It makes no difference who wins the East County seat on the San Diego County Office of Education board--Katie Dexter or Alicia Munoz

May 20, 2014 UPDATE: This post became deeply ironic one day after it was published.

See: Who's replacing the four corrupt Sweetwater trustees who were forced to resign? Four people who have controlled the legal shenanigans of Sweetwater for years

Four SDCOE board members are replacing the four members of the Sweetwater Union High School District board who were forced to resign due to corruption convictions. See all posts on South Bay Indictments.

Katie Dexter: The Right Choice for San Diego County School Board
by Jack & Helen Ofield
Patch
May 16, 2014

Alicia Munoz has insulted more than 25,000 residents of Lemon Grove with her recent hit piece attacking our 12-year, very effective Lemon Grove School Board member Katie Dexter. Munoz and her supporters in the American Federation of Teachers Local 1931 trashed our school district and everyone who serves it and, by extension, our city as a whole.

She scorns Dexter's work in business (Sam's Club, GMAC) and casts herself as a "professor." She works in the community college system where there is no such academic rank. Her occasional lecturing at SDSU does not make her a "professor." Thus has she also insulted the academic community with her fake title.

Because Munoz and her handlers are ignorant of Lemon Grove's stirring history and of its successful efforts to educate a highly diverse population (some 22 languages and dialects spoken in our schools), they are unaware that the Lemon Grove School District is in the vanguard of classroom technology, interdisciplinary learning and STEM curricula, art and music (we've had a music program since 1933), healthy diets for students and, not least, construction in 2013 of a beautiful, joint use library that is a runaway success story in the county library system.

Munoz' absence of judgment, sensitivity and community research, and acceptance of her union's gutter tactics make her a poor choice for County School Board. She should withdraw from the race now.

By contrast, Dexter's widely-respected grasp of school financing, ability to forge public-private partnerships to help our schools, long-time service to local, county and state education organizations, volunteer service as a mother and board member in community groups, respect for teachers and classified employees alike, and managerial skills have won her a who's who of support -- Supervisor Dianne Jacob, La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid, Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom, Brian Marshall, Superintendent of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, Kevin Ogden, Superintendent of the Julian School District, CSEA Chapter 568, Lemon Grove City Council members Howard Cook and Jerry Jones, and the list goes on to literally thousands of voters inside and outside of Lemon Grove.

...Jack is an Emeritus Professor of Film and former Filmmaker in Residence at SDSU and Fellow of the American Film Institute, and Helen is a writer and member of the San Diego County Historic Site Board and president of the Lemon Grove Historical Society...

Sincerely,
Jack and Helen Ofield


Comments

Maura Larkins
No matter which one of these candidates wins, the SDCOE board (as well as the superintendent, Randy Ward) will continue to be a rubber stamp for Diane Crosier and her stable of lawyers.


Jack & Helen Ofield
Maura - They will have a fighter in Katie Dexter. Until we begin to place people of Katie's caliber on that board, it will be business as usual.


Maura Larkins
Hi Helen,
Public institutions in Lemon Grove exhibit higher integrity than most of the other public entities in San Diego County that I'm familiar with, but SDCOE (and SDCOE-JPA) are connected to powerful people--including the folks at AIG (the insurance company that got over $180 billion during the financial crisis).

No candidate would be able to make the slightest dent in the corruption.

Remember the MiraCosta College scandal? Remember board member Judy Stratton? No, of course you don't--because she resigned right after she spoke out about corruption.

You can't make the lawyers mad and remain on the board.

Maura Larkins

The AFT attack on a middle and working-class community reminds me of an attitude I've seen among many teachers. They prefer working in upscale areas where the kids are born on third base; the test scores make the teachers think that they themselves hit a triple! (I'd like to acknowledge the late, great Molly Ivins as the originator of the quip that I'm paraphrasing here.)

Mitt Romney: Teachers Unions' Contributions To Political Campaigns Should Be Limited

Mitt Romney: Teachers Unions' Contributions To Political Campaigns Should Be Limited
The Huffington Post
By Mollie Reilly
09/26/2012

Mitt Romney embraced campaign finance reform on Tuesday. But rather than targeting unlimited corporate contributions or lending his support to existing campaign finance legislation, Romney instead suggested limiting teachers unions' donations to politicians.

