More on the Debate that Anne Oatman-Gardner opposes
Joe Barrera sent out a follow-up invitation to the D11 recall candidate debate, scheduled for November 21st. Apparently, Anne Oatman-Gardner is apoplectic over the fact that the 2 recall targets are being allowed to debate.
Here is the invitation:
Dear Friends,
You are invited to the Colorado Springs Black/Latino
Leadership Coalition's School Board Candidate Forum
on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Scheduling concerns compel us
to hold the Forum next week, even if the date is not
our first choice.
In regard to the high emotion generated by the recall election,
we understand that some may feel that to allow
Eric Christen and Sandy Shakes to speak their minds
in the presence of other candidates does not serve a useful purpose.
But in our opinion it also does not serve the larger public interest.
We need to be perfectly clear about this. The public interest
is best served when all sides are heard.
We are committed to having all sides of the School Board issue
brought forward at the Black/Latino Leadership Coalition Candidates'
Forum and have invited Eric and Sandy to participate.
(That's why we started this group in the first place, to allow
disparate opinions the chance to be expressed.)
There are three points we wish to make about this School
Board election.
1)We do not want any more discussion about why
or how the action in regard to the immediate past superintendent
was taken. This was a personnel matter and all the pertinent
facts are not available to a Forum such as ours. Therefore,
we will request that this subject not be brought up. This
is fair because further discussion of this Board action no
longer serves the public interest.
2)In regard to the issue of the recall election, we are
prepared to consider all candidates, including Sandy and Eric,
as candidates for two positions on the Board. There may be
a recall election on December 12, but we can also see it
as an "early election" in which two board members are asked
to justify themselves before the electorate, who may choose to
retain them or replace them with other people.
3)We need to hear from all the candidates at the Forum. If someone
is facing recall, we need to hear why he or she should not be recalled.
If someone wishes to replace present incumbents, we need to hear
why that person feels worthy of election. We cannot hear only from
certain candidates to the exclusion of others and expect to make
a fair judgment.
Our urgent need is to move forward as a community from
where we are now. We cannot delay this anymore, but to move
forward we must first heal the wounds of division. The only
way to do this is let all sides be heard.
We urge all candidates to attend the Forum on Nov. 21.
We will conduct the meeting with decorum and respect,
and will ask everyone to abide by our rules. We will not allow
name-calling, personal attacks, or uncontrolled rants.
The focus will be on how to move D-11 forward, not on
recriminations about the past. We will ask everyone to
focus on the vision for the future, and how to get started.
Everyone will answer questions and be allotted a set time
to respond. Our main objective is to enhance understanding
and dialogue. We can certainly agree to disagree, but we
must do so civilly.
Again, we urge everyone to attend the Forum on Tuesday,
Nov. 21, 6-8PM, Carnegie Reading Room, Penrose Library.
Sincerely,
Joe Barrera, Co-Chair,
719-328-9620
Willie Breazell, Co-Chair,
719-310-5853
Colorado Springs Black/Latino Leadership Coalition
Here is the invitation:
Dear Friends,
You are invited to the Colorado Springs Black/Latino
Leadership Coalition's School Board Candidate Forum
on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Scheduling concerns compel us
to hold the Forum next week, even if the date is not
our first choice.
In regard to the high emotion generated by the recall election,
we understand that some may feel that to allow
Eric Christen and Sandy Shakes to speak their minds
in the presence of other candidates does not serve a useful purpose.
But in our opinion it also does not serve the larger public interest.
We need to be perfectly clear about this. The public interest
is best served when all sides are heard.
We are committed to having all sides of the School Board issue
brought forward at the Black/Latino Leadership Coalition Candidates'
Forum and have invited Eric and Sandy to participate.
(That's why we started this group in the first place, to allow
disparate opinions the chance to be expressed.)
There are three points we wish to make about this School
Board election.
1)We do not want any more discussion about why
or how the action in regard to the immediate past superintendent
was taken. This was a personnel matter and all the pertinent
facts are not available to a Forum such as ours. Therefore,
we will request that this subject not be brought up. This
is fair because further discussion of this Board action no
longer serves the public interest.
