Candidate for
Board Member; Hayward Unified School District

I have decided not to list endorsements, or to even seek them in most cases. In the past, like most candidates, I listed many prominent endorsing individuals and groups, and I could do so again. But after the being on the school board for five years, I have come to believe that the practice of seeking endorsements can increase the problems caused by the self-interest that I describe in my statement of "political philosophy" (above in this site).

I have come to believe that many such endorsements pose an actual or perceived conflict of interest to that of the students, despite the endorsee's avowals of independence. It can lead to expectations of "I scratched your back, now you scratch mine." It also encourages voting by association rather than by qualifications and merit. Many voters vote along party or union lines, for example, which may be okay for partisan contests, but if we are ever to make school boards the non-partisan entities they are supposed to be, I think we should refrain from the kind of endorsement practice used for partisan contests.

I do not want to be elected or rejected because of perceived affiliations, good or bad. I now have a record of service and should be reelected or "retired," on that basis. (See my Position Statement on "Accomplishments."

We need a culture that does not tolerate the pursuit of personal or group self-interests over that of the students' interests. "Turf" protection, "empire building" and pandering to special interests should have no place in the education of our children. I still see way too much of this. We must be undeviatingly focused on what is best for students.