Re “Fracking Resolution Impeded by Two Unprepared Board Members”
In an example-setting gesture, School Board member Pat Siever announced at last evening’s meeting that, for the second consecutive year, she is donating her entire annual Board salary of $2700 to the “All for 1” campaign of the Culver City Education Foundation.
Segueing swiftly into more provocative territory, Prof. Siever evidently has suffered a case of belated buyer’s remorse regarding an embarrassing interlude at the last Board meeting on July 24. The dominant topic on that evening’s agenda was a vote on an anti-fracking resolution, following in the steps of the City Council that earlier had taken backed the resolution.
Prof. Siever surprised her colleagues by declaring she had failed to read the resolution. Therefore, was not prepared to vote because, she said, she was not a bandwagon kind of person.
Last night it was not clear whether she was confused in her recollection of recent history or actually regretted what she had admitted six weeks ago. In the process, she accused an unnamed journalist of misrepresenting her confession and convictions.
No stranger to verbal gaffes, she zigzagged again last night. Speaking of a recent event she had attended, she said it was sponsored by a woman whose name she mispronounced, and added:
“Be that as it may, it was about fracking, which we are all in favor of,” which caused a titter in the room, and she quickly corrected herself, “which we are not in favor of.
“I understand from some publication that kind of said that we were against…or, what was it? That we were pro-fracking, which was not a valid assessment of our last meeting.”
(She was referring to a July 25 followup report that is linked above. Her failure to prepare for that meeting was noted, and the Board only was characterized as anti-fracking.)
In closing, Prof. Siever said:
“So we’ve always been in…so let’s get it straight in the publication…
“This Board has always been anti-fracking, as far as I know. And that was our stand at the last meeting. So I just wanted to get that straight because I learned a lot more than I had ever learned before about fracking.”
After switching subjects, she returned to oil drilling one last time:
“Yes, I am anti-fracking. I don’t know how many times I have to say that. But what goes in the press and what I say are two different things. But that’s the way it is.”
