Critic sees hand of union in upsets - News

PRINT THIS Popular

Nov. 06, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Critic sees hand of union in upsets

Association president's response: 'Oh, please'

By JAMES HAUG
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Deanna Wright
Homemaker defeats Edward Goldman in School Board District A contest

Chris Garvey
Dental hygienist defeats Ron Taylor in School Board District B contest

In the race for the Clark County School Board, Edward Goldman and Ron Taylor, two candidates with advanced degrees and professional educational experience, lost to homemaker Deanna Wright and dental hygienist Chris Garvey.

The credit for the stunning upsets goes to the "iron triangle," the nexus of the teachers union, Clark County School District administrators and School Board members, said one district critic and observer.

Most Popular Stories

Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer

FATAL SHOOTING: Police again mourn comrade

NORM: Biden finds rank has its privileges

NORM: Walton: Coach deserved a punch

DEADLY HOME INVASION: Police suspect link to family

Station Casinos posts $455 million third-quarter loss

Two of three suspects in slaying of officer could face death penalty

Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop

UNLV sacks football coach Sanford

NORM: CityCenter seeks presidential visit

"We've got a pattern in government. It's run by insiders who work for insiders," said Steven Miller, the vice president of research for the Nevada Research Policy Institute, a conservative advocacy group.

Miller said the entrenched interests block any meaningful reform. "The public is essentially locked out, and the whole purpose of education is subverted," he said.

Miller said the Clark County Education Association, which represents district teachers, naturally chose the candidates who will advance their pet causes.

Terri Janison, Wright, Linda Young and Garvey, the four School Board candidates who won Tuesday, were all endorsed by the union, which collectively donated $29,000 to their campaigns.

Association President Ruben Murillo responded to accusations of undue influence with an "oh, please."

"I'm glad that people think we have that much control over the School Board," he said Wednesday.

Murillo said people who think the union can sway elections are usually at the "losing end" of a campaign.

All current and newly elected School Board members have been endorsed at some point by the teachers union, but no guarantee exists that the School Board members will follow the union's lead, Murillo said.

"Once they're elected, it's another thing to work with them," Murillo said.

He added that union members' dues are not used on political campaigns. Their contributions come from a separate fundraising arm.

Election Day was a development day for teachers at the request of Clark County elections chief Larry Lomax, who said he made the suggestion in consultation with the district's school police to minimize security concerns. Schools often are used as polling places.

On Tuesday, Murillo said, the union did not do any "mass organizing" on behalf of the candidates. Students were off, but teachers still had to report for a regular workday.

One losing School Board candidate agreed with Murillo and said the union does not have that much influence.

Edward Goldman is an associate superintendent for the district who has a doctorate in education leadership, two master's degrees and two bachelor's degrees. He lost by 10 percentage points, about 10,000 votes, to Deanna Wright, a stay-at-home mom who is short of earning a two-year-degree and showed grammatical confusion on her campaign Web site by mixing up "there" with "their" and "roll" with "role."

Goldman blamed his defeat on uninformed voters. "The vast majority of people have no idea about the School Board," he said.

Goldman said that although School Board members run as nonpartisan candidates, he lost to the same political tsunami that swept Democratic female candidates such state Senator-elect Shirley Breeden and U.S. Representative-elect Dina Titus into office. They defeated their male opponents, incumbent state Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, and incumbent U.S. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.

Goldman, who lives in southeastern Clark County, thinks that voters assumed the female candidates on the area's ballot were all Democrats.

Wright said that she earned her victory in District A through hard work and that the teachers union endorsement certainly helped. She said she would not be a "rubber stamp" for the teachers union and added that she was "befuddled" that critics would accuse the education association and district administrators of colluding.

"They should be collaborating," Wright said. "They shouldn't be pitted against each other."

She said the implication that teachers were a greedy special interest group was laughable. "They're obviously not in it to be millionaires," Wright said.

Ron Taylor, a district middle school teacher, lost by less than 1 percentage point, 856 votes, to Garvey in District B.