The Republican presidential candidate came down on teachers unions for supporting political candidates during an NBC-sponsored forum on education in New York City. During the "Education Nation" event, moderator Brian Williams asked Romney about his thoughts on the teachers' strike in Chicago.

"I don’t know that I would prevent teachers from being able to strike,” Romney said, acknowledging that "allowing to teachers to strike on matters such as comensation" is within their rights.

Instead, Romney said the focus should be on removing the teachers unions' money from the political equation.

“We simply can’t have a setup where the teachers unions can contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of politicians and then those politicians, when elected, stand across from them at the bargaining table, supposedly to represent the interests of the kids," Romney said. "I think it’s a mistake. I think we’ve got to get the money out of the teachers unions going into campaigns. It’s the wrong way for us to go. We’ve got to separate that.”

Romney also noted that the unions tend to be particularly friendly to Democratic candidates.

The former governor's comments fall in line with arguments made against the Supreme Court's controversial Citizens United decision, in which the court ruled that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts on campaigns under the First Amendment. Romney has previously declined to criticize the ruling, telling the Portsmouth Herald's editorial board that he believed "their decision was a correct decision."

Romney has advocated for overturning legislation like the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act, instead supporting unlimited individual contributions to campaigns as long as there is full disclosure...




Is it possible that Romney is upset with teachers because they didn't give him a good science education?

Mitt Romney Wonders Why Ann Romney's Airplane Windows Don't Roll Down Huffington Post
09/24/2012

...After his wife's plane was forced to make an emergency landing this weekend, Romney told the Los Angeles Times, he was worried for her safety. The candidate then continued on a bizarre tangent that showed just how little the Republican nominee understands about flight.

“I appreciate the fact that she is on the ground, safe and sound. And I don’t think she knows just how worried some of us were,” Romney told the paper. “When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly."

Romney said the biggest problem in a distressed aircraft is that "the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous."...

It's Called Labor Day, Not SuperPac Day

It's Called Labor Day, Not SuperPac Day (includes video)
Sept. 3, 2012

Prop 32 was intentionally written to advantage corporate special interests and disadvantage working people. The SuperPAC Billionaires are enthusiastic about Prop 32, because it will only make their independent expenditures more powerful.

SuperPac Billionaire, who can also be found on twitter, made a video about his plans once Prop 32 passes. But voters across California are fighting to make sure that never happens.

As a teacher I've dedicated my life to bettering others, and I deserve a voice! I'm saying "no" to this greed by voting "no" on 32!
- Kimberly Laws, San Diego

Join Kimberly by pledging today to vote No on 32

Did Christine O'Donnell's high school fail to teach her about the First Amendment?

19 October 2010
Christine O'Donnell's church and state gaffe makes voters laugh
guardian.co.uk

The US constitution has its quirks but it is crystal clear on one issue: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," begins the first amendment, adopted in 1791. But more than 200 years later, its meaning appears to be lost on Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party favourite running for a US Senate seat.

At a debate today for the Delaware Senate seat once occupied by Vice President Joe Biden, O'Donnell appeared to be nonplussed by the wording of the first amendment, repeatedly returning to the subject and sounding incredulous after her Democratic opponent Chris Coons attempted to explain it to her.

When Coons told her the text of the constitution prohibited government from establishing any religion, O'Donnell replied in apparent bewilderment: "You're telling me that's in the first amendment?"

Minutes earlier, the audience at Widener Law School in Delaware had laughed in derision when O'Donnell asked: "Where in the constitution is the separation of church and state?"

Not only is the first amendment perhaps the most famous part of the constitution but the "establishment clause", as it is known, is the subject of legal precedent stretching back into the 19th century. No less an authority than Thomas Jefferson, one of the constitution's authors, declared the clause's aim to build "a wall of separation between church and state"...

2010: The year of politicking insanely

2010: The year of politicking insanely
By Eugene Robinson
Washington Post
October 15, 2010

Okay, I want to make sure I understand. Two years ago, with the nation facing a host of complex and difficult problems, voters put a bunch of thoughtful, well-educated people in charge of the government. Now many of those same voters, unhappy and impatient, have decided that things will get better if some crazy, ignorant people are running the show? Seriously?...

