Governor Selects Bobby James as Kelly School Board Replacement
The Governor is about to announce the appointment of former Dunnellon Principal Bobby James as the replacement for Kurt Kelly on the School Board. As you know, there has been some controversy about whether Mr. James met the residence requirement. Originally disqualified, he was given the opportunity to change his residency and reapply for the opening; the deadline for filing applications apparently being extended by the Governor’s appointment office.
Those not selected includes: Community activist Pat Gabriel; real estate broker, former Dunnellon City Council member Valerie Porter-Hanchar; Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association executive vice president Richard "Dick" Hancock; educator and community activist Roosevelt Rimes; former UF football star, Judd Davis; lawyer Stephen Shaw; Howard Gunn, chairman of Front Porch Ocala.
So tell us: Is this a good appointment?
posted by Blog Master @ 11:25 AM
94 Comments:
Isn't this the guy who had a lot of financial problems at his school as a Principal?
The appointment system sounds a bit shaky (shady) to me.
There have been other situations with local officials transitioning to meet the residency requirement for local offices. This doesn’t strike me as unusual.
My only personal contact with Bobby James was when he was my P.E. coach at Forest High School and a two-minute conversation years later at an economic forum.
I don’t have the exact figures handy, but my memory is that James received a significant minority of the votes in the 2000 Republican primary for school superintendent, so there must be quite a few people around who think something of him. I was surprised when I did some research on that race when pwf made comments about the election of a black city council member in Ocala. In looking over the vote in predominantly white precincts, James seemed to have done equally well in more educated, affluent precincts compared to less educated, less affluent precincts.
I know a retired school teacher demanding in his opinions who told me when he was in the school system he didn’t think James looked like much from afar, but that he later had an opportunity to talk to him in depth and came away quite impressed.
Don’t underestimate the importance of a visible, positive role model in Marion County who is a minority.
Just another pandering decision (among many) by Governor Crist that relieves him from having to make a tough decision and gets him off the hook with the local minority community.
Of course the Governor is politically astute enough to know several of the other candidates who applied could have a very good chance of beating Bobby James in the 2008 election. The Governor can say,” look I appointed him but I can’t win the election for him”.
Great move Charlie!
Oh, and for those interested in affirmative action, I should probably have mentioned that my retired school teacher friend with the high opinion of James is a white male, who, while I have never verified it, has told me he was once on the complaining side of a federal lawsuit alleging reverse discrimination, making it highly unlikely that his high opinion of James has any basis in giving minorities an easy ride.
james's DHS audits weren't good atall. he is weak on speaking, but he wont be pandering to everyone.
Bobby James graduated from Ocala High and coached in Jacksonville (I think). When he came back to coach at Forest High School, Jim Haley at Vanguard controlled basketball in Ocala, and the Star banner quoted Bobby as saying "there's room for only one bull in this pasture." Haley took offense, and after a tough District game when Haley and Vanguard whipped Forest, Jim handed Bobby an envelope with that newspaper clipping as tey met at half court to shake hands.
Now Bobby James has moved from coach to principal at the toughest school in the county (the Phoenix Center) then to Dunnellon from which he retired, and Haley still coaches at VHS.
Bobby is the first black to serve on any county board in at least 100 years.
Looks like there was room for both of these guys in Ocala. --pwf
Even more important, Bobby is a good Republican.
Count on it that James will push for an appointed Superintendent.
Dont bet on it. His statements when he was running for superintendent did not support an appointed one. An appointed super does not guarantee success. Some of the worst schools in the state are in counties that have an appointed super. --pwf
Star-Banner news release on Bobby James:
http://www.ocala.com/article/20070810/NEWS/70810009/1053/BREAKING_NEWS
More tomorrow.
Bobby is only 60 years old.
I thought her was at least 75!!!
Congratulations Bobby James!
You think a Democrat Governor would have appointed Bobby to the School Board? I don't.
R-Power is here to stay!
Race had nothing to do with him getting the position.
Sure it didn't!
It will be great to have a Board member who understands the whole school system and not just the teaching side (Zanetti). However, the two together will be a positive for all of us.
Actually I forgot about this blog and for some reason today you guys/gals popped in my head?? I honestly didn't even know Bobby was appointed as I never read the blunder. I saw it on the blog just now. However, I truly think this can be a good thing for kids. Bobby might not be sharp with the accounting pencil BUT
I KNOW he cares about students being successful. Even when all the high schools were being forced to adopt the Vanguard block schedule (diff than alternating day block at Forest and now NO ONE is on it it was so UNSOUND) Bobby James went AGAINST the administration and embraced the old fashion 6 period day schedule which all older educators will tell you is the best school day schedule. My kids have been on all the schedules and the long time honors teachers at the high schools told me the 6 period day was the most sound for academics. Anyway, as a parent I was impressed that Bobby did what was good for kids and not good for administrators. Administrators LIKE the 100 minute schedule because kids in the hallway less time for THEM to deal with BUT 100 minutes is to long for 16 year olds to stay on task. Heavens, not even college kids are expected to do that except on chemistry lab days. The 6 period day is more of a 55 minute long class JUST LIKE college. If they KNOW college kids can't stay on task 100 minutes then why the heck did they expect more out of 14 to 8 year olds?? I'll tell you why.....it was good for teachers/administrators and no one cares about the kids anymore EXCEPT the likes of Bobby James
Nancy Stacy
Mr. James should have no problem winning an election. If he can earn the positive remarks and support of three individuals as different as PWF, Brian Creekbaum and Nancy Stacy, he’s a sure winner!
