Sixth in a series
Re “Silbiger Takes a Closer Look at Slate-type Strategies”
[img]493|right|Karlo Silbiger||no_popup[/img]In the days following the perceived upset of Karlo Silbiger in last month’s School Board election, the concept of “slate” became a heated, muddy debate across the community.
Was Mr. Silbiger ousted after one term by a slate of mostly freshman candidates?
What other factors were in play?
Styles change from election cycle to election cycle. Two years ago, the notion of bullet voting (choosing to vote for a single candidate when multiple seats are open) was faulted or credited with a perceived upset.
Mr. Silbiger was asked, “What is it that makes a slate? Did backers of United Parents of Culver City backers succeed in convincing the community that if you vote for one of their three endorsees, you should support all three because they are the slate? And this was not done by the Teachers Union, which endorsed you.”
“It may have been done by the Teachers Union in their mailers,” Mr. Silbiger said. “But to my knowledge, no teachers went door-to-door” as UPCC supporters did.
“The three of us (Claudia Vizcarra, Vernon Taylor and Mr. Silbiger) did not endorse each other. So we weren’t necessarily telling our supporters to vote for the other two.
“So I do think that what we did was a little different,” Mr. Silbiger said.
What would he say to the Teachers Union about the next School Board election in November 2016?
“One of the values of having unions as a political force in the community is that they are extremely well respected by people who trust what their teachers say,” said Mr. Silbiger. “They feel they have an important voice. But it is only as valuable as people who hear that message.”
So the Teachers Union did not reach a sufficient number of community corners with their message of Silbiger-Vizcarra-Taylor for School Board.
“I appreciate all the support (president) David Mielke has provided me, and I hope in future elections, they are able to encourage their members to do more work, talking to more people.”
(To be continued)