Candidate Lutz announces hunger strike until Hunter agrees to debate

Candidate Lutz announces hunger strike until Hunter agrees to debate
NEWS RELEASE
August 11, 2010
San Diego County, Calif.

"Representative Hunter either has no respect for the voters of his district, or else is so terrified of engaging in an honest debate on the issues that he refuses to face his challengers," said Ray Lutz, the Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Duncan D. Hunter for California's 52nd congressional seat.

In two separate, hand-delivered letters, the Lutz campaign requested a series of eight debates, taking place in each community throughout the 52nd district. Delivery of the second letter was recorded on video, and was greeted with malice, verbal abuse and expulsion of the camera from the Hunter's office. Libertarian candidate Michael Benoit agreed to the series of debates without condition.
For the time being, all debates have been canceled.

"Until Hunter steps up to the plate, I'll be stepping away from the dinner plate," Lutz said. "Starting at sundown this Thursday, August 12, I will refuse to eat until he agrees to debate. I hope my sacrifice will make him realize the community expects him to take their issues seriously.

"Hunter obviously has no respect for the democratic process," Lutz said. "But, to be fair, his votes prove he has no respect for seniors, the unemployed, small business owners, tribal rape victims or anyone who has been stomped on by our healthcare system."...

Campaign reform

Every time you see a politician on TV, wouldn't it be great if you could see a his top three campaign contributors listed right under his name?

Or what if whenever registered lobbyists go the capitol or meet with legislators, require them to wear safety-orange vests that say "LOBBYIST" in big letters on them.

How about we heavily tax corporate campaign contributions? That way at least we won't have to tax working people to give the corporations what they want.

Instead of trying to limit political donations, force all candidates for public office to list all donors and dollar amounts on a publicly accessible web site. Corporations won a big victory recently, allowing them to contribute unlimited amounts to political groups, on the basis of their right to free speech. So, fine, let them have free speech. But not secret backroom deals. Speak up, corporations. Let us all hear what you have to say.

Let the public know who members of Congress are meeting and talking with.

Make it illegal for members of congress to receive gifts or money from lobbyist or special interest groups - personally or for campaigns while in office and 10 years after. I am tired of congress members voting in favor of who ever pays them the most.

Where did Alvin Greene get the $10,400 to run for office in South Carolina, and does he have the mental capacity to run a campaign?

It seems unlikely that Alvin Green used his own money for a bizarre quest that appears to be far beyond his mental abilities.

South Carolina Pol Questions Dem Senate Candidate's 'Mental Status'
By Heidi Noonan
June 13, 2010
FOXNews.com

A South Carolina lawmaker on Sunday suggested that new Democratic Senate nominee Alvin Greene may be intellectually incapable of participating in the general election race.

State Rep. Todd Rutherford told Fox News that he went to Greene's house to discuss with him how Greene succeeded last week in becoming the candidate to challenge Republican Sen. Jim DeMint in the November election, but he found it difficult to decipher an answer.

"About two questions into a conversation with him, it would become apparent that he is not probably fit to answer the questions befitting a Senate candidate," Rutherford said. "If he was put into this, then it is a joke that is funny to all the rest of us, but he doesn't get it -- because I don't know that his mental status is such that he can get it."

On Friday South Carolina authorities launched a formal investigation into Greene's unlikely win. The campaign of his vanquished opponent, Vic Rawl, said it too is looking into reports across the state from voters and poll workers who "experienced problems with voting for whom they intended."...Greene won with about 60 percent of the vote...

Rutherford added that based on his conversation with Greene about his military service he got the impression that Greene could have decided to spend the $10,400 needed to enter the South Carolina race, but "I doubt it very seriously."

...South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip, said he could reach no conclusion except that Greene is a plant.

"I never said he was a Republican plant. I said he was someone's plant. ... I saw the patterns in this. I know a Democratic pattern, I know a Republican pattern and I saw in the Democratic primary elephant dung all over the place," he told CNN...


Conviction wouldn't bar Greene from representing S.C.
June 15, 2010
By Ron Barnett
USA TODAY

If Alvin Greene is convicted of the felony obscenity charge against him, he could represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate — but he might not be able to vote for himself, elections officials said Tuesday...

