Mary Kay Rosinski wins in Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District

ELECTION UPDATE
NOVEMBER 5, 2008

I think I made a mistake regarding Mary Kay Rosinski.

Mary Kay Rosinski has unseated Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District trustee Tim Caruthers. Actually, she unseated the least harmful board member. For the past couple years, Tim Caruthers actually was the "minority trustee," often a lone dissenting vote against bad decisions, and even held a public meeting against crooked chancellor Suarez and his supporters (in Feb. 2007, if I remember correctly). The worst ones - Weeks, Alexander, and Garrett - unfortunately will remain.

Why did Rosinski run against Caruthers and not against Bill Garrett? Probably because she knew that the powers that be would be willing to let him be taken down. Rosinski replaced a voice of the community with the voice of the California Teachers Association. I have a feeling that I made a mistake when I supported Rosinski. Perhaps she is willing to work with the corrupt board as long as they share some power with California Teachers Association. Perhaps the real target is the faculty unions that are independent of CTA.

I doubt that Ms. Rosinski will challenge the corrupt attorneys at Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz as she implied she would. She has helped them before to commit illegal actions against employees, so she may help them again. Even though she doesn't choose to speak out against illegal actions (see below), at least there will be more of a balance of power between the faculty and the board.


GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COM COLLEGE - SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
MARY KAY ROSINSKI - 68.37% (79828)
TIMOTHY L. CARUTHERS - 31.63% (36923)



Sadly, the president of what is widely considered to be a deeply corrupt board has retained his seat:

GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COM COLLEGE - SEAT NO. 3
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
BILL GARRETT - 81.40% (90872)
MOE BAKEER - 18.60% (20769)


Rosinski herself, ironically, has worked with these very same corrupt lawyers. So she probably won't insist that Stutz law firm be fired as GCCCD's lawyers. But she is likely to be more employee-friendly, and work for a better relationship between employees and the board.

Mary Kay Rosinski's experience:

1. Teacher, National School District, 27 years
2. President, National City Teachers Assoc., 2 terms
3. SD County Service Center Council Officer, 6 years
4. SOUTH COUNTY TEACHERS UNITED (SCTU), 6 years

[#4 above is the position from which Rosinski helped GCCCD's current lawyers, Stutz, Artiano Shinoff and Holtz, cover up illegal actions at Chula Vista Elementary School District during the period of June 2000 to June 2006. Rosinski was the boss of SCTU executive director Tim O'Neill, who directed Chula Vista Educators' illegal actions in this case.)

Here we go again in Grossmont Union High School District

See all Jim Kelly posts.
See all Grossmont Union High School District posts.


Will the extremely aggressive trustee Jim Kelly (above) go back to trying to keep board member Priscilla Schreiber (below) from visiting schools?



The extreme right Christian wing is in charge again in GUHSD.

That's saying a lot in these parts, since our left wing has consisted of conservative Republican Christians. Conservatives Priscilla Schreiber and Larry Urdahl and the more moderate Republican Dick Hoy have been in control for a couple of years. Heaven help us now that the even more extreme Gary Woods will be replacing Larry Urdahl.

GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
GARY WOODS - 26.95%
PRISCILLA SCHREIBER - 22.65%
MEG JEDYNAK - 18.65%
LARRY D. URDAHL - 19.07%
CARROLL BOONE - 12.68%

Russell Coronado beats Patrick Judd in CVESD, but Judd's pal Bertha Lopez wins in SUHSD

UPDATE: Voters will be the ones losing this election if the CVESD board decides to appoint an insider instead of allowing Archie McAllister, the highest runner-up in the voting, to take the seat of Bertha Lopez, who will be taking a seat in the Sweetwater School District.

Original post:

Russell Coronado brings a breath of fresh air to Chula Vista Elementary School District


CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

RUSSELL CORONADO v. PATRICK JUDD

Patrick Judd failed to keep his board seat in Chula Vista Elementary School District in spite of the efforts of Aurora Murillo-Clark to split the vote.

Clearly, voters had had enough of Mr. Judd, who was recently forced out of his job as superintendent of Mountain Empire Unified School District due to sexual harassment charges.

CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
AURORA MURILLO-CLARK - 21.53%
PATRICK JUDD - 35.81%
RUSSELL CORONADO - 42.65%




ARCHIE MC ALLISTER v. DAVID BEJARANO

Spoiler Norberto Salazar, however, was successful in splitting the vote for seat 2. Salazar, who can't seem to open his mouth without praising former San Diego police chief David Bejarano, managed to get his idol elected for the first time. Bejarano got his position on the board through appointment.

The real opposition candidate, ARCHIE MC ALLISTER, did very well. Let's hope he runs again in two years.

CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SEAT NO. 2
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
ARCHIE MC ALLISTER - 27.34%
NORBERTO P. SALAZAR - 17.39%
WILLARD 'DOC' HOWARD - 5.28%
DIEGO VARGAS - 10.87%
DAVID BEJARANO - 39.12%





SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

JAIME MERCADO v. BERTHA LOPEZ

Patrick Judd's obedient servant Bertha Lopez, however, will apparently carry his torch to Sweetwater Union High School District. This will give Bertha Lopez' cronies on the CVESD board the opportunity to appoint her replacement, instead of allowing the voters to choose. Obviously, the voters' top choice is ARCHIE MC ALLISTER. The board should either appoint Mr. Mc Allister or hold a new election.

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
JAIME MERCADO - 36.29%
BERTHA J. LOPEZ - 42.99%
TRINA LOPEZ - 7.08%
STEPHANIE M. ALCARAZ - 13.64%



PEARL QUINONES v. LORENZO PROVENCIO

Pearl Quinones kept her SUHSD seat, as expected.

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SEAT NO. 2
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ - 18.63%
LORENZO PROVENCIO - 31.24%
PEARL QUINONES - 50.13%

Another reason to vote for Russell Coronado: Patrick Judd's been showing signs of moving to another state

Update: Russell Coronado unseated Patrick Judd in the November 2008

Rumor has it that Patrick Judd is looking for a state job in North Carolina.

I guess Judd's not planning on cleaning up the messes he's made in Chula Vista Elementary School District, San Diego County Office of Education, Mountain Empire Unified School District, and the Accelerated Charter School in Los Angeles.

The decent thing would be for Judd to announce that he's planning to leave Chula Vista.

DEMOCRACY IN CHULA VISTA?

One suspects that he wants to win the election, then resign, preventing the voters of Chula Vista from choosing his successor. His pals on the CVESD board would instead appoint his replacement.

Bertha Lopez reveals some personnel records, hides others; Jaime Mercado opens his file at SUHSD

In 2002 I sued Chula Vista Elementary School District for violations of the labor code and other illegal actions, and Bertha Lopez and other trustees refused to produce my personnel file for the case.

What are she and the rest of the CVESD board hiding?

Is it something that's in the file, or, more likely, is it something that's missing from the file? Among the very few documents produced by CVESD were documents that were altered, pre-dated or post-dated. CVESD hid or destroyed other documents, and failed to create any paper trail at all on important occasions.

Bertha Lopez violated the law in a regular manner during her years as a CVESD board member.

Jaime Mercado, on the other hand, is clearly a person of decency who doesn't step on other people to get ahead. He cares enough about others to give a pay advance to an employee whose salary schedule included two months with no pay each year.

Former superintendent Ed Brand and Bertha Lopez are very much a part of the unethical and greedy inside circle that controls schools in San Diego County.

Here's today's SDUT article about Bertha's request to open personnel files:

Candidates open personnel files; 1 has reprimand
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
October 25, 2008

CHULA VISTA – Rivals in the race for a seat on the Sweetwater Union High School District board opened their personnel files to The San Diego Union-Tribune, revealing overwhelmingly positive evaluations of the 30-plus years each has spent as an educator in South County public schools.

The file of candidate Bertha Lopez, a National School District teacher, contains positive evaluations and no reprimands.

In addition to positive evaluations, incumbent Jaime Mercado's file contains a 2002 letter reprimanding him for using Associated Student Body money to make a loan to an employee. Mercado was principal of Palomar High School in Chula Vista at the time.

