At a recent school board candidates' forum, candidate Sandra Fewer declared that Board of Education members need to be unafraid to make the tough decisions. (More on her later.)
Meanwhile, Jill Wynns — a veteran incumbent and friend whom I'm supporting in her bid for re-election — is being accused in some circles of not being "nice" enough. In my opinion, this charge is irrelevant and unfair.
Going back to Fewer's comment: You can't have it both ways. Putting a top priority on being nice conflicts directly with being willing to make the tough decisions.
In Jill's four board terms, she has consistently shown her willingness and ability to spot the tough decisions that need to be made (often while others look the other way) — and to make them.
Here's what the San Francisco Bay Guardian (despite the fact that it's far more politically aligned with Wynns' critics)
said about her in 2004: "Wynns has spent years as the board skeptic, asking the uncomfortable questions that needed asking and identifying legal and financial realities." The Chronicle called her "tough-minded"
in 2002 and "a peppery and outspoken maverick"
in 2004. In all those cases — which were election endorsements — the description was intended as praise. Being "nice" somehow didn't make it onto the list of desirable qualifications for the office.
That said,
is Jill a bitch? If she were, she'd be in good company. I am a fervent Obama supporter, but I also admire Hillary Clinton and savored Tina Fey's Saturday Night Live
commentary: "...people say that Hillary is a bitch. Let me say something about that: Yeah, she is. So am I ... You know what, bitches get stuff done." And those of us old enough to remember the 1984 presidential election recall Barbara Bush's salvo that Geraldine Ferraro, the first-ever female VP candidate from a major political party, was something that "rhymes with rich."
But actually, the dictionary definition of "bitch" is "a malicious, spiteful, or overbearing woman." Even Jill's worst enemies have not accused her of being malicious or spiteful. Overbearing? Not an epithet ever used to denigrate a man. Perhaps she is. Jill is also blunt and honest; I've often said she's not someone to whom you want to address the question: "Do I look fat in this dress?" She asks tough questions, makes tough decisions, sorts through difficult priorities, and doesn't cower or wimp out. Gosh, what a surprise that that sometimes offends people.
For the record, in her personal life (which she keeps well out of the limelight), Jill has many loyal, affectionate, longtime friends, and always seems to be taking in one or another stray young person or lost soul to live with her family.
Meanwhile, there's the knitting issue, which is resurfacing in the public discussion. A few years ago, the school board was dealing with the painful necessity of closing schools, with enrollment in the district dropping. (For the record, the criteria for choosing those schools included low and consistently dropping achievement and low and consistently dropping enrollment.) Jill, an expert knitter, often knits at school board meetings, and came under fire (including in the Bay Guardian) for knitting during the public comment period when irate and anguished parents were speaking against school closures.
Somehow those critics fail to mention the fact that during public comment other board members routinely open their mail, text-message and use their laptops (we unwashed masses in the audience can't tell whether they're taking notes, e-mailing or playing "World of Warcraft"). BOE member Mark Sanchez once audibly muttered "bullshit ... bullshit ..." repeatedly while I was making my two-minute public comment.
Jill, meanwhile, says she knits to keep her stress level and blood pressure down while being yelled at by the public. She recalls during that particular issue that one enraged speaker at the microphone suddenly reached into her purse, and Jill had to make a split-second decision whether to dive under the desk. She chose not to, and luckily the woman turned out to be reaching for a pencil. And by the way, school board members are essentially volunteers — they receive a token $500/month stipend — to fear being shot at in the line of duty.
Jill's fellow yarn addicts will attest that to skilled knitters, not only is it just what the doctor ordered to reduce stress and blood pressure, it also
improves their ability to listen closely — which is not the case with opening mail, texting or playing "World of Warcraft."
Now back to Sandra Fewer and tough decisions. A year and a half ago there was
an effort by some city supervisors to essentially withhold $2.5 million that the city had committed to our schoolchildren (this was in Prop. H funds, using the dodge of counting "pre-existing in-kind services" as part of the money). Mark Sanchez proposed supporting that scheme, reportedly in the interest of working cooperatively with the city. Fewer, as a member of the Prop. H Committee, spoke in favor of Sanchez' move to support withholding that $2.5 million from our schools and our kids, claiming that what resolving the issue quickly was more important than getting those resources for our schools. (A description of their views is at the end of
this March 2007 account on Greatschools.net.) Parents and school communities — more concerned with the welfare of our kids than with being nice — put up a hard fight against the giveaway and won that battle.
I'm not sure if Fewer considers that position making a tough decision or not. Tough decisions also need to be wise ones — based on sound judgment — that are in the best interests of our schools and our children.
And those tough decisions in the best interests of our schools and our children have been Jill Wynns' top priority during her 16 years on the school board. That's why I'm supporting her re-election.
Labels: Election_2008
