--- "D.Klein" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Sorry to beat it to death - but once again - who are
> the best picks for
> School Board? If you've saved them - someone please
> forward me the
> pertinent posts or address. Thanks.
>
> D. Klein
> Ward 7, Kenwood
I know that Patrick Peterson and Freeman Wicklund were
the top two choices of the folks attending the only
nonpartisan parents forum in Longfellow Community.
This per a parent who was present and said that they
did a survey of choices of those present. Being a
nonprofit-the organization does not endorse. I was
not at this forum and would love to hear from those
who were there.
The only other nonpartisan forum I am aware of was the
one I helped organize with the youth council at
District 202 which was attended by aprroximately 35
young people and 5 candidates. The young people at
District 202 where also fans of Freeman & Patrick for
perhaps obvious reasons(they are both under 30 and
openly gay-both pluses with this audience).
Others in attendance at this forum were Ross Taylor
who spoke extensively about the work that the school
board had done working on glbt youth issues. Our
short predetermined answer time made it so he was
often cutoff by the time keeper as his incumbency
meant he had so much information to share.
Dennis Schapiro was obviously there to learn and
showed great curiousity by asking many questions of
the audience-natural for a journalist I suppose.
Dennis did have one statement that put him out with
the youth in attendance. In response to a question
about how the Mpls school district could share
information on it's efforts with other districts to
improve the environment for glbt youth he said "more
and more of these school districts are going to be
coming to us as diversity grows in the suburbs and
outstate and ask us-'How do we deal with these strange
people?'" I believe he was trying to imitate an
uninformed outstate or suburban school administrator
but he missed the point that while glbt parents and
staff may be in a higher concentration in Mpls., glbt
youth are pretty evenly spread everywhere.
Doug Mann seemed to get a mixed response from the
crowd. Some young people really liked him and others
thought he was homophobic or at least heterosexist. I
would not apply either of these to Doug. Doug seems
to communicate wonderful in writing and less
succinctly in such a forum. This may have been what
lead to the widely divergent responses from the young
people.
As I said earlier, Patrick & Freeman did very well
perhaps because of there proximity to the issues being
discussed. I know Freeman mentioned to me that he
really enjoyed having a forum focused on these issues
and I believe Patrick enjoyed himself as well.
Freeman won points on his response to questions about
how the new state graduation standards were being
implemented in the system and how it could be changed
to better serve students.
Patrick won points on his work on the hazing policy
and other work he did on the site management team for
his high school.
I should mention that Frank Zaragoza had planned on
attending but called to inform me he was ill that day
with the flu. Sharon Henry-Blythe had responded by
email confirming her attendance at the forum but was a
no show.
Thanks, David Strand
Loring Park
Ward 7
Disclosure-I am Freeman's Campaign Treasurer so please
take that into account. Above I try to share what
I've heard about the two school board debates from
those who were there as objectively as I am able
considering my circumstances. I would love to hear
from other attendees from either of these forums and
was very thankful to all who attended the District 202
forum.
You may also want to checkout the candidates websites
listed @ www.e-democracy.org to form your own opinions.
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