From the DH:LEBANON — The political action committee pursuing a recall of Lebanon School Board member Debi Shimmin has expanded its efforts to include board members Rick Alexander and Josh Wineteer.
Representatives with the Lebanon Citizens Alliance for a Responsible Education System, or CARES, filed the additional recall petitions for Alexander and Wineteer on June 5 with the Linn County Elections Office.
It's stated in the article that the disappearance of Sprenger from the board was a motivating factor, and that makes sense.
Also as stated in the article, if the recall succeeds, the Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD will be appointing three new members.
My initial reaction: This actually might make the recall less likely to succeed, as people are going to wary of what they perceive as outsiders picking board members. It also might generate more backlash, as the recall will now cover over half the board.
That said, if it succeeds, we might get more professional board members if the ESD picks them.
Also, it is an understandable response to Sprenger's resignation; I wouldn't necessarily want the remaining four to pick her replacement, either. Kennedy was right that Sprenger was a calming factor.
Maybe more later, but I have a lot of graduation stuff to deal with this weekend.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Lebanon Recall Expands to Include Alexander, Wineteer
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I hope people realize that a recall of these 3 board members likely will result in keeping Robinson on as Lebanon's superintendent for more long years after all.
If people want more years of arrogance and disrespect of the public, community and teachers, then I guess they will get that by keeping Robinson on, which ESD-appoints would be likely to do.
It seems unlikely he will be able to get a job elsewhere before he is willing to finally retire and let go of power over educational matters in this community. But then again, maybe he will, since he apparently did the same things in Reedsport's educational community that he's done here.
Hire him...PLEASE...someone hire him away from Lebanon!
Unbelievable!
How can you (anonymous @ June 11 5:45pm) say that ESD is going to be pro-Robinson too?
Your conspiracy theory and/or the mega-power of Robinson is getting bigger and bigger all the time.
All three of them need to go.
Glad the recall is extending to them.
If ESD picks the replacements we can hopefully, finally, get out of the rut we have been churning our wheels against for so long.
The LE story also mentioned that Linda Darling is a director of the biggest financial contriutor to the recall effort. Does that worry anybody other than me? It's just slimey.
I address some of these comments in a roundabout way here.
I don't think anonymous 5:45 was saying that the ESD would choose pro-Robinson people, just that they would choose people who may not have the desire to see through the non-renew of Mr. Robinson. Different things. I also agree that by extending the recall to three people, it is less likely to succeed. Plus, it would be several months before the recall could wrap up, so the board could replace Sherrie by then anyway.
You mean anonymous @ June 12, 2008 1:40 AM that the ESD is not so apt to be BIASED about Jim Robinson as someone those three Board Members pick?
If they know they are being so carefully watched they will likely be much more careful in who they pick to fill the vacant spot.
Also, I'm not positive but I believe each person being recalled has a separate petition that voters can sign.
I suspect the ESD is likely going to pick people who espouse and demonstrate values that the ESD, or maybe the OSBA, think are important in board members.
Some people - including myself - think that among those values are going to be professionalism and respect for the process and rule of law. My take is that Rick Alexander and Josh Wineteer's actions do not reflect those values.
I also suspect that someone is going to conflate picking pro-Robinson with pro-law candidates. While funny, that's not helpful.
So, if the four left get to choose the replacement for Sherrie, is the new person screwed to begin with? Most are going to automatically assume the new person is in alliance with the current majority. Talk about starting in a hole.
Not necessarily - after Debi, I actually think people will be more inclined to wait and see how a new person votes, and what they say.
What they say during any interviews or hearings will also make a difference, as will any public statements they've made in the past or known friendships/relationships.
Post a Comment