2)In regard to the issue of the recall election, we are
prepared to consider all candidates, including Sandy and Eric,
as candidates for two positions on the Board. There may be
a recall election on December 12, but we can also see it
as an "early election" in which two board members are asked
to justify themselves before the electorate, who may choose to
retain them or replace them with other people.
3)We need to hear from all the candidates at the Forum. If someone
is facing recall, we need to hear why he or she should not be recalled.
If someone wishes to replace present incumbents, we need to hear
why that person feels worthy of election. We cannot hear only from
certain candidates to the exclusion of others and expect to make
a fair judgment.
Our urgent need is to move forward as a community from
where we are now. We cannot delay this anymore, but to move
forward we must first heal the wounds of division. The only
way to do this is let all sides be heard.
We urge all candidates to attend the Forum on Nov. 21.
We will conduct the meeting with decorum and respect,
and will ask everyone to abide by our rules. We will not allow
name-calling, personal attacks, or uncontrolled rants.
The focus will be on how to move D-11 forward, not on
recriminations about the past. We will ask everyone to
focus on the vision for the future, and how to get started.
Everyone will answer questions and be allotted a set time
to respond. Our main objective is to enhance understanding
and dialogue. We can certainly agree to disagree, but we
must do so civilly.
Again, we urge everyone to attend the Forum on Tuesday,
Nov. 21, 6-8PM, Carnegie Reading Room, Penrose Library.
Sincerely,
Joe Barrera, Co-Chair,
719-328-9620
Willie Breazell, Co-Chair,
719-310-5853
Colorado Springs Black/Latino Leadership Coalition
posted by Craig Cox | 1:12 PM
3 Comments:
Oh, this is downright laughable!
The "impartial" forum is sponsored by a group co-chaired by Willie Breazell, who could hardly be aligned any more closely with Eric Christen.
They hoist themselves up on a pedestal, declaring that "the public interest is best served when all sides are heard."
Then they set the ground rules as to what cannot be talked about, namely the fiscally irresponsible and unjustifiable firing of Dr.Thomas -- and they can't even mention her name, for fear that their true motives would become too obvious to all? Forbidding discussion of the very act that, for tens of thousands of people, was the straw that broke the camel's back and spawned the entire recall movement?
They're there to discuss the recall, and Christen and Shakes can explain why they shouldn't be recalled, but nobody else can mention the very topic that caused them to be recalled?
And that is "hearing all sides"?????
A farce. Just a farce.
December can't come quickly enough.
Tens of thousands of people upset over the firing of Sharon Thomas? Please. What did she do for D11 again? I have already dealt with that issue thoroughly. She even declared herself to be incapable of running a school district. If you still believe that she was good for D11, you really don't care much about kids.
As for the debate, are debates only valid when liberals sponsor them? Were you OK with the conservative candidates skipping the Citizen Project debate last year? Is Jose Barrera aligned with Christen? I don't think so. I think that you fear that this debate will be about D11 issues. Your 2 candidates can't handle a debate on the issues that effect education.
As far as the content of the debate, I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. I checked into the reasoning and the reason for excluding the Thomas firing was to protect Thomas. Much of the discussion about her performance occured in executive session and the thought was that it would not be fair to make that public.
Thomas made it clear that she wanted every discussion about her contract and performance to be made public. I say open up her firing as a legitimate topic for debate. As you say, it is a part of this whole recall issue in the first place. I personally want to see who would have the courage to make the tough decisions and who would still pander to mediocrity.
You know, all one has to do is claim that someone is a "Christen Crony" and the damage is done, right Anonymous?
If you would open your unionized lids, you'd know that Mr. Breazell is his own man, truly dedicated to the children of our district, and sometimes votes with Christen and more often, doesn't.
Breazell is lauded as "doing the right thing" when it serves your purposes (mail ballot recall??) but attacked openly and often when he tries to take this district out of the longtime rut it is in.
Make up your mind, Anonymous. Let me guess: you think SHAKES flipped? You and your monopolizers do more of that in regard to your opinion of Breazell than Shakes ever has.
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