The Star Banner has me confused. First, they write an editorial saying race should not be used in selecting a School Board member and sort of chastised School Board Chairman Ron Crawford for writing to Governor Crist and suggesting an African American be appointed. Then, today they write an editorial saying it’s great that Crist allowed race to be used in his decision to appoint Bobby James. Which is it? I’d call this hypocritical. Maybe, as someone suggested about the Governor, even a little pandering in the drafting of the editorial.
Bobby James on the Board is a very welcome change. Now what needs to be done is to get rid of “Ms. Thank You”, Judy Zanetti, and replace her with a Hispanic. I think there are one or two who are waiting in the wings.
Good thought. How about an Indian, an Asian-American, a Muslim or a plumber? Yep, we are getting a diverse School Board. We now have the Jewish, Catholic, gay, female, senior citizen and who knows what else elements of our community represented on the Board. Don’t know about veterans, disabled and Baptists though.
What’s really lacking are Board members who can actually get something done in improving the quality of our children’s education. That’s what I would like to see. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that Mr. James will give us that either. He is a long-time part of the old thinking that has brought us to the mess our local education system is in today. I don’t want more of that. I want different thinking be it Black, Hindu or any race, creed or color.
Too much emphasis on diversity and not enough on qualifications, accomplishments and getting it done is my Sunday morning opinion. Now off to church to pray for better times.
Nice post, but not politically correct thinking in this day and age. Your voice will never be heard and in the meantime the school system will continue to tank.
Dark Age thinking to modern problems, isn't that what our local government is all about?
Charlie Crist really stuck it to the Democrats with his appointment of Bobby. How could they, especially the liberals, say anything negative about his appointment. After all, that would be attacking affirmative action which they so much believe in. Way to go Charlie--a priceless move on your part, among many!
There appears to be some discrepancy concerning the length of Bobby James appointment to the school board. Today’s Star Banner editorial infers Bobby’s term of appointment ends in 2010. A check of the appointments list on the Governor’s website has the term of his appointment listed as August 14, 2007 to November 10, 2008. If the Governor’s website is correct, Bobby will have to run next year. Based on some recent experiences I’ve had with the Governor’s office, his website may be inaccurate and the Star Banner is correct.
Folks it doesn't matter who is on the school board....the feds have ruined our schools. Can't suspend kids with "special titles" (SLD, Attention deficit, etc) more than 2 weeks no matter what they do. YET nonlabeled kids can be suspended as often as the system wants. So rules are set for different folks based upon a psychological label?? If you suspend those with "special title"
attached off the bus then the feds require the county send a private car out to haul the juvenile delinquents to school so the parents can sleep in. By the way, I saw I posted previously on this thread about 14 to 8 year olds (meant 18 year olds) not staying on task 100 minutes. Sorry.....didn't mean to sound so stupid previously. Anyway, private schools and home schooling is the wave of the future for education. Computer courses etc.
are helping parents with home schooling. My husband coaches football (volunteer as he has been many years) over at Trinity Catholic (2nd year there) and he says there is just no comparision between discipline in public school sports (he coached there several years also) and the private school sports. Folks....I hate to say it BUT we can chat for fun about who wins schoolboard and who wins Superinendent but none of it means beans....the Federal Government has destroyed public education with all the nonsense tied to their federal dollars. Most federal dollars come from school lunch program and funding for special needs kids. Even if school systems refused to take that money so they could run the County's school THEIR way I doubt they would get by with it because Feds probably fund yet again thru State dollars that actually started with the feds. Anyway, in my PERFECT public education (will never happen) you tell the feds to keep their money for the misfit BRATS (most of the attention deficit kids I know just needed their butt smacked with a paddle to UNWIND them) and make parents pack lunches FORGETTING "free and reduced" (like it was for all of us) and then we could AGAIN have successful public education. However, that will never happen and somebody remember me saying this here in 2007.....THERE IS NO HOPE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION THANKS TO THE FEDS....THATS A FACT!
Nancy Stacy
Critic, how long have you lived around here? I would think long enough to know the words hypocrite and The Star-Banner are synonymous. The Banner frequently flips positions, depending on who they want to suck up to.
Based on the excerpts below from the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes, and on the fact that the time remaining in the unexpired four-year term to which Kurt Kelly was elected last year is not shorter than 28 months, it would appear that the appointment of Bobby James runs until the first Tuesday after the first Monday following the next general election, which is in November of 2008, at which time the remainder of the unexpired term ending in 2010 to which Kelly was elected will be filled by a person selected during the regular election cycle next year.
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA AS REVISED IN 1968 AND SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED
s. 1(f), Art. IV
When not otherwise provided for in this constitution, the governor shall fill by appointment any vacancy in state or county office for the remainder of the term of an appointive office, and for the remainder of the term of an elective office if less than twenty-eight months, otherwise until the first Tuesday after the first Monday following the next general election.
FLORIDA STATUTES
100.111 Filling vacancy.--
(1)(a) If any vacancy occurs in any office which is required to be filled pursuant to s. 1(f), Art. IV of the State Constitution and the remainder of the term of such office is 28 months or longer, then at the next general election a person shall be elected to fill the unexpired portion of such term, commencing on the first Tuesday after the first Monday following such general election.