Then-Superintendent Ed Brand declined to suspend Mercado in part, he wrote, because “although your judgment was poor, your actions were not self-serving.”

Mercado said he authorized the loan because the employee faced two months without a paycheck because of a lag in the district's payroll system. Mercado said the employee told him that without the money, he would not be able to pay his rent.

The money was restored to the account a month later. Mercado said he used his own money to pay back the account and that the employee reimbursed him in installments.

In a letter of response to the reprimand, Mercado wrote at the time, “I was making up for a payroll system that has for years shamefully abused the basic right of employees to get paid in a timely manner.”

In an interview this week, Mercado called the reprimand letter retaliation by Brand.

[Blogger's note: Ed Brand has become famous for illegal retaliation. He was connected to widespread wrongdoing when he was superintendent of SUHSD, including the Mary Anne Weegar case, in which he retaliated against an administrator who complained that the law was not being followed by the district. He suddenly resigned from San Marcos Unified School District in August 2006. I'm not surprised to hear about more illegal retaliation by Ed Brand.

In the months before the letter was issued, another Sweetwater principal had filed a sexual-harassment claim against a high-level district administrator, and Mercado had agreed to make a declaration that the same administrator had mistreated him. The principal eventually filed a lawsuit alleging that she was wrongfully demoted in retaliation for the sexual-harassment complaint. The district paid $150,000 to settle the lawsuit.

Lopez asked the Union-Tribune to review the files after being asked about a petition dated April 21 signed by her co-workers at John Otis Elementary School. It states that Lopez “is not a team player, and in actuality she has worked assiduously at creating division and tension among staff members.”

Lopez transferred to another school in August, and her personnel file shows that she volunteered for the transfer. The petition and its allegations are not part of her file.

Shelia Jackson finds her voice

See all Shelia Jackson posts.

The post about Emily Alpert is HERE.

Shelia Jackson, board member of San Diego Unified School District, says things that need to be said. Why is she the only one?

And why did I think her name was Sheila? Sorry, Shelia, that I garbled your name. I always liked the name Sheila; maybe that had something to do with it. But I must say that Shelia is perfect. It takes a small step away from a European name, and the result is something that perhaps sounds even better, and more importantly gives an African-American woman her own identity. Your parents did a good job on naming their baby.

SAN DIEGO SCHOOLS
Jackson Settles in as Chief Dissident

School board member Shelia Jackson... is running for reelection against Xeng Yang, has become a firebrand whose statements have earned her both hostility and respect.

By EMILY ALPERT
Oct. 23, 2008

School board member Shelia Jackson was disappointed when former Superintendent Carl Cohn threw in the towel at San Diego Unified last year. She blamed another board member for berating Cohn, praised the superintendent for gradual and cautious reforms, and stayed mum on the scandal that ejected one of his top appointees.

"You can't have someone who is constantly undermining your authority at every turn," Jackson said last September. "And that's what some board members have done."

Now Jackson is being accused of -- and praised for -- doing the same. Under a new superintendent, Terry Grier, Jackson has become a firebrand whose bold statements have earned her both hostility and respect. Her voting record has long pitted Jackson against her peers on teacher layoffs and spending equity across the school district, but her role has shifted under Grier, a newcomer who has quickly made waves with new projects and made enemies in the teachers union. Now, Jackson has become the school board's chief dissident.

"We're not elected to support the superintendent," Jackson said in an October interview. "We're elected to hold him accountable."

[Blogger's note: YES!!!!!]

Her opponent in the coming election, Xeng Yang, complains that she criticizes Grier in public; Jackson fought a policy that would bar her and other trustees from publicly criticizing the superintendent and his staff, something she rarely did to Cohn. She called for an investigation of Grier and fellow board member Katherine Nakamura after a campaign meeting with principals became a political hot potato; she has hinted publicly that other board members should be ousted in the coming elections.

Yang argues that his opponent is beholden to the teachers union. "I don't think she wants to keep the superintendent. She goes along with the teachers. She was elected by the people to represent students, not a group of adult teachers," he said, adding, "She seems like she doesn't get along with other school board members."

