I’ll predict that Kettering will reject all three state issues and will approve both levies.

In Kettering this election there was strong competition in both the City Council race and in the School Board race. It’s a good sign that our democracy in Kettering may be stronger than it sometimes lets on.

W. Edwards Deming said that those thing most important cannot be measured. In our school system we are defining excellence in terms of those things we can measure. In other words, we are agreeing to a meaning of excellence that from a broader view is very trivial. I guess the first thing to realize about education in 2022, is that there has occurred a revolution in our understanding about the purpose and aim of education. There has been a revolution in what we see as indicators of excellence.

An involved citizenry would be engaged in thinking about such questions. I’m setting a big challenge for myself in thinking this through in the book I’m seeking to write — “Public Education In Kettering, Ohio In 2022.” I think it could be a topic that could attract a lot of attention and discussion and could become a focus of a Kettering group who join CitizensTogether.com. So, win or lose, I’ll have something useful to do.

I believe that the underlying premise that must guide all of our thinking concerning public education is the proposition that the key to a strong system of public education is a strong democracy. As I’ve said in my speeches, I believe that Kettering is well positioned to be a leader in public education and the fact that there is real competition in these Kettering races today, November 3, 2009, I think, is one indicator that we have hope for Kettering public education in 2022. It’s an indicator that in Kettering we have the capacity for leadership.

It’s great that in Kettering democracy seems very alive today. This thought makes me optimistic and so I am predicting that I will finish third in the Board race. Barely squeaking in is the best I can hope for and this morning I’m hoping for the best I can hope for. I guess I have enough confidence in myself that I think a vitalized democracy is to my advantage.

Julie Gilmore, I’m thinking, will come in first. And the second place then, according to my logic, must be Jim Brown. This outcome, that seems to follow as part of my squeaking in, would be huge. It would mean that two incumbents seeking reelection were, instead, turned out. It would send a big message that voters want change — a message I’ve heard from many with whom I talked.

The City Council race, this is a tough call. I think the most likely outcome is that Amy Schrimpf and Ashley Webb will win. But there is a scenario also that puts Ed Smith in and Ashley Webb out. The fact that Ed is a Democrat may be the key. I think the voters are in an ornery mood and so, my prediction for Kettering City Council is Amy Schrimpf and Ed Smith.

Kettering School Board: Gilmore, Brown, Bock
Kettering City Council: Schrimpf, Smith

Election tomorrow. The best guess is that about 15,000 of Kettering’s 40,000 voters will actually vote. It may be that even if I come in dead last, I still be able to say, in the middle of an argument, things like — “Look, 4000 Kettering voters think I’m right.”

I’ve had a number of people tell me that they are studying the League of Women Voters Voters Guide. In this campaign, I’ve ended up articulating a five point platform. But it’s not how I started. (Play the video below as you continue reading)

In my League of Women Voters statement I say,

Public education needs a big leap in quality — including a big leap in cost effectiveness. We need a ten year process of transformation that will result in a 21st century system of education. Community consensus is needed. Leadership is needed. The biggest challenge for the Kettering School Board is to lead the community in creating a shared vision of the future, and, in creating a well-thought out, long-term plan to bring that vision to reality.

What was I saying? Leo at the South of Dayton Democratic Club told me that he wanted specifics. And I can imagine a lot of people reading those words are thinking, “This man isn’t saying anything.”

In my last flyer I’m much more to the point. I start out explaining what motivated me to run, and then I outline five points.

Dear Voter,

Greetings. Three current school board members are seeking reelection. I am the challenger. I feel Kettering must do better.

I’m offering to serve my community. I’m running because I believe we must have a school board dedicated to local control rather than a school board dedicated to school system control.

We need leadership, not marketing. Last May, incumbent school board members approved misleading property tax advertisements that promised “ZERO Increase In Tax,” and “Not a Penny More.” I complained to the Ohio Election Commission (OEC) that this was false advertisement.

The board through its attorney noted that just because an advertisement is “misleading and fails to disclose all the relevant facts,” it does not necessarily come under OEC regulation.