Nancy,
I find your previous post interesting and will save if for the future. Since WHO is on the board doesnt matter since the FEDS have screwed up the system so much I suspect we wont see you commenting on future School Board Elections. I mean if your just doing it "for fun" why waste your time...
After all, it doesnt matter who is elected, right?
While I think most are aware, for those who aren’t, school board elections are non-partisan, so all of us voters in Marion County will be eligible to vote in the election and any run-off necessary to determine who occupies from November 2008 until November 2010 the school board vacancy created by Kelly. We can all vote no matter how many trips anyone takes to Tallahassee to try to stop us.
Note that this is different from the 2000 school superintendent race, which James lost in the Republican primary. That was a partisan office. There won’t be a Republican primary next year to fill the school board position to which he’s been appointed.
Bobby James is one of the most articulate, intelligent and financially astute educators in our County. He will be a star on our useless School Board and a great addition. Governor Crist really knows how to pick ‘em.
Yo Brian C.,
You like Bobby and Nancy likes Bobby, so let's just sit back and see if he can pull it off in an open election. You two need to start working together on his campaign.
It's gonna be interesting and he's gonna have some tough competition. He's got about 14 months to get her done!
Once again the Blunder blunders. Sloppy, sloppy journalism by the editors.
To Anon. 8:26 AM re: your comment..“Ms. Thank You”, Judy Zanetti. Do you have any idea what she does? I happen to know her personally and she is a hands on School Board Member who actually goes into the schools, observes classes, talks to teachers, etc. to be informed as to what is really going on in our schools. She really appreciates and sees first hand, all the hard work our teachers, staff, and administrators do for our children. To "thank them" is her way of letting them know, personally, that she appreciates what they do. You obviously have never taught in our public schools. She has.
Nice, but what has she done? No more incumbent Board members for me. If she runs again--a NO vote from me. I like the idea of an Hispanic member on the Board to complement Mr. James. Not a bad idea at all. Hope we get some choices there.
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In the Monday Star-Banner is a piece by Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, who is black, about the special burden some whites try to put on him, revealing much about themselves in the process.
A quote from the Pitts column:
“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: if affirmative action is defined as giving preferential treatment on the basis of gender or race, then no one in this country has received more than white men.”
There isn’t much complaint on the Politically Homeless blog about preferential treatment for white men from those claiming to oppose affirmative action, but there sure is a lot of interest in affirmative action when a black man is on the rise.
Not long ago on this blog, Paul Ferguson (pwf) brought up the 1975 election to the Ocala City Council of James Cunningham, who became the first black elected to that body since Reconstruction days a century earlier. After Cunningham’s election, the Star-Banner editorialized that, because of his race, Cunningham would carry a special burden of showing himself to be a responsible city council member. Cunningham needed to be better than a white man at his job in order to compensate for racial bigotry in the community.
If Ms. Zanetti does get beat in her next go around it will be fine she has managed to get herself into every administrative prep course and staff development course that Yancey has offered all in the name of observing what others do! She will march out a School Board Member and march in as a high dollar Asst. Principal!
I think we need to give Mr. James a chance to see how he makes things happen or not as a School Board member before starting to critique him. I know several people who thought Stan McClain would never make it as a County Commissioner and are now among his best supporters.
Like Nancy says, it may be a hopeless cause at this stage for any School Board member. I’m just about there on that myself.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Here’s a link to the Leonard Pitt’s column mentioned above:
http://www.starbanner.com
/article/20070813/OPINION/
208130310/1030/OPINION
It truncated the first time I tried to post it, so I’m forcing it to multiple lines. If you would like to read the column, you may have to piece the link back together or you might just try going to www.starbanner.com, clicking on “News” at the top, then clicking on “Opinion” at the top, and then clicking on “Demanding my Vick opinion” under “Columnists.”
The Governor has given Bobby James the gift of the power of incumbency. He must translate that gift into a victory at the polls in November 2008. Without that, he will be viewed as just another failed affirmative action effort. Win over the voters in 2008, and it can be categorized a successful effort.
Gun Nutt says...
Brian I read the opinion piece you suggested and it is ok but it is off point. The cloud that hangs over this appointment coes from the letter writen by a local official. When you have an elected official write to the governor recomending that he appoint someone who is black (for no other reason than the fact that he is black) and then the governor appoints a black man for the job it kind of looks like he did it just because that candidate was black. This is the definition of racism.
Incidentally, I have read some comments on this blog sugesting that now we need a hispanic person on the board. Again this is misguided and racist.
Let me be clear. I support no form of racism. I want people to be hired based on their qualifications.
Now on to the idea that this racism in favor of blacks and hispanics is OK because white men have benefited so much from racism. The problem with this logic, is that racism in favor of white men has been illegal for longer than most of us have even been alive and far longer than we have been in the workforce. Furthermore, there is already a mechanism to address this type of racism. There is no such mechanism for dealing with affirmative action.
As I've said before on this blog if I have to choose between allowing racism which benefits blacks and racism which benefits whites, I'll choose to allow racism that benefits whites. The reason is simple, it's because I am white. Now, I'll put this in terms even the dumbest among us can understand. In the game of race, you don't get to pick which team you play on. If you are white, then you are on the white team. If you are black, then you are on the black team. Even the dumbest stooge knows to be happy when his team gains an advantage. I implore you all to root for your team.