Taylor said he was not going to ask for a recount because he did not want to serve with the current board and the newly-elected members, individuals he views as subservient to district administrators and union chiefs.

"I don't know the words to 'Kumbaya,'" Taylor said. "I'm so disillusioned with the public. They say they want change and then vote for PTA moms."

Taylor raised $2,980 in donations and spent $4,537 on his race, and Garvey raised $57,977 and spent $43,940.

Because of the money difference, Taylor thinks that Garvey had more special interests behind her than just the teachers union. He mocked the idea that the contributors gave donations based on her worthiness as a candidate. "I guess they really wanted a dental hygienist," he said.

Taylor, a Vietnam veteran, said he was offended by a Web site created by Gray & Associates, a consulting firm hired by Garvey's campaign, which he felt impugned his military service. The Web site, Therealrontaylor.com, is no longer accessible.

Garvey said she comes from a military family and did not think the Web site detracted from Taylor's service. "I wouldn't take that away from him," Garvey said.

She said she was not beholden to the teachers union. She said she tells groups that she will listen: "I keep an open mind and open door."

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-799-2922.

Share & Save

Leave Your Comment	34 Reader Comments
Terms & Conditions The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor. Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Sam King wrote on November 07, 2008 10:11 PM: The election is over,however this does not mean that we, as members of the community, are out of the equation. We have a right to a voice and place at the table. As newly elected officials, our new Trustees work for us. We should give them a chance to do so. Call them with ideas , complaints, suggestions. Go to Board meetings and speak. Make the Board and individual trustess explain why policy is being implemented. This takes effort and may not result in anything changing right away, however, it may give the new members a sense of direction. The biggest issue facing CCSD has always been how students are served. Service is related to funding and the budget. Budgets reflect priorities. The budget and decisions as to spending, cuts and policy should be an open book. The Board operates on policy governance. An eplanation of why policy governance has not directed marked improvement in student achievemnet or with our graduation rate is overdue. There may be changes with the federal No Child Left Behind Act-- how will the Board and CCSD react to this? Schools in our state and district have had difficulty in meeting the requirements of the present Act. Nevertheless, CCSD, as a District, has met the requirements of Average Yearly Progress. This seems out of balance. Elected officials can be as good or as ineffective as we allow them to be. If we do not have clear expectations for them, they may and often do run amok. the truth wrote on November 07, 2008 05:13 PM: Puh-lease. There you go again. Look, Schutt Up or can I call you Philthy? Stop with the lies, you guys did enough of that during the campaign and it got you 20% of the vote. You're not close to Janison and you never babysat any children, including your own. You've been an outspoken adversary for years. Too bad you don't use that energy to do something positive. And, do you think Janison cared about any pictures on your website? The polling about the race was widely circulated, I can't believe anybody would care what was on your site. But, no large School Board signs off on indivdiual purchases. Schools all over the country have discretionary budgets. But, that would require your participation. Finally, "he had a great message?" What exactly was his message? You can't go your entire life without involvement and then declare you're going to improve test scores and graduation rates. Maybe next cycle, you can run on a message of "I like puppies." That would be a great message too. kidzallday wrote on November 07, 2008 09:22 AM: Actually, thanks "the truth." I pride myself that you would honor me with thinking that I am Schutt. He had a great message. I'm actually someone who woke up and decided not to vote for Janison again. I babysat her kids and voted for her the first time around and realized that she is not good for the system. Yep, I'm close to Janison and decided that Clark County didn't need her again. He may not be the greatest candidate, but at least he got it. I've come to realize that Janison does not have kids best interest in mind. And the purchases at Becker ARE purchases signed off by board members. Hence Janison's signatures on the approval forms and her HUNT to find the leak of how the pictures got to Schutt. Questioning teachers at