**************** Moderator Asks ******************************
Who would you like to see the Council appoint to the school
committee vacancy? Make your case for that person.
**************************************************************

Dear Group,

I seem to remember some time ago when I mentioned a member of the
School Committee might resign and I got a collective yawn.

Then I asked if the Council should rubber stamp #8 and I got
collective snoring.

Wake up boys and girls, exam day is here.

Do you want the Council to just put in the next person or should they
do more? I would like to make the following argument:

First off, there is no law, otherwise there would be no decision,
that says #8 is automatic. In an election, you either win or lose;
once the votes are counted, the election is over. All persons
interested should have equal opportunity to make their particular
case to the Honorable Council. It may not be a bad idea for
interested parties to come forward in an open "town meeting" style
public forum. The public then, if so inspired, could contact members
of the Honorable Council as to their preferences.

The election the Honorable Council is relying on has a deep 9/11 skew
to it. Lord knows, even if the Council must take someone - which it
is not required to - that was on the ballot at the time, what 9/11
did to the intentions of the electorate towards that section of the
ballot. Winners are indeed winners, but as forementioned, first
loser is not a winner. It also should be noted that turnout was low
enough that true "public intent" outside the electorate that turned
out on that day cannot be divined. An election is about who shows
up, an appointment is about everybody. In other words, because the
number of votes in that ballot position is so low, there is very
little "election risk" to selecting someone else.

Lastly, there are problems with the candidate involved, for some
people and his voting record, for a lot of people. The candidate, a
registered Independant, voted in 2 straight Democratic primaries and
then unaffiliated, has demonstrated himself to be less than
compromising. In the current fiscal environment, his voting record
raises many questions with regards to his ability to understand the
responsibilities of the Education Department. Held up in the light
of a new No Child Left Behind environment, his voting record is
intolerable.

Certainly, there are other members of the populace equally deserving
of this opportunity.