Right on Bro!! Nothing wrong with being white, black, Asian or any other race. Make it on ability and don't look for special treatment. That's what my Korean parents taught me and it has worked for me for 29 years.
Recently, on one of the other threads, I remarked on the futility of a black running for countywide office. I considered at the time adding a note, but didn’t, that if a black were successful in doing this, it might involve unusual circumstances, such as a special election with low turnout or a black first appointed to an office and then running as an incumbent. We will in all likelihood see such a potential situation next year with Bobby James.
The situation with Crist appointing James is similar to the situation with then Governor Lawton Chiles appointing Democrat Ed Dean to succeed Republican Sheriff Ken Ergle. Though Dean was not a member of the party in local ascendancy at the time, the appointment allowed him to cast himself as a proven sheriff when facing voters for the first time for this office. James has a similar opportunity as a school board member. Unlike Dean, James is a member of the dominant party in the county, but he too faces a challenge: an electorate without a demonstrated history of electing blacks to countywide office.
There is also an analogy to the situation with Parnell Townley. One of the reasons Townley ran for the school board last year after his 2004 loss in a Republican primary for county commissioner is that his supporters thought he would stand a better chance in a non-partisan race in which all the voters could reach him. This is a paraphrase of remarks Townley made last year at a Silver Springs Shores candidate forum in explaining why he was running for a non-partisan school board slot, a run that he abandoned a short time later. James probably also has a better chance in an election to countywide office that is open to all voters and that does not require him to first win an election amongst a much narrower group of voters.
Not that it matters a great deal, especially since I don’t have a history of involvement in school board races other than voting in them, but contrary to the usual knee-jerk blog baloney, I have no idea who I will vote for in the school board races next year.
Blogman--Who cares about Bobby James and African American history from Creekbaum? How about another topic, this is getting old and 2008 is a ways away. My prediction, James will lose to a hispanic. Wouldn't that be poetic justice?
"This is what it's all about, an inclusive process," Bobby James said moments after the swearing in, referring to the fact that he is the first minority member of the board.
Notice the picture in the local newspaper. It shows one white face in the audience and the swearing in done by Frank Washington (an African American friend).
Inclusiveness my a..!
Gun Nutt, you may well be correct. If you're white-play on that team and if you're black-play on that team.
Voice of Reason says . . . . .
The appointment by Crist was a vile betrayal of Marion Republicans. Crist knows that papa Baxley lost to a Citrus County man and that Marion County imbeciles elected KK to the state house. (After almost losing to a 26 year old kid). Crist knows that the Republican Exec.Committee is ragamuffin and on life-support and the party is vulnerable. Pornell's stock is going down and the Republican voters didn't give Shaw much of a chance. Pat Gabriel and Dick Handout are getting older. In a nutshell, Crist has no respect for Marion County voters so he picked the affirmative action useful idiot.
Comparing James to Ed Dean is a joke, what does a public school principal do other than ask the state for money and stop kids from smoking in the bathroom and spitting gum on the halls? James was a P.E. teacher and coach? Coaches just teach boys how to hold a ball and avoid getting tackled - the coaches shill as "educators" in their spare time. His history is evidence of affirmative action - I would think that he has a made a career of passing-up more qualified folks because of his race.
If Marion county is so racist, how did James become a principal so many years ago? I saw in the OSB article that James talked about "inclusion." Nothing about excellence or creating world-competitive students. No, it was all about race and "inclusion." I guess that his tenure as principal was not inclusive.
If the Marion County voters in the next election think that an affirmative action former P.E. Coach will improve public education, they deserve the rock-bottom public school system that this county has.
VoR
V of R:
WOW! Better get ready for those Crist loving liberals to come after you.
VOR says "Coaches just teach boys how to hold a ball and avoid getting tackled - the coaches shill as "educators" in their spare time."
What a statement on knowledge of some of America's top educators! True, they do not generally teach advanced Chinese history, but some of them are brillant educators, and many, many of them are tremendous character builders -0- something that has been lsot on many parents.
To my personal knowledge when these eyes of mine were good, this "coach" (Bobby James) was more concerned about making good citizens of the kids on his team than he was at beating Jim Haley and Vanguard; concerned to the point he was the "father" many of them never haed. And he is not alone; many coaches dig deep in their pockets to provide clothing and food when the sperm donors are not present and when the "mothers" are on the street, leaving the kids to fend for themselves.
There are several members of his teams who were candidates for prison that he turned around with much hard work and tough love.
My son was a manager for Vanguard, when Bobby came back to Ocala and I loved those Knights and spent far too much time following them and working for that program. But I watched with great admiration as Bobby James did his magic in building men, not just a great record.
I am sorry to see all of the talk about race in this situation. Why one blogger has insisted in trying to bait others with this issue shows he is about as smart as Crawford for his letter to the Governor.
Having said that, Bobby James has more breal work experience, more experience as a businessman and he will make a better school board member than his predecessor, and surely meetings will be shorter, since the pontification will be considerably less.
I can not look in Gov. Crist's heart and tell if he made the apopointment based on Bobby's race, but Charlie is the Governor and he was elected as a Republican and he does have the power of appointment, and just as we had to live with Jeb's apopointments, we will survive Charlie's.
