of the City address Monday night were some regular people who just showed up to listen.
For the most part, these Duluthians liked what they heard.
Myrna Matheson tuned into Bergson's quick reference to stepped-up police presence in the neighborhoods around the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Scholastica.
It was the first Matheson, and most everyone else, had heard of it. Neighbors near the campuses have complained of vastly increased traffic, noise, scruffy rental property and occasionally rowdy behavior.
"He covered a lot of ground tonight, he kept it quick and got to a lot of things," said Matheson, who lives near UMD. "I really like that idea of more police presence near the universities. Before tonight, all we heard was more police out west, and they need it. But we need it near the schools, too."
Bergson pledged Monday night to continue decentralizing the police department by basing more officers in neighborhoods and not at City Hall headquarters.
Nancy Valenzuela likes Bergson's focus on homelessness but was expecting something a little more concrete -- such as a new homeless shelter -- to be in the mayor's plans for 2006. Bergson noted Monday night that homelessness is down 14 percent, and he has pledged to eliminate the problem within a decade.
"I like what he's been doing on it. But I wish he would have had said something new tonight about a new shelter or more low-income housing. There are a lot of people who are living with relatives because there isn't enough housing," Valenzuela said. "A lot of families still need help."
Chris Marshall praised the creation of low-income and upscale housing using rehabilitated buildings.
"It's good to see that he (Bergson) values turning old building into new uses and not just tearing them down," Marshall said. "And I like what he said about diversity and Duluth being a welcoming city, that's really important."
Melissa Starke was attending her first ever State of the City event and praised Bergson's focus on preventing suicide within the community.
"My ears really perked up when he started talking about all the different ways we can help, the different groups we can get involved in," Starke said. "I also liked the chance for the winners of the various awards to be recognized for the good they did over the past year, their organizations and the city employees."
Bridget Benson said the speech, like most State of the City events, was right to focus on Duluth's positive achievements in 2005 and goals for the coming year.
"I liked that he talked about hope and optimism," Benson said. "It was very positive."