Kettering needs leadership. We are moving to an era of increased public resistance to new taxes. Leadership must respond with a viable plan for change — not marketing that misleads.

Kettering voters need to assert local control. We need to define “excellence,” and create a long term plan that will make Kettering a leader. We need a long term plan to achieve much greater educational quality with less money.

Kettering Should Be The Leader
As a board member, I would:
1) Insist on transparency.
2) Create a public group to study in detail Kettering Schools and to make recommendations for the future:

• Redefine school purpose,
• Create a new design for 21st Century Education,
• Spend money more effectively,
• Make a long term plan.

I wonder if I would have taken a more antagonistic attitude in the League of Women Voters statement — “We need leadership, not marketing” — if I would have gained more support. Rather than head in the clouds sounding phrases about “creating a shared vision of the future” maybe I should have reported what made me so aggravated that I wrote out a complaint to the OEC.

But a lot of people don’t want to hear about a politics of conflict — so my comments and new flyer may have put some people off who otherwise might have supported me. The other challenger, Jim Brown, in the community meeting ended up defending the incumbents. I wonder if I may have lost his vote because I offended him by overstepping some boundary of politeness.

Twice, in public meetings, my mind has gone completely blank for a second and in that second I had no idea what I would say next. The first occasion was at the League of Women Voters video taping and the question was about marketing. How to market the schools? I was the candidate who got the question first — so I had no time to form an answer while the others were speaking. If you watch the video, you see it in my body movement that I’m in trouble. I reached deep into myself and found this: “Well, the best marketing is to tell the truth.” This “always tell the truth” philosophy is the only possible philosophy that can pay off in the long term — because, the basis for strong public education is strong public support, strong local control.

I have no idea what to expect from this election. I’ve been glad for the experience of being a candidate for the Kettering Board. I think some good will come out of it. It would be interesting to have better understanding of why elections turn out as they do — I am going to try to do some questionnaire type polling tomorrow at the precincts.

Why things happen as they do is sometimes impossible to fathom.

I can see how it might be feasible that in my school board election contest I might win. But it seems more likely that I will not win. There are a zillion unknowns so it’s almost impossible to calculate. I’m sort of resolved either way. Either way, it’s been a good experience and, either way, I think some good will come from it.

I could have tried a lot harder — but then, if I win with the scant campaign I’ve run, the voice of the people will have spoken even louder

Only five days to election. I’ve been enjoying going door to door talking with voters. I’m trying to talk with citizens who voted in the last “off year” election, in 2007. About 15,000 of Kettering’s 40,000 voters went to the polls in 2007. Everyone I’ve spoken with has been very nice and seems to appreciate the fact that a candidate for office is at their doorstep. Kettering is a great community.

I’m distributing a new flyer. Probably the most significant news on the flyer is in a boxed article with the headline “Community Meeting Canceled.” The content says, “School Board Candidate Forum Scheduled for October 29, Sponsored By Ketttering Kiwanis Club is CANCELED Because the Three Board Members Seeking Re-election Refused To Participate. See DDN Article.”

I’m surprised that the incumbents would cancel out on the Kettering Kiwanis Club — and cancel out on the public. One big message I’m trying to communicate in my campaign is the importance of transparency, the importance of positively informing and engaging the public. The incumbents’ action in canceling this meeting could not underscore more emphatically how different their point of view is from my point of view.

The incumbents’ refusal to participate in a public forum, I find amazing. It’s a decision that goes along with a web-site that fails to post any working documents used by the board in their deliberations, and that goes along with a campaign to renew a 6.9 mill operating levy that focused on using misleading marketing to manipulate the public, rather than attempting to authentically inform and engage the public.

The refusal of the incumbents to participate in a public forum to me shows the stark reality of how weak our democracy actually is. The incumbents evidently feel that their refusal to participate is a politically smart move. They are probably right. Why give the challengers a platform?

But, only in a weak democracy could a calculation to snub the public be a smart political move. It would take an informed and engaged citizenry to punish such cynicism at the polls. Only a few of the 15,000 Kettering voters (out of 40,000 possible) who will go to the polls on November 3 will even know about their refusal.