Public service is a noble calling.
The process of getting there, however, is not always so noble. Our process for electing public officials is born out of the ethical ideal of creating an informed electorate.
Situational Ethics verses Moral absolutes
Regrettably, individual promises made to people in exchange for their votes, scripted debates, the influence of special interests, and irrelevant, deceptive, and vitriolic campaign communications leave our community without any real information about what candidates stand for.
The community feel disenfranchised, believing that their vote no longer matters. Our community is also frustrated by political polarity and resultant lack of academic results in our School District.
Let me be clear, Board deliberation should be polite, but also pointed and direct. Commenting at Board meetings on past Board comments and past votes, is expounding on the ideological differences between Board Directors. These comments are an attempt to reveal their tendencies, and to reveal their support of feelings and assumptions over objective facts. Serving on a School Board requires Directors to get to the bottom of the information being presented. We must not take things from Administration, at face value.
- It is not bullying or mean spirited to confront incomplete information, or to have a healthy skepticism during Board deliberation.
- Political sparring is not bullying or mean spirited. We must ask pointed questions on past votes, or prior comments: To peel back the layers for full transparency.
We do however, have Fake Information being turned loose in our communities. We should only be pointing to facts:
Is the information Phony or is it Real?
Information referencing 1) Video taped statements, 2) statements made in the public meetings with dozens of witnesses, 3) recorded votes all with the actual verifiable dates, and 4) electronic communications are all evidence based proof that it’s real.
Information 1) concocted to assassinate someone’s character 2)unsupported claims without verifiable dates and/or witnesses are baseless and phony.
All Board Directors or Board Director Candidates, should be measured by:
- Statements made and recorded at a public meeting,
- Statements made at a non-recorded public meeting with three or more witnesses
- Emails
- Face Book posts,
- Hand written notes to homeowners showing political support for the “opposition candidate”. All else, that cannot be corroborated, must not be communicated.
No one campaigning for your vote should ever bully or intimidate a voter:
* Is it bullying to corner people in a mall, grocery store, or a School District public meeting and bring them off the side and pressure them to vote a certain way?
* Is it bullying to bulldoze someone on Face Book, using insults and other personal attacks, because they support a certain candidate?
* Is it bullying (not to mention illegal) to remove the yard signs of your opponent?