Democrat Rent Seeking Interest Groups Not Silent
In previous posts we pointed out that the Scott County Republican Central Committee (SCRCC) leadership, while making noise about somehow impacting municipal elections, has done nothing about school board elections and their far more extensive impact on society and taxpayer pocketbooks. Even the noise about municipal elections in Davenport has been, shall we say, cursory.
So far the extent of the “impact” on the municipal elections has been to provide a list of registered Republicans who are running. So all one would have to do, say in a Republican ward, is register as a Republican and receive the accompanying profound aura propagated by the local party. Listing candidate forums is cursory and for a political party as passionless as you can get. The latter being the full extent of the SCRCC impact on the school board election.
Has the leadership ever heard of sponsoring a candidate forum for either election . . . of course they have. So why have they not done so? The forums they do list in a things to do sort of minimalistic effort, as some sort of proof they are paying attention, are sponsored by outside organizations, which is selectively verboten. Sponsoring forums provide those organizations with the ability to control the discussion toward “their” issues. So why has the SCRCC not sponsored such a forum for the school board election? Will they for the municipal elections to reflect our concerns about issues?
Regarding school board elections, it is not like the Party does not have concerns. Indeed the County, District and State platforms have entire sections devoted to “Education.” There are 33, 47 and 45 planks respectively in those platform sections. Appropriate questions and forum topics consistent with the platform could also be assembled as regards municipal elections.
Such questionnaires gleaned from the platform and made as current and specific as possible could be sent to the candidates and the responses posted. The SCRCC Website could then be put to more use than as an online calendar and photo album for the powers that be.
The Party has the power to engender responses to forums and questionnaires. Regardless of whether some or even most candidates do not respond, that would say enough about the candidates. There are various ways to structure such useful work. Nothing in law or logic stops some useful manifestation of this. A get-out-the-vote effort should then be made based on responses.
The content free nature of the SCRCC leadership represents part of the reason why Republicans lose in Scott County. Why vote Republican again?? Their approach is to encompass everything (the “Big Tent”) and mean nothing. That demeanor is reflected in the pick of Scott (put your pants on) Brown to be the featured speaker at the SCRCC Lincoln Club Reagan Dinner.
As far as any recommendations for today’s Davenport School Board election, we have none. Reading the bios of the ballot appearing candidates, their responses to questionnaires, and which ones were endorsed by either the QC Federation of Labor or the teachers union, (each received one or the other) there is little hope. Write somebody in. I am going to write in Carolyn Gabrilson to honor her for her past work on the Davenport School Board.
There is a ballot issue that seems to imply an advantage for local control of some spending. That can be a mixed bag with this cast of characters but we will sin on the side of local control. Polls close at 8:00pm R Mall
Roger,
Nice comments on school board election.
I voted prior to reading your post…. But I did write in a neighbors name
Instead of picking one of the listed candidates.
I was not clear on the meaning of the vote to “use funds from the state? “. Resolution so I voted against it. I spend more than $4000 per year supporting the schools with my property taxes… The school system does resemble the fat poodle!
Bye, Bob Kauth