Greene, who did no campaigning, had no website and raised no money, defeated Vic Rawl, a former circuit judge and state lawmaker who campaigned across the state, in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary last Tuesday. He captured nearly 60% of the vote...

Unless a new election is called, Greene will face heavily favored incumbent Republican Sen. Jim DeMint in November.

University of South Carolina police allege that Greene was caught on video showing obscene material on a computer screen to a female student and asking her to go to her dorm room with him. Greene has refused to discuss the charge. He has not entered a plea and has not been indicted.

Rawl has filed a protest with the state Democratic Party alleging the touch-screen voting machines the state uses malfunctioned. The state Democratic Party's executive committee will hear Rawl's protest about the voting machines Thursday. It has the authority to call for a new election, Whitmire said.

Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit group, asked South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster— who lost a bid in the GOP gubernatorial race last week — to investigate how Greene came up with the $10,440 filing fee required to put his name on the ballot and whether Greene "accepted an inducement" to run.

Greene, an unemployed veteran, has repeatedly said he used money saved from his service in the Army, although he was granted a free attorney in his criminal case as an indigent...

Gloria Romero for California Superintdendent of Public Instruction

Romero's reform record makes her best pick for superintendent
RICH PEDRONCELLI
The Press Democrat
May 20, 2010

If you want to assess the three leading candidates for state schools superintendent, check out their supporters.

Larry Aceves, a retired superintendent who served small school districts around the state, is endorsed by fellow administrators.

State Sen. Gloria Romero is aligned with charter school advocates and people who believe that student achievement should be a factor in evaluating the performance of teachers and principals.

Assemblyman Tom Torlakson is the favorite of the teachers unions.

All three candidates understand the value of education and care deeply about public schools, but only one has a record of challenging the status quo. That's why The Press Democrat recommends Gloria Romero for state superintendent of public instruction.

Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, calls education “the civil rights issue of our time.” In her quest to reward classroom innovation and hold educators accountable, she overcame vigorous opposition to pass legislation this year affirming that student achievement data can be used in teacher evaluations. The same bill expands open-enrollment opportunities and allows parents to force their local school boards to revamp some of the state's poorest-performing schools.

Critics — including Torlakson and Aceves — contend that data-based evaluations are unfair, potentially penalizing teachers who take on difficult assignments. But we're not convinced that a system can't be devised that rewards those teachers for their students' progress over the course of a school year...

Voters' anger at Washington may overpower any fixes

This is why the world is such a mess. People just want to hurt the ones they're angry at, even though they hurt themselves in the process. What do people want after bankers blew up the economy? Tea Baggers don't want financial reform, they want the government to let the banks fail--and the whole economy go down in flames.

Voters' anger at Washington may overpower any fixes
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
May 19, 2010

Voters sent a clear message on Tuesday: They don't like the way Washington works. But they sent a mixed message on what would make it work better, which adds up to a virtual guarantee that it might be a long time before Washington actually does work better. ..

Prop. 16 would be sweet for utilities

Prop. 16 would be sweet for utilities
By Dean Calbreath
San Diego Union-Tribune
May 16, 2010

For three years during the late 1990s, Michael Meacham, director of Chula Vista’s conservation and environmental services department, worked to craft a law that would make it easier for California’s municipalities to form their own power companies.

Since then, nearly 20 cities from the trendy suburbs of Marin County to the farmlands of the Central Valley have banded together to generate their own energy, breaking away from their former energy supplier, Pacific Gas & Electric.

But Meacham worries that those efforts might be endangered thanks to Proposition 16, a ballot initiative funded with $35 million from PG&E that would require municipalities to gain the approval of two-thirds of the voters before they create their own power companies...

Kathleen Fernandez wins in Chula Vista Elementary; no explanation for secrecy given by CVE President Peg Myers

Photo: CVE President Peg Myers apparently has some reason for her decision not to reveal election results on the Chula Vista Educators website.

Today I finally got CVE election results. This news may not seem like a big deal to you and me, but apparently it's a big deal to CVE President Peg Myers. Myers wouldn't return my phone calls, and for the past 13 days, her secretaries claimed not to have any information about election results.