Give the guy a chance. Frankly, had be run against Jim Warford as a Democrat, there is substantial evidence that he could have won. He ran against Jim as a Republican because he believes in many Republican Party principles and is man enough to stand up when he doesn't agree with the partisan garbage that rules soo many people. --pwf
Voice of Reason says . . . . ..
PWF's comments about coaches being "Men Builders" and "Fathers that the boys never had" is the tired old talk of bottom dwellers. It is the reasoning that continues to place Marion Public Education on the bottom of the barrel. That being said, the more I think about it, the James is perfect for Marion County. He is the choice of those who continue to look backwards instead of forward. He has a "coaches heart" meaning that high school sports are more important than math, physics, medicine, law, or engineering. He believes that athletes are "natural born leaders" and deserve the first fruits of the taxpayers money. He believes that we are still in the 60s when the rest of the world hasn't caught up with the (moral white male led) American lead. He believes that "Physical Education" is a real subject in school. He believes in the privileged class of the school administrator over the teacher. He believes that all decisions have always been based upon race. He is focused upon keeping the bottom dwellers busy instead of helping the top the students achieve great things for him or herself and society.
As Creekbaum likes to use anecdotes, I will too - "If you really care about your child's education in Marion County, send them to a private school," . . . current Marion County School Board Member.
VoR
The Governor should have remembered two words when he made his appointment to the school board: FRESH BLOOD!
He didn’t and now it will most likely be up to the voters who believe in those two words to see that they are injected into the school board when the 2008 Election comes around. We need new and different educational thinking, not just fine tuning the present system based on “old educational experiences”. I don’t see us getting that. I’ll wait and see, but I’m not very optimistic.
What? You dare to question one of the Governor’s decisions. They will drum you right out of the Republican Party! I thought you were one of those social liberals who also loves to spend taxpayer money on useless County Parks.
VOR says, among other arrogant things, that Bobby "... believes that athletes are "natural born leaders".
That was the phrase that your State Rep used to try and get athletes out of juvenile court when they had been arrested for armed robbery.
Bobby spent his time working to make sure that his athletes did not need to appear in court.
--pwf
Puffer there you go again.
The State Representative did not
"try and get athletes out of juvenile court" when they had been arrested for armed robbery.
He and others provided relevent testimony so that the Judge could make an informed decision regarding pre-trail detention. He released them to their parents, I might add without incident, pending further action by the court.
It is amazing how you continue to twist the facts.
Caught you again!
Voice of Reason says . . . .
I know that PWF, Creekbaum, and a few others on this blog are used to reading 1st grade level materials such as the Star Banner - so sarcasm in writing is missed - I used the "Natural Born Leaders" phrase knowing that it was KK's - my point is that that you will get the same "Coach's Heart" from James (didn't KK brag about being some sort of assistant coach?) As long as high school coaching is valued over real teachers, this public school community will remain a DISASTER. And that's what it is, a disaster.
If people would travel outside of this area and the USA, they will see that USA will soon lose any lead over the rest of the world - other countries are getting education right while places like Marion are stagnating or going backwards. Guys like James grew up era when the US was cruising on top of the world. James only knows of a big government pie that could afford handouts like welfare and affirmative action.
Now, things are rapidly changing, the average guy in a developing nation has better knowledge and education than James. The US is finding increasing resistance to muscling around other countries. Energy costs are rising. Information travels at light speed instead of the speed of a coach's magic marker on a playbook.
James is the pick for guilty white liberals who have their heads stuck forever in the 60s. I think its a generational thing. The younger folks have grown up seeing blacks with not only the exact same, but in fact preferential treatment. We understand that we are literally legally and economically disadvantaged to "minorities" and we're not going to roll over to an "Oprahized" society of whimpy white males. Keep an eye out, you we see a fight to the finish on this terrible issue of minority preferences.
VoR
I think Bobby is great. However, I think rules are rules and they've been broken so many times..... why have them? If Bobby was turned down the first time he applied because he didn't live in the District, is he going to live in the District now?
What are the rules or state law about a School Board member living in the District they represent? Is that the Govrenors rule or is it some kind of law?
At 12:44 PM, August 15, 2007, Anonymous said...
...one of those social liberals who also loves to spend taxpayer money on useless County Parks.
You didn't have any friends when you were a sickly child and now you're WACO radio listener or just a trailer dwelling Libertarian?
VOR, so are so far out of it on this one you dont deserve a response, but I will give you anyway.
You and Brian are the ones who have made this a racial issue on this blog. Sure Bobby is proud to be the first Black man to ever serve in an official capacity on a county board.
Frankly, I have known many Blacks who were more qualified than one of the whites who served and who serve. This is not about race.
If you believe what the Governor has said, he appooints people who best fit the board they serve.
If he does a good job he will likely be elected to the balance of the term that Kelly left his contract with the people to serve, and if Bobby does good in those two years, he might be elected to a full term.
You look at his background, his accomplishments not only in the classroom, as a coach, as a principal and as in the community and give me the name of one of his fellow board members who is even close.
Would he have been my choice, perhaps not, but neither would I have named Kelly to the post had I been Jeb. That would not have been about race and neither was this one.
--pwf
Anon at 12:44 said "I thought you were one of those social liberals who also loves to spend taxpayer money on useless County Parks."