[Blogger's note: And whom does the majority of board members represent? Developers, self-serving politicians, and insurance companies? Insurance is a multi-million dollar industry in many local school districts, and these companies wield power through their lawyers, paid by taxpayers to instruct and direct board members. Insurance companies do not care about kids. I have problems with the teachers union, too, but I think the union is needed to keep a balance in decision making.]

The race between Yang and Jackson has been quiet compared to other contests. Yang, a computer teacher, has fumbled in public forums and netted only a few endorsements, most notably from the county Republican Party and the conservative-leaning Lincoln Club...

[Blogger's note: It seems that Voice of San Diego has also found its voice. Reporter Emily Alpert finds the story behind the story, revealing schools as hotbeds of political intrigue and financial and legal shenanigans. For far too long, school officials were able to keep the truth about themselves hidden, hiding behind a sea of smiling children whom they pretended to care about.]

Patrick Judd exposed? Russell Coronado's election should be a slam-dunk.

Several months ago I became aware of a rumor that former Mountain Empire School District superintendent Patrick Judd had been accused of sexual harrassment, but I didn't print it because it was simply a rumor. Judd went on some mysterious kind of leave early in 2008 and never went back to work; instead, he retired after several months of unexplained absence.

One Mountain Empire board member, apparently someone trying to cover for Judd, said that he was on sick leave.

JUDD REFUSES TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO VOTERS ABOUT SEVERAL VERY SERIOUS ISSUES

Judd said it wasn't sick leave, but he wouldn't say what it was. Yet Judd had the nerve to run for re-election as trustee of Chula Vista Elementary School District, apparently on a platform of silence. This much is clear: Judd does not believe in openness or honesty.

And neither does Lowell Billings, superintendent of CVESD.

Lowell Billings (photo at left) is Judd's employee in CVESD. But the reverse relationship holds true at The Accelerated School (TAS) in Los Angeles, where Billings is on the board. Apparently Billings felt sympathy for Judd, or political obligation to Judd, and hired Judd as a consultant at the Accelerated (Charter) School.

Recently I read a letter written to the San Diego Union Tribune. It said in part:

"...Every educator in Mt Empire and the entire east county seems to be aware that the former Superintendent (P. J.) did not go out on sick leave because of an illness, but rather because of the same type of claim that Mr. Sandoval, Mr. Lopez and Mr. Poveda would be familiar with, he was not sick rather he was in hot water. You should ask some questions in Mt. Empire and perhaps request a copy of the claim..."

I am inclined to differentiate between true sexual harrassment, the abuse or exploitation of a human being, and the less serious problem of enthusiastic admiration of an attractive individual, which is sometimes inappropriately labeled.

A HISTORY OF CONTEMPT FOR WOMEN

Patrick Judd has a history of abuse of and contempt for women. One example is the Danielle Cozaihr case. Last December CVESD was ordered to pay $1 million for Lowell Billings' and Patrick Judd's actions against a young teacher who made the mistake of having a baby at a program improvement school.

Another example of Judd's misplaced loyalties is the Fred Kamper case.

Bertha Lopez sows strife at Otis Elementary in National City School District

The San Diego Union Tribune has supported Bertha Lopez in recent editorials, and has covered up her wrongdoing in the past, so the editors deserve a nod of appreciation for allowing this story to be published. Perhaps one day Don Sevrens will break down and allow Chris Moran to write the full story of Castle Park Elementary.

Candidate ripped in letter signed by teachers
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2008

CHULA VISTA – Teacher Bertha Lopez, who's running for Sweetwater Union High School District board, switched schools this summer after a majority of teachers at her old campus signed a letter accusing her of creating division and tension among the staff.

Lopez said she asked to transfer from John A. Otis Elementary to Rancho De La Nación Elementary, both in National City, for personal and professional reasons...

Lopez is president of the Chula Vista Elementary School District board and said she is running for the Sweetwater post now that her son is in middle school.

In April, 18 teachers on a staff of about 25 at Otis signed a letter addressed to National School District board members criticizing Lopez. The San Diego Union-Tribune obtained the letter through a public records request after being told about it through an anonymous tip.

The two-page letter from Otis teachers says of Lopez: “She is not a team player, and in actuality she has worked assiduously at creating division and tension among staff members.”

