Re “Forget Waldo. Where’s Vernon? Mielke Letter Leaves Him Out”
[img]2100|right|Vernon Taylor||no_popup[/img]As a man without vitriol, Vernon Taylor’s instinctive reaction to having been rubbed out of David Mielke’s by now infamous letter to voters last week was decidedly gentle.
Alluding to the uproar that followed in the wake of the Teachers Union and of its president after the letter was posted here, the banker merely said:
“I am sure The Letter had a result that probably was not intended.”
However, Mr. Taylor only was warming up. For the first time, he revealed details – his candid reactions – to events after the stealthy County Federation of Labor, the group silently behind The Letter, interviewed the three School Board candidates previously endorsed by the Teachers Union.
“I don’t know how The Letter was executed,” Mr. Taylor said. “But it seems this was not executed strategically so that you are protected and don’t damage the people you already have come out and endorsed.
“No one told me what was going to be in The Letter. To be fair to Mr. Mielke, he did try to give me a heads-up. He said, ‘Hey, Vernon, since you didn’t get the endorsement of the County Fed, the County Fed issues a piece, it won’t include you. Be aware of that.’
“What I did not anticipate was something going out totally under his name, saying ‘here are my two candidates.’”
The first time Mr. Taylor learned the contents came when he read it in this newspaper last week.
“I would have thought something along the lines of ‘County Federation stands alongside of our sister union in endorsing two candidates’ would have been appropriate,” he said.
“That would have made it a little clearer to people.”
Mr. Taylor went on to explain why he did not gain the County Fed’s endorsement.
“There were issues they wanted all candidates to agree to,” he said.
“Some questions were about political issues that were beyond the scope of my concerns as they relate to my city, my teachers and my district.
“I would prefer not to identify them. They were definitely issues that were beyond education.
“I wanted to focus more on my concerns about supporting our teachers and supporting our School District.
“I just was not prepared to deal with those other issues.”
How did Mr. Taylor feel after it was announced in the County Fed’s downtown headquarters before an audience of about 30 Fed-type people last month, that they were endorsing Karlo Silbiger and Claudia Vizcarra but not him?
“I felt great having the opportunity to meet some of these folks.
“I think it is fair that any group that wants to provide, to take an interest in, they have a right to support their sister or brother union.
“I did not feel bad at all about participating in the process. I felt quite honored.
“This was an opportunity for me to reaffirm the issues I totally believe in but also re-examine issues I don’t dwell in that much.”
Mr. Taylor chuckled. “Overall, it was a good experience, and I was not that surprised I didn’t get their endorsement. I could tell during the interview process that I probably was not going to get it.
“If you want to (win endorsements), you can tell people what they want to hear and walk out with what you need.
“My sense of integrity would not allow me to acquiesce to matters I wasn’t quite sure on, didn’t have a firm position on, and most importantly I didn’t think were really relevant for my teachers and my School District.”
With the Nov. 5 election for three School Board seats eight days away, all of the foregoing might have been treated with a yawn.
However, The Letter, signed only by Mr. Mielke, the Teachers Union president, awkwardly failed to tell voters why one of three Culver City endorsees was missing, and that the shrunken field of choices was not Mr. Mielke’s call but exclusively that of the County Federation of Labor, which, out of public sight, was footing all or part of the bill for the mailer.
Mr. Taylor’s take on the mawkishly crafted letter:
“I hope and I trust that this was an unfortunate misstep that led to unintended and confusing consequences.
“Definitely was disappointed in how it was done.
“Execution is everything.”
