Please check the website www.yesiamvoting.com tomorrow afternoon. The site will be updated to include the other 2 candidates. The yesiamvoting.com site candidate information was provided by the Board of Election. As you noticed, the Board of Election did not have either. NOT the yesiamvoting fault for not including.

While it is always easier to blame someone else, that part is understandable. What remains curious, however, is the timing of the ad campaign and even more curious is the creative thinking behind putting duck tape over youngsters mouths.

Did you really think the Rochester Business Alliance would know enough about the City School District to list all the candidates. Does the RBA have ANY authority on issues of eduction? No one really believes that they do, except perhaps on issues related to how Republican cronies can get their hands the City School District budget for distribution to their other various friends. RBA, go back to school before you make matters worse. And Howie Jacobson: sounds like somebody needs to take responsibility for a big mistake and racially insensitive advertising.

I am not a member of the RBA, but two things have been glaringly clear for a long time about the City School District to even the most casual observers: (a) the School Board is totally dysfunctional and incapable of moving forward with an agenda -- any agenda -- having to do with educating children; and (b) in the absence of any leadership, Adam Urbanski continues to effectively run the place for the benefit of his union. I have nothing against Malik, but no one in this town takes him seriously as a leader, and the endless bickering amongst the other Board members makes them all look self-promoting with petty agendas. Maybe what the RBA is saying is that we need change we can believe in, which means a new crop of Board members.

Does anyone really take the Rochester Business Alliance seriously except for a few close associates of Sandy Parker? The business community likes to complain a lot about problems in government, problems in education, problems with taxes, problems in regulation. Perhaps the business community, via the RBA, needs to look at itself as a source of ongoing lack of effectiveness. The RBA could stand to reform itself and perhaps a real change in leadership there is long overdue.

It’s troubling that this paper would use its influence to discredit this get out the vote drive instead of showcasing it. Troubling too that you didn’t reach out to more than the usual subjects before proclaiming a lack of support among the black community. Or reflect on the great potential of an alliance of the churches and the business community.
Communities with broad-based coalitions that aim to build civic capacity like these are the communities that have been successful in sustaining education reform. Rochester has historically found this sort of coalition-building difficultâ€"in large part due to snarky editorials like this. The status quo thrives on Rochester’s petty divisions and in-fighting that this piece aims to reinforce.

Ms. Remis,

Since you obviously support the RBA / FCA "get out the vote drive," particularly as it relates to the school board race ___ is it fair and accurate to assume that you also support the desperate need to break the local Democrat Party elite leadership's choke-hold relative to perpetuation of the entrenched status-quo? In other words, will you, and will the RBA and the FCA support candidates other than those who are hand-picked, and have the self-serving, Democrat Party leadership's stamp of approval? If so, then don't you think that it's wise (as part of the campaign) to let people know which candidate(s) you support? If this is not the intent, then would you or someone mind explaining what, exactly, specifically the get out the vote effort is all about? What is it designed to do? Hopefully, it is not merely a great, big, expensive, political scare tactic. If so, that would be a shame, and in my humble view, it would also represent a serious squander of very valuable resources, which could be better utilized to help support suffering RCSD children and families in concrete ways.

Sincerely,
Howard J. Eagle
Candidate for Rochester Board of Education (http://www.communityeducationslate.com)

@ Howard: As a 501c3 we can't endorse candidates, but we can certainly endorse a voter registration push. And I totally agree with you about the need for breaking the democratic party's "choke hold " on public eduation, only I question whether candidates with such close ties to the status quo like yourself (aka teachers unions) can deliver real change.

HAHAHA! Great reply, Carrie Remis!!!

It is true that our organization (the Community Education Task Force) did in fact collaborate closely, not only with RTA, but RAP, BENTE, and even ASAR ___ before Brizard began to threaten and intimidate the latter group___ in the process of soundly defeating mayoral control, which I suspect you and many of your allies supported uncritically, and probably still do. In the process of stopping Sandra Parker, the big-business community, David Gantt, Joe Morelle and others ___ who really represent the epitome of the status quo ___ we developed an ongoing, valued, principled, working relationship with RTA and RAP in particular.

As it relates to being the type of "candidate [that] can deliver real change," everyone understands that in order to deliver any type of change, a plan must exist. You can read about our work and our plan at communityeducationtaskforce.rocus.org, which was in fact developed in conjunction with RTA, RAP, BENTE, ASAR and a very broad cross section of parents, grandparents, students, educators and others within the Rochester community.