When the secretary told me once again this morning that she didn't have the election results, I told her what I had learned: Treasurer Nancy Potts had resigned two weeks ago--before the votes were counted in the May 20, 2009 run off election. Kathleen Fernandez won by default. (Each of the other offices had only one person running.)

The CVE secretary then said, "I knew that." (?!)

(Humans are funny, aren't we? In this case, the young woman preferred to let me know that she had been lying rather than allow me to think I knew something she didn't know.)

I don't hold the girl who answers the phone responsible for this deception. The blame rests squarely with Peg Myers.

This is not appropriate protocol; it's a shameful way to conduct business. A public school teachers union should not be secretive; it contributes to public mistrust of CTA, and for good reason. I would like to see CTA become truly democratic, like California Federation of Teachers. CFT has real elections; decisions are made at the ballot box, not it the back room.

I hope Kathleen Fernandez won't be co-opted into Peg Myers' corruption. If they ask her to keep a secret that shouldn't be kept, I hope she'll say no. Of course, she'll get thrown off the board, but there are worse fates--such as being on the board when illegal acts are committed by CVE. Unfortunately, CVE elections seem to be about personalities, not policies.

Just as members of San Diego's MEA didn't seem to care about President/Manager Judie Italiano's wrongdoing, CVE members also seem uninterested in corruption on Landis Street. Perhaps not coincidentally, attorney Ann Smith has worked for both organizations.

Chula Vista teachers seem to like to let CTA director Jim Groth and CVE President Peg Myers do their thinking for them. As the CVE website says, "CVE forms a representative body capable of developing group opinion and speaks with authority for members."

Peg Myers Watch Day 9: When will Chula Vista Educators release election results?

Photo: CVE President Peg Myers

UPDATE JUNE 28, 2009: It's been five-and-a-half weeks now, and Peg Myers still has not posted the union election results on the CVE website. What exactly is the purpose of the website? Apparently the purpose is to give the impression that CVE has nothing to hide. According to Peg Myers' secretary, only board members are supposed to know the results.

ORIGINAL POST:

Chula Vista Elementary School District teacher Kathleen Fernandez apparently created quite a stir during the election of Chula Vista Educators union officials this month. Nine days ago teachers belonging to the CTA affiliate finished voting, but the results have not been released. CVE President Peg Myers apparently thinks that some problem would ensue if the public were allowed to know who won the May 20, 2009 race.

So Peg Myers is keeping the results secret.

Furthermore, Myers refuses to say when the results will be released.

Myers seems to be bringing a little piece of Zimbabue to the folks in Chula Vista. The situation reminds me of this story:



Zimbabwe Election Results Delay Heightens Fears of Rigging
Voice of America
By Delia Robertson
Johannesburg
01 April 2008

Independent analysts are expressing fears that the delay in announcing the result of the Zimbabwe elections is an indication that vote rigging is underway. Meanwhile, head of Zimbabwe's main opposition party Morgan Tsvangiari denies reports that his party is in talks with advisers to President Robert Mugabe about president giving up power...

The trickle of results being released by the Zimbabwe Elections Commission in Harare, nearly four days after the polls closed, is being widely condemned...






What makes the Chula Vista situation even stranger is that the candidates did not have any opposition for the offices of President, Vice-President or Secretary. All this mystery concerns only the run off race for Treasurer, in which Nancy Potts faced write-in candidate Kathleen Fernandez.

From what I remember of several years of teaching with Peg Myers at Castle Park Elementary, she wasn't one to listen to excuses for turning in homework late.]

Notes to Peg Myers:

#1: Your assignment is long past due, Ms. Myers. You should stay after school until you've got those election results posted on the CVE website.

#2: Relax and learn to love freedom of information. Quit trying so hard to silence me. Instead of trying so hard to eliminate my blog, how about you debate with me in public? If I'm truly crazy, as you like to say, then I'm sure the audience will quickly catch on. How about I present my information to the Representative Council of Chula Vista Educators? Or are you determined to perpetuate Gina Boyd/Jim Groth tactics?




[Note to readers: If you want to be the first to know when results are finally posted, check here: Chula Vista Educators website. You'll know you've got the results when you see Tim Kriss as vice-president and Kathleen Fernandez as treasurer.]