Which park is useless? When you se the throng of youngsters use Jervey Gantt and the Masionic Lodge Park every day, when you see the kids at soccor, and at Rotary Field, reasonable people understand none you see none of them are useless. Only you and John Lund have that attitude.
To All re: Bobby James - why is it when a black American is in office or appointed to a position, that the media has to state "he's a black American". Does the media state "he's a caucasian American" when a white American is in office? Not. I could care less what color a persons skin is as long they are qualified and do a good job in the position that they are appointed to or voted in to. Oh, by the way, I am caucasian.
PWF tells us Bobby James is as well qualified (maybe better) as any of the other 4 current School Board members. A pretty lame comparison don't you think. Since you folks like athletic anecdotes, his statement is a lot like saying 5 groups of 7 runners ran in a 100 yard dash. Of those finishing dead last, one had the best time of the five last place finishers. Quite an accomplishment huh?
What a surprise! If PWF was Governor (perish the thought), he would not have selected Kelly. Now that explains why the backhanded "left his contract with the people to serve" dig. All elected officials that leave office to run for another has breeched their contract according to PWF. At least this is your opinion and not a lie like your last post of "try and get athletes out of juvenile court" stunt.
Gun Nutt says...
PWF, I think the reason the discussion has turned to race is that one of the members of the board (who has no doubt been brainwashed by the "big race" industry) previously wrote to the governor specifically requesting that he appoint a black person to the board. This was done without regard to qualifications. This makes the governor's appointment look like it was based on race and that my friends is racism.
I don't usually spend much time on the Star Banner blog (it's too high-tech advanced for me), but did find something someone posted on the race discussion that is appropriate:
Until people stop seeing in black and white (including those who play victim)....male or female, gay or straight, chistian or whatever and simply enjoin the HUMAN RACE....(I am often reminded of MLK's "Human Rights" movement")...then these so-called problems of diversity will ALWAYS be alive....
When the first thing an individual does in their self identification is to delineate their race, creed, religion, gender or sexual preference...then said indiviudal is LITERALLY creating an atmosphere of differentiation that has absolutly zero merit save to isolate, segregate and differentiate based upon the very things they accuse others of doing.
After well over forty years since the advent of the Civil Rights Act..and nearly thirty years of affirmative action...there isn't an adult generation alive today that has leg to stand on to still be claiming across the board discrimination (which literally means taking or making UNMERITED differentiation) expection social exception from same.
Want my respect?
Be a human being......because in my opinion anyone and I mean anyone who is so insecure as to have to hide behind any other label in their self identity is literally lobbying for special consideration...NOT EQUALITY.....
Amen to the comments!!!
Anon at 11:26:
Agreed, 100%. Words well spoken. --pwf
Anon at 10:50:
You said "All elected officials that leave office to run for another has breeched their contract according to PWF."
You too are 100% correct. When you sign on to do a job for a specified period of time (four years in this case) and you leave for a different gig, you have in fact breeched your contract with the people. You disagree?
And yes, anyone who does this, be it a county commissioner resigning to run for another job, a school board member, anyone who gives up on his or her agreement with the public (or a private company) to run for another office brteeches their contract. Done all the time? yes. Many wrongs make a right? NO.
--pwf
Anon at 10:50:
ASomeday you may take the time to talk to the officials who were involved and you will find everything I have said about the appearance before the judge is correct.
I am pleased there have been no further offenses against the public. But had these kids not been football players, the appearance would never have happened. Sort of like the statements that the Governor's appointment was race based. Well, this apperaance was based on them being football players. Had they not been players they would likely still be in jail, and we probably would have never heard about it.
Kurt's involvement against law enforcement when they nailed kids must have been the qualifications for his being named to the juvenile justice committee in the legislature. He does have experience. -- pwf
Gun Nut -- Crawford's letter to the governor was in poor taste and put the governor in a bad spot no matter who or which race he appointed. --pwf
The issue of Bobby James should not be the color of his skin, the real issue that will impact the School board is Coach turned Principal! Principals are the biggest problem in the School System today, they think they are God's of their own little Empire's! They believe they have total autonomy with accountibility to no one except Jim Yancey a fellow Principal! Bobby thinks like a principal as does Jim, the other four Board members think like the average Tax payer, if you watched the last board meeting you can already see what direction Bobby is heading towards, the age old Principal philosophy "throw money at it and fix it"!
Voice of Reason says . . . .
The James appointment was probably given a total of 2 minutes of the Governor's time. Being a Sarasota/Hillsborough/Pinellas guy, he has zero respect for this area. Marion County voters have done nothing to change his opinion. However, they do have that chance in the next election.
With James in the School Board seat, look for him to start talking about more minority contracts and then keep an eye on his friends/business buddies because you will start to see them in new Cadillacs around town. Look for more "ideas" and "programs" from James that will take more money from hard working whites to give to the west-side culture of failure.
I think that Marion voters will get it right next Fall. James will go back to collecting ONLY his juicy pension from his Principal retirement and maybe go back to only one Cadillac.
VoR
PWF you have me rolling on the floor with your never ending lies and spin. Your dislike for Kelly knows no bounds. WE GET IT!
Your recent post "try and get athletes out of juvenile court" is a lie. Plain and simple.
Next your statement that "But had these kids not been football players, the appearance would never have happened." is a spin.
