This is more and more clear in our housing policies which respond to fewer and fewer lower income people - working poor people.  Over and over again I see that people with fewer resources are not really considered full partners in the process. And when we look, we see that the poor are being forced to move to the suburbs. I don't think we can say, "Let them all just move somewhere else."  We'll create a city where certain people will live just because they can afford to live here more.  It will create more homeless people, and it will also create a ring around us not that different from the townships that were created in South Africa.

So let me say that I have questions.  I have many, many questions - at least 130 of them that have not been answered.  I don't understand how we can be rushing, at least from my point of view, to pass this budget.  I can't speak for all of you.  You have your own ways to deal with the budget.  But I do think that the question has to be raised about the importance of the budget in terms of setting citywide policies and an understanding of what is really happening to our city.

We should be able to not only utilize the resources for our own area, which I think we can do without a vote - not based on negotiations for a vote but based on negotiations on the policy and an understanding of it. That's what is critical.  But if we don't have our questions answered, then we're not providing the leadership that people expect from us in this city which is to create a balance in government. 

This is a government with a legislative branch as well as an administrative branch.  I think we should make that work.  I think we should not vote on a budget until we have the answers to the questions to do so, and, in being forced to do so, I have to vote no on the budget.