The letter also says: “A great majority of the staff have lost all confidence in Ms. Lopez as an effective language arts specialist for our school. She has continually fostered a negative environment.”



[Blogger's note: Why is Bertha Lopez running for the Sweetwater board? One reason may be to kill two birds with one stone: to expand the power of what I call the "Judd group" into SUHSD while maintaining her CVESD seat in the hands of the same group. CVESD has a habit of appointing board members when a trustee leaves. This is how Larry Cunningham and David Bejarano got their positions on the board.]

Shelia Jackson says Katherine Nakamura and Terry Grier played politics

See all Shelia Jackson posts.


School Trustee Calls to Investigate Peer
Voice of San Diego

...Last night, board member Shelia Jackson publicly requested an independent investigation of a campaign meeting called by school board president Katherine Nakamura and Superintendent Terry Grier to inform principals of volunteer opportunities for Proposition S, the $2.1 billion facilities bond slated for the November ballot. E-mails about the meeting from supervisors told principals either "please attend" or that the meeting was mandatory.

Bond opponent John Stump later argued that the meeting, held at no charge at the Girl Scouts Headquarters in Balboa Park, violated a city policy that prohibits city-subsidized facilities to be used for political activities.

Jackson said Nakamura might have violated another section of the governance policies that requires trustees to serve the interests of the school district above other advocacy or interest groups, and that Grier might have failed to prevent an activity that "endangers the organization’s public image or credibility," in violation of another policy.

Jackson’s request follows a public kerfuffle over a back-to-school conference championed by Jackson. The conference did not have board approval, but Jackson had used a district procurement card to buy supplies for the event. She later reimbursed San Diego Unified. Grier had requested an investigation of the expenditures, but didn't announce it publicly.


-- EMILY ALPERT
October 15, 2008

Mary Kay Rosinski notes GCCCD's Daniel Shinoff problems

The San Diego Union Tribune has a policy of forbidding its reporters to tell the full truth about abuses at local educational institutions, but once in a while reporters are able to slip in a little piece of the truth.

For example, we learn today that Mary Kay Rosinski, a candidate for Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District, is "concerned the district spends too much money on legal fees, including defending the firing of a science teacher at Grossmont College. A Superior Court judge recently reversed the firing."

I agree with Rosinski about this. Attorney Daniel Shinoff encourages abusive administrators to engage in illegal actions all over San Diego County, but GCCCD seems to be a particular hot spot of illegal and abusive activity.

What Rosinski doesn't mention is that her own union, California Teachers Association, has worked closely with Daniel Shinoff to cover up illegal actions. In Chula Vista Elementary School District, a local union president committed illegal acts in her effort to get re-elected. She was helped by her close associate, the human resources director Richard Werlin. An innocent teacher was maliciously harrassed because teachers and administrators feared she would expose the truth, and California Teachers Association lawyers helped to retaliate illegally against the teacher.

The San Diego Union states, "[Rosinski] said she's concerned about students questioning the integrity of the district. 'My motivation is to make the board a better group of trustees,' she said."

Rosinski does not seem to be concerned about students questioning the integrity of teachers and the teachers union. If she is only worried about the opposition's integrity, then isn't it really just politics, not ethics, that she is practicing?

Still, in GCCCD, it's the administration, not the faculty, that has violated the most laws, so Rosinski would probably be the best choice to balance the board and benefit students.


Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District – Seat 1
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
October 18, 2006


MARY KAY ROSINSKI
Teacher

Age: 50

Elective offices held: None.

Community involvement: Awarded three proposals to have AmeriCorps Teams provide academic support to students. Involved in the California Teachers Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the American Association of University Women.

College or post-high-school training: SDSU, master's degree in communicative disorders, August 1982; bachelor's degree with highest honors in speech pathology and audiology.

Statement of candidacy: Ill-advised expenditures have robbed our students of learning opportunities. As an educator, I am committed to making a real change on behalf of our students in this district.

What qualifications, attributes or perspectives would you bring to this elected position that your opponent(s) would not?

Have worked diligently as an advocate for teachers, staff and students. I believe in fair, equal respect for all. Student success must always be the ultimate goal for all decisions.