Of course Kelly appeared because he was formally their coach yes in the sport of football. But for you to say he would not have testified at a detention hearing for kids known by him as neighbors for example is without proof or merit.
Next your statement "Had they not been players they would likely still be in jail" is again without merit or fact. But I do get it. I'm sure you meant to say "If I PWF were the judge I would have made different decisions and these kids would still be in jail" fair enough and thank goodness you are not a Judge, or the Governor.
Caught again!
I'll bet you lunch that I have far more people who agree that someone caught in an armed robbery should be held accountable, not turned back on the streets. And I've got more people on my side who do not want guns changing hands in a locker room.
Spin away. This is not about my dislike or your live for anyone. It is about scommon sense, and we now how much of that you have.
Get the transcript and we will see if I have lied. I have read it,
--pwf
Cuse me, I meant to say your life for anyone. Sorry abotu that. --pwf
Nowhere in the transcript is anything that even remotely addresses the issue of punishment for those kids. At that point in time they were innocent until proven guilty, a concept you can't seem to grasp. The hearing was to determine, pending trail, where the kids were to be held. The judge made the decision, not you.
The State Representative did not
"try and get athletes out of juvenile court" when they had been arrested for armed robbery.
You will never produce transcripts to back up your lie on this quote.
Plain and simple. Spin away! If you want to change the subject and comment about liberal judges go ahead. But on this point you have been caught in a lie again.
Puffer on this blog means "he who lies"
This thread does prove one thing. You can have more than one thread at a time and one of them is bound to do better.
The thread on EMS has been excellent. A lot of positive information by several bloggers who put a lot of time and effort together that educated readers. I know I learned a lot about something I knew nothing about.
This thread, well, it is starting to smell. It seems that when pushed, some bloggers show their real colors, hatred creaps in.
Time for another subject . I could suggest a handful. I am sure the blog master can as well.
Clayton Ellsworth
Voice of Reason says . . . .
That whole Kelly thing will never go away - you guys will never agree on it.
Hey, there are some more elections coming up in the Mayor and City Council seats - I think in October.
Blogmaster, how about a new blog for those seats?
VoR
Gun Nutt says...
In response to Clayton's critisism of the "hatred" on this thread, I would counter that hatred can be a good thing. Much in the same way a double negative in math creates a positive, hatred of a bad thing (like the racism of affirmative action) is actually a good thing.
Additionaly, I enjoy the type of arguement that we have been having on this thread.
Some agruments don't require a lot of annecdotal facts because they are arguments over general priciples. These arguments are more dependent upon solid logic.
That being said, I agree with Clayton that it is nice when there are several active threads. It gives people more choices.
Voice of Reason says . . .
Adding to Gun Nutt's comments, the Creekbaum criticism of "hate" is a tired-old cheap comment. He doesn't like other's opinions so he calls them "hate" speech. I'm sorry, but some of us have the courage to stand up to Big Race and actually challenge the diety of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Oprah, Hussien Barack Obama, Mya Angelou, Eugene Foole, and Bobby James.
Creekbaum is hopelessly locked in the 60s where he was indelibly brainwashed by the Kennedys and intimidated by the Black Panthers.
VoR
I’m tired of hearing about Kurt Kelly! I suggest a moratorium on anymore comments about Kelly on the blog until closer to the 2008 election.
Not meaning to be disrespectful, but Mr. Kelly is insignificant in helping solve most of our local problems. Our problems require local solutions by local people, not Tallahassee politicians. Give Mr. Kelly his time in the sun and glamour of Tallahassee for the next 15 months---including all those photo ops, lobbyists sucking up to him, and the political ego satisfaction provided to him and his family.
All Rep. Kelly needs to do is deliver two things by November of 2008 to get my support: reduce my property taxes by 15%-20% and my property insurance by an equal amount. I could care less what committees he serves on or chairs or how many bills or special license plates he introduces. I want tax/insurance relief. Deliver that and get my vote. Don’t, and I’m going to vote for a change in representation (e.g., Damon Baxley or A. Kesselring)!
Voice of Reason says . . .
In my last post, you can scratch "Creekbaum" and replace him with "Clayton" although I'm not sure if that makes any difference (except for accuracy).
I agree with its getting old's post about a moratorium on writing about KK - but is he seriously suggesting that he might vote for Damon Baxley next go-around? Where does Marion County get all of these basackwards "human beings?" No wonder Crist has absolutely no respect for this area. We are considered just "fly over" for legislators with even an ounce of influence.
Where have you gone Buddy McKay?
VoR
To PWF - re: your comment "You look at his background, his accomplishments not only in the classroom, as a coach, as a principal and as in the community and give me the name of one of his fellow board members who is even close". So does your gal Mosley know how you feel about her? Gosh, according to your previous posts, she was the best thing since sliced bread. What's changed your opinion?
James is the best of five "bads" as someone already pointed out. Can't we do better? Extremely dissappointing!
There is no doubt that Sue Mosley has been the most effective school board member for the last five in six years in terms of involvement, getting things brought to the table and accomplishments. Like everyone, including me, every board member there are negatives. But until someone tops her in those field, she will remain the most effective.
My statement had to do with the Bobby James qualifications to seek the office, and I await anyone who has a name of someone with more qualifications to seek the office.
Since there is no one who has spent their lifetime in whatever field he served in our schools, the rest are eliminated regardless of their other fields. He, like others, has had a private life in business, and in the community, reaching different people than the others who serve on the school board.