Chula Vista candidate forum for CVESD and SUHSD

Sponsored by South Bay Forum and
Castle Park High School student government
October 1, 2008

CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES

SEAT TWO

David Bejarano

David Bejarano
Appointed governing board member

While children were being humbled for not having lunch money, Mr. Bejarano was spending tax dollars on lawyers for the sole purpose of maintaining the power of the small group, led by Patrick Judd, that has controlled the district for many years. Bejarano paid public lawyers to fight community efforts to create trustee districts.



* MY PICK SEAT TWO: ARCHIE MCALLISTER
Archie McAllister put an end to humiliating children at lunchtime.

Archie McAllister,
Retired Navy and educator

Mr. McAllister is the best candidate for seat #2 in my opinion. He has mainstream, pro-community attitudes, and is smart and well-organized. He brought an end to the policy of humiliating children who didn't have lunch money by giving them the dreaded cheese sandwich. (Cheese sandwiches are terrific, it's just that kids came to associate them with punishment.)


Norberto Salazar, right, fanning himself.

Norberto Salazar,
teacher (and spoiler?)

Norberto fell all over himself during the forum to tell David Bejarano (on two different occasions) how great he is. So why is he running against him? Clearly, Norberto is a Bejarano supporter, and is running once again for CVESD board for the sole apparent purpose of splitting the anti-incumbent vote. He read prepared statements, and constantly fanned himself while the other candidates on the stage sat calmly.

Diego Vargas, parent

Willard "Doc" Howard, program assistant analyst




SEAT FOUR

*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: RUSSEL CORONADO
Russell Coronado is the candidate of those who hope to pry Patrick Judd's fingers from the chair he has held for over twenty years.

Russell Coronado
Educator, parent and administrator

Mr. Coronado has a perfect combination of ability, experience and passion for helping children. Coronado came close to winning against Pamela Smith in 2006, and should win handily this time against Patrick Judd. Mr. Coronado is open about his work experience, while Judd refuses to comment on his recent departure from Mountain Empire School District.


Patrick Judd

Patrick Judd,
incumbent and retired superintendent

Patrick Judd has ruled the district with an iron hand for over twenty years, covering up problems by forcing employees to commit perjury and paying $100,000s to lawyers. He has succeeded in keeping the truth about CVESD out of the mainstream media.

Mr. Judd was a no-show at this forum, much like he was during his mysterious absence the last months of his job at Mountain Empire School District. He finally retired without coming back to work, and announced that he had not been on sick-leave. One suspects that there were some serious problems at the district, and Judd was part of the problem. Judd is now up in Los Angeles.


Aurora Murillo-Clark
community volunteer

I have no idea what Ms. Murillo-Clark's agenda is. I can't help wondering if she was recruited by Bertha Lopez and Norberto Salazar to run as a spoiler to protect incumbent Patrick Judd.

[Update: It seems I was correct in guessing that Murillo-Clark and Bertha Lopez were connected. The list of CABE board members (below) includes both of them.]

California Association for Bilingual Education, Board of Directors 2010 conference edition of The Multilingual Educator, see page 3

Oscar Medina ~ President
Karling Aguilera-Fort ~ Immediate Past President
Pilar Mejía ~ Vice President
Lauri Burnham Massey ~ Director of Legislative Affairs
Aurora Clark ~ Director of Community Affairs
Jeff Penichet ~ Director of Financial Affairs
Rosa Armstrong ~ Director of Para-Professional Affairs
Barbara Flores, Ph.D. ~ Director of Secondary & IHE Affairs
Maricela Parga ~ Director of Parent Relations
Ramón Zavala ~ Region I Representative
Peggy Morrison ~ Region II Representative
Robbie Wedeen ~ Region III Representative
Bertha López ~ Region IV Representative
Irma G. Villanueva ~ Region V Representative
Herman Sillas ~ Legal Counsel

Union-Tribune
Aurora Clark
Age: 39
Community involvement:
South Bay Forum;
district English Learners Advisory
Committee; Latino Summit Steering Committee;
California Association for Bilingual Education board;
Chula Vista City/Schools Community Task Force.
Occupation: Community volunteer
Education: Attended Southwestern College

Update March 2016 on Aurora Clark:

Did citizens lose when Councilman McCann won?