What are the three most important issues in this race? What would you do to address each one?

Millions of dollars in taxpayers' money have been wasted on outside consultants and reckless lawsuits. Two new vice chancellor positions were created during a hiring freeze. The district needs a financial strategy that funnels more money to the classroom.

Last semester only 37 percent of sections were taught by full-time faculty at Cuyamaca College and only 45 percent at Grossmont College. This is way below the state average. Need to improve the full-time, part-time ratio.

The district lacks true-shared governance. All constituents must have a voice, and the work and budget of the board must be transparent.

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

Mary Kay Rosinski for Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District board

ELECTION UPDATE
NOVEMBER 5, 2008

Mary Kay Rosinski has unseated Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District trustee Tim Caruthers. This is a victory for the faculty, but I wonder if Ms. Rosinski will challenge the corrupt attorneys who have caused so much trouble in GCCCD. Even if she doesn't have the courage to speak out against wrongdoing, at least there will be more of a balance of power between the faculty and the board.


GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COM COLLEGE - SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
MARY KAY ROSINSKI - 68.37% (79828)
TIMOTHY L. CARUTHERS - 31.63% (36923)



Sadly, the president of what is widely considered to be a deeply corrupt board has retained his seat:

GROSSMONT-CUYAMACA COM COLLEGE - SEAT NO. 3
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
BILL GARRETT - 81.40% (90872)
MOE BAKEER - 18.60% (20769)




My ballot recommendation:
Mary Kay Rosinski
Candidate for Board Member; Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District; Seat 4
November 4, 2008 Election

I'm voting for Mary Kay Rosinski because the people in office are nauseatingly corrupt, and she will provide some checks and balances. Then I'll do my best to push her away from the "politics-is-more-important-students" attitude that seems to afflict just about everybody who attains a position of power in the educational system.

More information about Rosinski, including her views about how much the district is paying to its lawyers (Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz) can be found HERE.

Rosinski herself, ironically, has worked with these very same corrupt lawyers. So she probably won't insist that Stutz law firm be fired as GCCCD's lawyers. But she is likely to be more employee-friendly, and work for a better relationship between employees and the board.

Mary Kay Rosinski's experience:

1. Teacher, National School District, 27 years
2. President, National City Teachers Assoc., 2 terms
3. SD County Service Center Council Officer, 6 years
4. SOUTH COUNTY TEACHERS UNITED (SCTU), 6 years

[#4 above is the position from which Rosinski helped GCCCD's current lawyers, Stutz, Artiano Shinoff and Holtz, cover up illegal actions at Chula Vista Elementary School District during the period of June 2000 to June 2006. Rosinski was the boss of SCTU executive director Tim O'Neill, who directed Chula Vista Educators' illegal actions in this case.)

Rose Urdahl's hoax: she's not really a teacher or a nurse, and she has no business degree

College instructor and SDCOE board candidate Mark Anderson must be scratching his head. Who exactly is he running against? A teacher? A nurse? A woman with a business degree? Or none of the above?

Chris Moran at the San Diego Union Tribune reports on the SDCOE board race between Mark Anderson and Larry Urdahl's wife:

"This month, a court ordered the registrar to remove the words “teacher” and “nurse” as occupation listings under Rose Urdahl's name on the November ballot and to strike from her statement of candidacy a business degree earned at Kansas State University. Urdahl acknowledged that she did not have a teaching credential, a nurse's license, nor the degree."

The Urdahls recently declared bankruptcy, but they seem to have a lot of cash on hand. Rose is being investigated by the District Attorney regarding a $10,000 loan to her campaign from husband Larry.

The SDUT report continues:

"Bankruptcy documents show the Urdahls have more than $3 million in liabilities, including an Alpine home they bought less than two years ago for $1.1 million. The five-member county school board has oversight of the county Office of Education's annual budget of $647 million."

How does one manage to acquire almost $2 million in debt in addition to one's mortgage? What on earth have the Urdahls been spending money on?

Fortunately, college instructor Mark Anderson of Santee is running for the same board seat as the bumbling Ms. Urdahl.




GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

In another race, Rose's husband Larry Urdahl is running with Priscilla Schreiber against Carroll Boone in Grossmont Union High School District.

Carroll Boone
Age: 66
Residence: La Mesa
Community involvement: La Mesa First United Methodist Church, San Diego County Community Coalition
Occupation: mediator, retired lawyer and manager
Education: juris doctorate from University of Pugent Sound; master of social work from University of Washington, bachelor's degree from University of Alaska

Also in the race are two candidates who seem to be very close to Jim Kelly, the dethroned former master of the GUHSD board.

The SDUT reports:

"The county Republican Party, which dominates the political landscape in East County, endorsed Jedynak, a freelance journalist, and Woods, a seminary teacher. Trustees Jim Kelly and Rob Shield have also endorsed them.

"Priscilla Schreiber and Urdahl have been endorsed by other Republican leaders, including U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth and county Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

"Schreiber and Urdahl said they believe they are running against candidates who were picked by Kelly so he can regain control of the school board. Kelly was president of the board from 2002 to 2006..."

Is Sarah Palin striving to become a high-latitude Victoria Richart?

2008 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska

Alaska's current "Troopergate" sounds a lot like the "MiraCosta Mess" to me. I wonder who the Daniel Shinoff alter ego is in this story. I'm not saying that Palin's ex-brother-in-law, state trooper Wooten, is an angel, but I doubt that it was part of Palin's job description to make personnel decisions regarding individual troopers. Just because you have power doesn't mean your personal agenda must be fulfilled by your subordinates.

CBS News
by Laura Strickler and Kim Lengle
WASILLA, Alaska, Sept. 3, 2008

Alaskans refer to it as “troopergate” but the McCain campaign is convinced the investigation into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s attempts to fire her ex-brother-in-law, state Trooper Mike Wooten, will show no wrongdoing. Palin allegedly demanded that Wooten be fired from his job while Wooten was in the midst of a bitter divorce with her sister. The results of the investigation will be released a few days before the November election.

The focus of the investigation will surround whether Palin abused her power as governor by pressuring Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, to fire Wooten. After Monegan declined to fire Wooten, Palin asked him to step down. Investigators will try and figure out if the two incidents are related, Palin says they are not...



PALIN DID A POOR JOB OF VETTING THE PERSON WHO REPLACED MONEGAN


Anchorage Daily News
Story by LISA DEMER
August 30th, 2008

Alaska's former commissioner of public safety says Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's pick to be vice president, personally talked with him on two occasions about a state trooper who was locked in a bitter custody battle with the governor's sister...

No one from the McCain campaign ever contacted him to vet Palin as a candidate, Monegan said.

Who did they contact? "We don't talk about the vetting process," said Maria Comella, Palin's vice president campaign press secretary...

Palin's replacement for Monegan, Chuck Kopp, was forced to resign just two weeks after he was appointed because of a sexual harassment complaint that had been filed against him when he was the chief of police in Kenai.

Palin, in a news conference announcing Kopp's resignation July 24, said she was unaware that the Kenai city council had reprimanded Kopp as a result of the complaint and would not discuss how her staff had vetted Kopp before naming him to replace Monegan three days after Monegan was fired...

NOTE: Anchorage attorney Thomas V. Van Flein seems to be the Daniel Shinoff alter ego in this case.

Larry Urdahl confused after decision regarding Miramar College instructor Mark Anderson?

Grossmont Union High School Board Member Larry Urdahl recently got a judge to say that a part time college instructor can't call himself a professor. Urdahl did this to help his wife win an election.

But here's the part I don't understand. Mr. Urdahl reacted to the judge's decision by stating John Adams dying words, "Jefferson lives."

I wonder if Mr. Urdahl, who obviously is a big stickler for using words carefully and precisely, is aware that Mr. Jefferson had actually passed away by the time John Adams uttered those words. It sounds as if Urdahl was claiming victory, for himself and for Jefferson, but no, that wouldn't make sense since Adams was incorrect in his statement about Jefferson's victory.

Just to be safe, I recommend voting for Mark Anderson, a part-time instructor at Miramar College. And I recommend that Mr. Urdahl put a bit more effort into using words to clearly communicate his meaning.