The most important election for the most thankless job in the city is finally starting to take hold. 13 Candidates are on the ballot for the November 3rd elections and for the first time in Hartford history (me thinks) there is no guarantee that the Democrat slate will garner the maximum amount of seats available to them (3) via city charter.
Current Board of Education members
Just a recap: The Hartford Board of Education is comprised of nine members, 4 elected by the people and five appointed by the Mayor. The four current elected members are (in order of votes garnered last election): Andrea Comer, Elizabeth Brad Noel, Luis Rodriguez Davila and Sharon Patterson Stallings. Due to the lack of a third name, Ms. Comer chose not to run again this year….just kidding, however Andrea did choose not to run for re-election. If there has been one main theme in this election it would have to be the backlash against the Superintendent, the Mayor and the school system as a whole. This backlash has manifested itself into a anti-incumbent double headed earth elemental with a +10 two handed sword…oops, I digressed back to the 80s, but needless to say, people are taking out their frustrations on the incumbents.
The BoE Selection Committee of the coalition of the bullied and bought aka the Democratic Town Committee suggested not one single incumbent. The Working Families had internal struggles of their own but still, overwhelmingly decided on a ticket that included two incumbents. But in a sign of the times, the two incumbent candidates (Patterson-Stallings and Noel) were not endorsed by the Greater Hartford Labor Council…only their non incumbent candidate, Robert Cotto, Jr. (no relation) was endorsed.
This movement points to an interesting dichotomy within the mindset of the voting populace in Hartford. Keep in mind, the highest vote getter in the last BoE elections garnered 2400+ votes. 2400 in a city of 120,000 people…you do the math. Those are the people making the decisions and my commentary is geared more toward them/us. Due to the makeup of the elections, the 4 eventual electees will comprise the MINORITY caucus within the Board. One needs to throw party out the door once you get elected, because all of a sudden you are either a person elected by the people, or a person appointed by the Mayor. This is a huge reality that some people refuse to get or just don’t get. We can mix n match the four elected representatives all we want. Heck, we can get four clones of Luis Rodriguez Davila (who I feel has turned into the one “i aint gonna take no shit from the superintendent and speak my mind” guy out there) and it still will make ZERO difference in getting the change people want within the schools. At least the change inferred when there is such an incumbent backlash.
The only hope we have against some of the superintendent’s harmful policies are for the four elected, whichever four they are, to stand together the day after the elections and find common ground and make it a priority to move towards those common goals. Otherwise, we will find ourselves here in four years demonizing them and throwing more fodder into this truly thankless war.
There has already been one Candidate forum held by Hyacinth Yennie and the Maple Ave NRZ with another, more citywide forum scheduled for October 27th at the Hartford Public Library’s X Room. Achieve Hartford aka Brown-nosers Anonymous, have a questionnaire up that was completed by most candidates here. Stay tuned to CityLine, as they are in the midst of a multi-day effort to bring introduce the public to the candidates via a question they have asked. Kudos to them for not starting with any of the major parties, the first candidate featured was Millie “I got more vowels than Mississippi” Arcianieagas.
Remember peeps, go out and vote! November 3rd.
State law, not City Charter, prevents there from being more than four Democrats at once.
yuppers…the charter prescribes the 5 appointed 4 elected formula but, yes, the state’s minority inclusion apparatus (no more then 2/3 can be from one party) sets the mark for the 4 elected. Thanks Brendan
I wonder where this supposed backlash is. The parents i talk to are very supportive of the positive changes in Hartford Public Schools. Rising test scores, more accountability, school uniforms, a reduction in disruptive behavior, many positive changes that people are seeing every day. Who are opposed to these positive developments?
Furthermore there is no minority caucus of elected vs. appointed Board members. Officers have always included one elected member and elected members have chaired important sub-committees and task forces of the board and are responsible for important policies adopted by the Board.
Additionally, there is a marked increase in the number of high school graduates compared to 2 years ago.
David, I guess I’m trying to put that question out there. The mere fact that there is a Parents Choice Party points to some sort of distrust with the Board. If upto the DTC, not one single incumbent would have been in this years slate. Yet, as a council member I get loads of emails from Mr. Medina speaking to some of the gains you’ve mentioned. Are you under the impression that everybody is happy with the board?
No, of course not everyone is happy with our reforms and things have not gone perfectly. We could make improvements and intend to. Also there will never be a complete consensus when such sweeping reforms are required. But the mission of the School Board is not to make everyone happy or to achieve perfection in implementation. The mission of the School Board is to improve student achievement, which is occurring. And there are people who want to go back to the old days of a divided Board because its suits their interests better. But I submit that a divided Board doesn’t suit the best interests of our students.