As I have said, Bobby may not have been my first choice, but he is a good choice, and it only matters that the Governor felt him to be his best choice. Now, let's give him a chance to show what he can be.
As "its getting old suggests with Kelly" Bobby has the opportunity to make a record in a very short period of time. Based on my knowledge of his grit, I suspect he will have something more than "thank you" to say when the election comes. If not, so be it. --pwf
Voice of Reason says . . .
James has a lifetime spent in affirmative action, government subsidy of the westside Ocala culture of failure, Physical "Education," Big Race whining for an appointment when the voters reject a candidacy, switching parties from Democrat to Republican to scam the voters, government handouts, and excuses for failure.
He has no experience in modern world-class education.
Expect nothing new from James - he'll get a $3,000 a month paycheck for the two meetings where he is required to warm a seat.
VoR
VOR, just for curiosity sake, how long have you lived in Marion County?
--pwf
What difference does it make how long anyody has lived in marion county? More Puffery from the Puffer.
This sums up pwf aka Puffer
As a defense mechanism, puffers have the ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with air until they are almost spherical in shape.
Thus, a predator stalking the puffer may suddenly find itself facing what seems to be a much larger fish and pause, giving the puffer an opportunity to retreat to safety.
When lifted out of water there is a risk that puffers inflate with too much air. This may result in problems deflating again afterwards.
ipTo VOR :
I agree that there have been casualties because of Affirmative action. We will never be able to quantify how many there have been and exactly why.
Does that mean that caucasions are "literally and legally and economically to disadvantaged minorities ? I don't think so. Please refer me to the facts that you have found to make this statement. [I am assuming you have facts ]
What does "Big Race whining" mean ?
What does "government subsidy of the west side culture of failure " mean ?
Your suggestion that Mr. James could "maybe go back to one Cadilac " is a very thinly veiled racial slur "
What doe you think about Senator Obama ? Was he a benefactor of the welfare and affirmative action policies you rail about ? Or could it be that he is extremely smart, and politically savy, a lot smarter than you or me,and that the color of his skin makes no difference ?
Clayton Ellsworth
ok anon-yo-mucus at 12:27 at least the puffer (pwf) addresses issues while you are obcessed with personalities so much it is foolish. i think i would rather be a puffer than a fool. puff puff away pwf. this anon-yo-mucus fool aint worth messin with.
There are a lot of us out there that feel the same way about Puffer. We are not interested in his personality, for sure. We're tired of his constant lies. The man is a walking talking pack-o-lies. And we're glad you're a puffer to.
The subject of this section is the School Board replacement, not PWF. How about finding another forum for your hatred or envy.
Voice of Reason says . . . . . .
I'll move on to better topics but I thought that I should shed some light on Clayton's questions.
As to the first question of caucasions being literally and legally and economically disadvantaged to minorities? I refer to the 2003 Supreme Court case of Gratz v. Bollinger. That case was about the University of Michigan College of Law (and virtually every other college/med. school/law school in the USA) giving "minorities" a full 20 out of 100 points required for admission just for being a minority. As a point of reference, every student who received straight As as an undergrad received 20 points towards the 100 required for admission. So, up until the decision in that case, minorities were legally advantaged over non-minorities. The Supreme Court, seeing the glaring racism, threw-out the point system but replaced it with a system that has the exact same effect. Now universities can set "Diversity Goals" and use a student's race as a legitimate factor in achieving "Diversity" on campus. Same outcome, different name.
Clayton asks: What does "Big Race whining" mean? It is Jesse Jackson and Eugene Foole and Bobby James complaining to Ron Crawford about no minorities on boards. No further explanation needed. Need more though? I've never known an African American who does (or who should) give a rats #%@$^& about NASCAR. However, Big Race has been putting extreme pressure on the organization to be more "inclusive." Not because the average African American is demanding it but only because Big Race sees NASCAR as an untapped revenue source. As a result, Magic Johnson (a basketball idiot) is named to some NASCAR position of diversity outreach - Magic is paid and directs that money right to Jesse Jackson and Big Race. Whining = $$$$$ for Big Race. Still no black folks at NASCAR races.
Clayton asks: What does "government subsidy of the west side culture of failure " mean? Weed and Seed Programs, capitol improvements that have been destroyed, drug and crime problems that have no end in sight, city dollars going to "stop racism" quilts, failing students, etc.
Clayton then moves on to: What do you think about Senator Obama ? Was he a benefactor of the welfare and affirmative action policies you rail about ? Or could it be that he is extremely smart, and politically savy, a lot smarter than you or me,and that the color of his skin makes no difference ?
Hussien Obama is a benefactor of the policies I discussed earlier. As noted above, he was given preference because of his race like every other minority did. In addition, his father (who is black) studied for a Ph.D. at Harvard. Harvard gives preference to legacies and celebrities in addition to racial preferences. George Bush has a Harvard M.B.A. and I would hardly think that you would consider him some stellar intellect. Yet you worship Obama so you impute "extreme" intelligence upon him. I recall that Hussein Obama's election to the Senate was the result of his shoe-in Republican counterpart having some huge marital scandal. Do I think that Obama is smarter than anyone else? No, I think that he has lived a life of privilege and racial preferences.
Now on to better topics.
VoR
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