Steel optimistic after DC lobbying trip…is Sobecki?
Two Toledo Public School Board members went to DC, both went to lobby, but you wouldn’t know that if you read either article in the Blade, either the one from before the trip or after the trip.
Lisa Sobecki, is the appointed Board of Education member from TPS to the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) that group was to lobby the Senate. Had Sobecki been the one who was Board President, do you think that her lobbying efforts also on the behalf of the Toledo Public School system would be ignored? Did the Blade even attempt to contact her or any of the other Board members for their thoughts? Wouldn’t logic dictate that you at least talk to the other person from this area to provide balanced reporting? What if they had a different impression? What if they had conversations with different people that presented valuable information?
In addition to the above questions, this is exactly one of the reasons I raised concerns in the previous post, Running up against a Steel wall. It wasn’t to attack or besmirch Dr. Steel, it was because of situations like this. The position of the president of the school board has already gotten him three pieces of media coverage, two of which involved a trip to Washington DC, two of which do not even mention the other school board member who traveled with him to DC…Political logic dictated and is being proven that he is going to benefit from media attention based on the fact that he is the president of the school board that is not being given to other School Board members and that he will benefit from that if he does run for City Council. It’s a type of coverage that other candidates will not have access to and no matter the intentions, that’s how it works.
It’s also a situation that Toledo City Council will have to address, if the current Council President, Mark Sobczak is going to run for re-election, that’s going to be the exact same scenario. If he is going to run in the field as an At Large candidate, should he continue in the position of Council President? While neither Steel nor Sobczak garner large financial benefit from having the title “president” it does help them politically; they are selected by their respective colleagues as opposed to being selected by the electorate for these positions; they are not running for one individual position, but one where only a certain number will prevail; that is impacted by name recognition. Candidates are human, it’s logical to conclude they are going to use their “leadership” positions as way to promote themselves politically above their colleagues, if necessary to win.
Frankly this comes as no surprise to those of us who have followed TPS and therefore have come to know Steel. I fully expected him to take advantage of the situation. That is why I supported Lisa Sobecki for president. Although, there are many questions about Sobecki and her motives and goals, she was not up for election this year. It would have been better for TPS to have the president focused on TPS and not an election campaign – and for city council no less!
The press conference of which you linked to Lisa as “before the trip” was held without the knowledge of several board members and key administration. What does that say? It is all about getting you name in the paper and not diluting it by having others also quoted.
Frankly I doubt his trip to DC got anything more accomplished on that front than would have occurred had he stayed home and saved the taxpayer’s money. But it did get him in the paper 3 times. Steel’s agenda has always been about himself at the expense of TPS and this community.
The “man of Steel” is certainly not about truth, justice and the American way.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:58 amOne of the first things that I did after becoming my board’s prez was to cultivate a stronger relationship with our local small-town newspaper (still widely read by my tight-knit community). One of the things I did was to make sure the “education” reporter met and chatted with every board member. Long story short she knows that to exclude a relevant board member from a particluar story would solicit at least half a dozen phone calls.
Y’all should ask Meghan Gilbert about the lack of comment from Sobieski. She wrote both Blade stories. With enough pressure maybe she’ll decide to actually write them herself, free of any poltical influence.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pmI read everyone’s comments about Steel but I can not remember the last time they were related to a School Board accomplishment.
February 5th, 2009 at 11:09 pmRegarding Blade reporters, they have to toe the Company line. They are hardly objective. Their news stories and editorial board are almost the same thing.
I wonder, will Steel maintain his seat on the board while he runs his failed attempt at Council, or will he “double-dip” knowing when he loses he’s still got the spot on the board?
I see this being a tragic case of being stuck with Steel no matter what….
February 7th, 2009 at 1:57 pmBrian – Steel’s term ends this year. He can’t run for two offices at the same time. Therefore, he has to make up his mind whether he runs to retain his school board seat or take a chance at a city council race.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:13 pm