All manner of opinions to ring out from St. Paul stage

They will rail against poverty, war, taxes, government, the media, the Republicans, the Democrats and British involvement in Northern Ireland.

One man will read portions of his recent master's thesis on privatization. Others will denounce abortion or defend the right to choose. Some confess that they don't know what they are going to say.

But together, some 48 people will climb a stage set up across the street from the Xcel Energy Center and deliver their opinions over a loud speaker, for 50 minutes at a time, 12 hours a day, for all four days of the Republican National Convention, Sept. 1-4.

The special open forum stage, to sit at the intersection of W. 6th Street and 7th Street, was created and will be supervised by the city of St. Paul's Parks and Recreation Department.

Thirty-six people have won slots so far.

Their time periods were set by lottery. Twelve more will be added on a first-come, first-served basis starting Tuesday. The stage will face the Xcel Center, the convention site, and have a sound system that the city says is loud enough that delegates walking next to the X will be able to hear the speeches.

Misunderstandings

One speaker, Robert Arens, 70, of St. Paul, said that he is trying to sell his Sept. 1, 7 p.m., slot on eBay for $100, but city parks director Bob Bierscheid said whoever buys it wouldn't be allowed to speak.

Arens said that if he is not allowed to sell the slot, he will try to auction it off. Said Bierscheid: "This gentleman doesn't understand. It is not his to trade."

As a last resort, Arens, a retired 3M chemist, said he will talk about how young Americans aged 15 to 25 are more likely to die from traffic accidents, homicide or suicide than from death on the battlefield.

Arens' son, Rhett, 49, of Stillwater, also signed up for a 50-minute slot. "I don't want to share what I will be talking about," said Rhett, who is in business development. "I don't have it laid out in a concise way to share with you."

Another slot "owner," Harold Owen, 42, of Eldersburg, Md., won the 8 a.m. position on Sept. 4, and he hoped to turn the stage over to all eight Republican congressional candidates from Maryland, including Collins Bailey of Waldorf, Md., the state's Fifth District GOP nominee.

Whether it's the rule of law or man, Bailey won't be allowed to speak, says Bierscheid. The opportunity is designed for the individuals who submitted their names and no one else, he said.

In one case, a husband and wife each submitted their names. Laura Helmueller of Eagan will speak on Sept. 2 and her husband, Mark, will have his turn on Sept. 4.

Mark Helmueller, 51, who said he is in sales, said he'll talk on "various issues" but was too busy to give details. He said he had no idea what his wife's topic would be. She did not return phone calls.

The idea and the area

Bierscheid said the free speech stage evolved from a concept by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman to allow a wide range of voices to be heard in connection with the convention. The parks department learned that San Diego set up a similar stage at the 1996 Republican convention.

Six parks department workers will be on duty and will check speakers' IDs before they're allowed on stage, one at a time. A green timing light will be on for the first 45 minutes that they speak. It will then turn yellow, and go red when the 50 minutes are up.

Arlie Forsberg, 55, of Maplewood, a mental health worker, says she'll use her 9 a.m. Sept. 2 slot to denounce abortion, but said her talk might take only 20 or 30 minutes. "I don't know if anybody is going to be listening," she said. "All I know is they offered this free speech thing and I thought I would try."

She'll be preceded at 8 a.m. by Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Tim Stanley, executive director of the group's action fund, said he would use their time to describe how U.S. Sen. John McCain, the GOP's presumptive presidential candidate, and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, running for reelection, are opposed to a woman's right to choose.

Abortion opponents will get another chance when Pro-Life Ministries takes the stage at 2 p.m. that day. "We will probably have an ecumenical church service and also have an advocate for the sanctity of life," said the Rev. Brian Walker.

Four speakers from an anti-poverty group, Low Income Fellows Together, have snared speaking spots. Shonagh Jones, 37, of St. Paul, said she'll discuss "just what it's like to live in poverty and how we juggle things."

Coleen Rowley, the former FBI agent turned peace activist, plans to use her 7 p.m. time slot on Sept. 2 to promote the Peace Island Picnic she is helping to organize on Sept. 4 at Harriet Island.

Dwayne Hall of Texarkana, Ark., a Ron Paul supporter, plans to focus on law enforcement attacks at Ruby Ridge and Waco. "The main point I want to make is that our government is not run constitutionally anymore," he said.

Longtime local activist Leslie Davis, founder and president of Earth Protector, gets the noon slot on Sept. 2. "I thought I'd catch the lunch crowd," he said. His topic: getting Congress to appropriate lots of money for new roads, bridges and mass transit, which will create thousands of jobs.

Opening things up

Leading off at 8 a.m. on the first day is the Irish American Unity Conference, which favors the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland. Kate McCabe, the group's national president, said she'll focus on the group's campaign to promote U.S. investment in Northern Ireland. She'd also like to bring up some musicians to play the bagpipes.

Randy Furst • 612-673-7382