Earlier in my journalistic life — meaning a little more than a month ago — I used to cover election campaigns in a traditional manner.
In the present School Board race, my time has been consumed reading rather unusual emails from candidate Gary Abrams.
Days after we ran a 1200-word whopper from him last week, he said yesterday, just kidding.
Since he came into this campaign with perhaps the most modest image of the 6 contenders, you assumed he wanted people to be talking about him a month and a half before the Nov. 3 election.
Smart people don’t know what to make of Mr. Abrams.
He may interpret this as sunny news because it means some Undecideds might yet vote for him.
Here is his latest missive:
Public Speaker’s Bill of Rights.
I have the right to express myself.
To ask others to listen.
To inform or teach others.
To try.
To grow.
–
To achieve.
To make a mistake.
To be less than perfect.
To feel uncomfortable.
To not to know everything.
To stand in front of a group.
My speech time.
Others have the right:
To their point of view.
To disagree with me.
Then Mr. Abrams segued into this riff:
Dear Candidates and Board Members:
I am amazed that anyone closely associated with a campaign, would be so tough with a fellow candidate (referring to former School Board member Madeline Ehrlich’s letter about Patricia Siever last Friday, “But Where Has Siever Been?”
Why is it a question of, Where have you been?
And not, Welcome back, can you help us?
My Dad told me that when you point a finger, 3 fingers point at you.
The question should be, Where have I been?
Been to a number of School Board meetings myself.
Could not see making it a career, unless I was able to affect policy.
Many of the meetings last past 11 p.m. If you have small kids, you will miss a lot of their growing up, especially if you work fulltime already.
These early years fly by. Since Prof. Siever has been through this already, it’s called “experience.” Now she is here to share her “wisdom.”
Ms. Madeline Ehrlich makes the comment that “We know that very few of our high school students go to WLA (College, where Prof. Siever teaches). They go to Santa Monica College.”
Ms. Ehrlich, where did you find the data to support your assessment?
I have tried to find that information with no luck.
Can you share this important knowledge?
Here is the makeup of our students in Culver City, comparing the population figures in the city and the School District:
City, 48 percent white; schools, 24 percent white.
City, 37 percent Hispanic; schools, 25 percent Hispanic.
City, 12 percent African American; schools, 17 percent African American.
City, 12 percent Asian; schools, 10 percent Asian.
Ms. Ehrlich also says “I think that if (Prof. Siever) had so much to offer our School District, it would have been nice for her to step up to the plate before now.”
Just what I was thinking back at the ambush.
I want to be the third person in line behind Prof. Siever and (her husband) Mr. (Luther) Henderson to say:
“I do not approve of this message” except — the part that says she is a “lovely lady.”
Without a doubt, Prof. Siever is a lovely lady.