By Susan Luzzaro San Diego Reader March 22, 2016

Aurora Clark, a community advocate, has been ordered to pay Chula Vista councilman John McCann $99,918 to cover legal bills in connection with a 2014 election challenge. According to a recent U-T article, San Diego Superior Court judge Eddie C. Sturgeon ordered the decision on March 11.

Aurora Clark

In 2014 McCann won by two votes the city council seat contested between him and former Chula Vista mayor Steve Padilla: McCann had 18,448 to Padilla’s 18,446. With the assistance of attorney John Moot, Clark sued the County Registrar of Voters and McCann in an effort to ensure provisional votes were counted.

In a March 21 interview, Clark said, “I have been a seasonal poll worker for years. I was trying to be a hundred percent sure to honor the people's vote, and if the registrar could not honor them at least they could notify them. This was not about McCann. The way the votes were going he might have won. It was about honoring the votes people cast.

“As poll workers we learned about people who lost their homes or jobs during the financial crisis. We were trained that those people had rights, too…. During our training, each time we [poll workers] asked about provisional ballots they said the only way that a provisional ballot would not be counted was if someone voted twice....

“A citizen is supposed to have a right to challenge anything that might be unjust. Federal rulings say if a citizen sues on behalf of the public, they are protected as long as they don’t seek personal gain. With this new decision people are told, ‘Don’t exercise your right or you’re going to be penalized.’ The judge said his main concern was if he didn’t rule against me, pretty much, he was afraid that people who ran for political office would be intimidated. He was more concerned about those seeking political office than citizens and taxpayers….

“When I went to the hearing, I went hoping that the judge would listen to the true statement of my financial status; he said he would let me speak if I wanted to say something, but he was not going to consider any corrections to the…information that McCann’s lawyer gave him. I feel like I didn’t even get my day in court….

“I’ve got three children that are in college. I negotiated in my alimony to better care for my boys. I have a second home; that was the agreement. That house is my sole income and the only way that I can pay my mortgage.”

While McCann did not respond to an email or phone call from the Reader, he told the Star News, “We won the election, the election audit, the election recount, the election lawsuit, unanimously won the appeal with the three-judge Fourth District Court of Appeals and now we won our children’s college money back.”

Clark’s attorney Moot was surprised by the judge’s decision: “There’s no legal precedent for the ruling. No one in [Clark’s] position has ever been responsible for attorney fees before, of any case I can find anywhere.

“I don’t know what was going through the judge’s mind. He issued a four-line opinion. He didn’t provide legal analysis. His only real comment at the hearing was he was concerned about the chilling effect it had on the candidates, to which I said — there’s nothing in the law that says you should take into consideration the chilling effect of the defendant….

“At no time did this case involve Mr. McCann or anything he did. It was testing how the Registrar of Voters was counting votes; McCann was only named because the election code says you have to name the person who won the election because if the votes get counted and it changes the result then the court has to be able to issue an order.

“These same votes would be counted in the Orange County Registrar, but the San Diego Registrar did not count them. The registrar has discretion…."...

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES

SEAT TWO

My pick here is Pearl Quinones.

Lorenzo Provencio, retired educator

Pearl Quiñones, president of the governing board
[Note to Pearl: What's up with the Bonny Garcia legal bills? What were you thinking?]

Gabriel Rodriguez, finance representative



SEAT FOUR

*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: JAIME MERCADO
Jaime Mercado and Pearl Quinones

Jaime Mercado
Incumbent, former teacher and principal

Jaime Mercado is clearly interested in his work for the board, and is not just interested in his own advancement. I can't say the same for Bertha Lopez (see below).

Stephanie Alcaraz and Bertha Lopez

Bertha Lopez
Chula Vista school board member
Bertha Lopez is trying to extend the control of the Judd group to Sweetwater district. This group has stood in the way of educational reform, choosing instead to protect cronies at the expense of children and taxpayers. Members of the group are both Democrats (Lopez, Norberto Salazar) and Republicans (Judd, Bejarano), and only one thing is required for group membership: members must protect other members at any cost, and be silent if the group takes action that conflicts with any principles one might have.

Stephanie Alcaraz, nurse

Trina Lopez, retired instructional aide