Becker to find out who leaked the photos, Janison - is that part of the 30-40 hours that you put forth each week toward school board issues? And, for that matter...how can you claim to be a fulltime stay at home mom if you also claim to work fulltime as a school board member? That math doesn't add up, but that goes perfectly with Mrs. Wright who cannot spell, Janison who can't add up hours, great board we have here! the truth wrote on November 07, 2008 12:12 AM: hey kidsallday: better known as Schutt Up! You lost. Everything you have said in your post, and all campaign is absolutely wrong, not even close to the truth, and that's why you got stomped. A Board Member can't make the purchases you've whined about. And, if you actually went to a meeting, even at your own kids' school, you would learn what a Board Member does. We, the people of Clark County, are glad you will never be in that position. kidzallday wrote on November 06, 2008 08:30 PM: This article brings a lot of things to light. How could someone like Terri Janison yield 46,323 votes in the general election, yet only 7,200 in the primary? If she had gotten 46,323 in the primary she would have won this seat outright. With her $60,000 or so in donations it's no wonder why she was elected, votes are very easy to buy in this county. No one really knows what she's done to help education, the RJ doesn't even know! The only thing that she has done is get rid of junk food, except for in the student stores where it can still be purchased. She's also spent money frivolously at Becker middle school...that's the school that her son goes to!!! If you look at the donations from each school board candidate you will see that those candidates who won were those with most money, not the candidates that were most qualified or smart enough to put this system straight. Clark County parents have no regard for their child's education by voting for these buffoons. These trustees are completely bought, no vote they make will be the will of the people or what is best for kids. It will be what is best for their pocketbook and their political future. Afterall, they are just a bunch of bored housewives playing business barbie. And Jansion, the biggest business barbie, plans to run for city council in 2 years. Just a shame..oh, I mean SHAM! START THE RECALL NOW!!!! DO WHAT IS BEST FOR CHILDREN, TEACHERS & TAXPAYERS!!! mos def wrote on November 06, 2008 08:14 PM: Time to go hoggin'.......Yeah boy! the truth wrote on November 06, 2008 08:12 PM: Those who can.......DO! Those who can't.....TEACH! Sad Summerlin wrote on November 06, 2008 08:09 PM: What is it with people's obsession with blasting larger women... attack their ideas, folks... not their appearance and waistline... If Wright was a skinny blond with Christy Brinkley looks, would you still agree with her politics? The answer I hope would be NO! When you attack her looks, your message about how completely unqualified she is for the position we elected her gets lost... Poor Southern Nevada Education... if it could get any worse... it just did... Wayne wrote on November 06, 2008 07:53 PM: ""Iron Triangle?" Don't you mean "Iron Quadrangle?" Check where Wright goes every Sunday..." It's either the International House of Pancakes or Denny's for the Grand Slam. It doesn't look like she's missed too many meals.... Sort of like Mary Ella Holloway, the former CCEA president.... Both of these ladies are "light" eaters -- as soon as it gets "light," they start eating.... Jim Bob wrote on November 06, 2008 05:19 PM: >paul wrote on November 06, 2008 02:00 PM: Every industry should be a Union; it’s time for us to run the country not the republican rich white men. Obama will level the field so we can unionize and keep jobs here and return our industries to this country. The teachers union is the only thing that works in our schools and they are the least paid. Paul, wake up and open your eyes to the teachers union - it is EXACTLY what is WRONG with our schools! You're not too smart when you demonize all those "republican rich white men" that only ran the country from 1994 to 2000 in Congress. Other than that, your "poor white democrat" friends like Biden have been responsible for Congress. But, yet the Democrats blame all their problems on the Republicans. Some of those "rich white men" employed YOU and all Americans since the country was founded. But, you still want the union to protect you against this "evil business owner", your boss. BTW, I don't see why you have to categorize any person by their skin color. Isn't that what YOU BLAME Republicans for doing? Truth is, republicans are more tolerant, accepting, and respectful of other beliefs than Democrats. Republicans will make you defend your position, not attack you as a person. Democrats will attack you. Have a good day! Read All Comments