[img]1|left|||no_popup[/img]More than anyone, I am going to miss Saundra Davis’s presence on the School Board.
She was, and is, a journalist’s dream— honest, outspoken, opinionated and best of all, accessible.
She never has ducked a controversy. She never has dived under a desk, the favorite piece of furniture of intemperate politicians who wished they hadn’t popped off.
After last night, I wonder whether I will say that in four years or eight about Kathy Paspalis, one of the three new Board members.
Do I have rabbit ears? Am I thin-skinned? Having been booed at an event I was covering when I was 19 years old, not likely.
But you may disagree.
Near the end of last night’s mainly celebratory/induction School Board meeting, Ms. Paspalis struck the only sour note.
Amidst a wave of happy family-wonderful achievement-successful election chatter up and down the Board table, Ms. Paspalis dourly interjected:
“I find the less I say, the less often I am misquoted.”
This is a strikingly odd, seemingly immoderate remark for someone just making her debut in public life.
Does not bode promisingly.
It reflects surprisingly poor judgment for a new member’s opening volley.
Why deliberately start from a disadvantageous dropback position?
Nose, How Do You Vote?
If a chill did not sweep across the room when she made the statement, my reliable nose let me down.
Since this newspaper covers the Board, election campaigns and the community more aggressively than others, my ears stood snapped to order.
I was sitting here, idly stroking my chin, trying to imagine Saundra Davis saying this. Was Foxy Waxy ever mistaken for Wilt Chamberlain?
A cynic would say that a few points could be deducted because Ms. Paspalis is, after all, a lawyer, a field not known for producing cracker barrel shmoozers.
It is true for some lawyers that their ears hibernate during rabbit season. Their skin runs thin in and out of season.
As a veteran of divorce wars, I have met a few counselors who favor traveling lightly, without their honesty portfolio, and them I would recommend to Al-Qaeda.
As for Ms. Paspalis, we met for a delightful across-the-table interview last July. I was charmed by her forthrightness and clarity.
I remarked at least twice during the campaign, though, that she did not seem ready for the School Board. I never saw reason to change my mind because of her difficulty in formulating an effective agenda and inability to communicate a meaningful, bromide-free message. So what?
There is no doubt Ms. Paspalis deserved her victory.
She strategized expertly, combining her hard work and laser-focus with truly inspiring a smartly organized group of volunteers — important persons in Culver City —who believed this underdog could soar from obscurity.
Ms. Paspalis took exception to some coverage of her campaign.
This is never a surprising reaction from a first-time candidate, typically unaccustomed to public critiques that trend unfavorably.
If Ms. Paspalis is to be taken at her word from last night, it might bode safely for her journalistically to hew to that script. But it will complicate her responsibilities as a member of the Board.
