First in a series
[img]737|right|Prof. Siever||no_popup[/img]A few minutes after explaining why she and her husband invested 90 days in recruiting banker Vernon Taylor to run for the School Board – to ensure that a likeminded person would succeed to her chair – Prof. Pat Siever posed an edgy question for the candidate.
As the only member of the Board certain to be leaving after the Nov. 5 election, the liberated Ms. Siever proceeded to put Mr. Taylor at a delicate intersection yesterday afternoon at the Blair Hills hilltop home of community activist Mary Ann Greene.
“I understand,” she said, “there is a candidate on the Board who has three children, but she only has one of them in the Culver City School District. What do you think about that? If a person was running for office and really believed in the School District, but they only had one of their children in the District and the other two in public schools, how would you react?”
“Of course,” said Mr. Taylor, “everyone can choose in a free, democratic open society. But when you decide to step up and be a voice for other parents, be in a position of executing and dictating policy that is going to govern how your children will be affected, and yet the same system is not good enough for your child?
“I don’t know. There is a credibility problem for me.”
He Is a Don
[img]2100|left|Vernon Taylor||no_popup[/img]Mr. Taylor, who sparked a cheer in the widely windowed living room when he announced he is a graduate of nearby Dorsey High School, offered a contrast that he frequently has invoked throughout his campaign,
“All three of my children participated in the Culver City school system (attending El Rincon, Lin Howe and El Marino). Two of them are in college. Two are Eagle Scouts, outstanding citizens in their community at this young age.
“It has worked for me, and I want to make sure it works for everyone else.”
The hostess Ms. Greene, a retired teacher whose attention these days is focused on the Recreation and Parks Commission, introduced Mr. Taylor as “our candidate for the School Board. He has been one of those unsung heroes in and around Culver City for the past 15 years.”
Mr. Taylor had not carried a high profile during his years of volunteering “when we benefited from his work,” Ms. Greene said. “We didn’t know” him then, she said, “and now it is time for us to know who he is and about his vision for Culver City. I want you to meet Vernon because we are just delighted he has taken this (candidacy) path.”
Following Ms. Greene’s round of introductions, Ms. Siever asked for attention.
“I am vice president of the School Board,” she said.
Next in Line
“When I knew I was going to leave the Board, I wanted to be sure and get somebody in that position. It took three months to talk to Vernon and to say ‘You have to do it.’.
“This is monumental. The only two African Americans that have ever been elected in Culver City are (former School Board member) Saundra (Davis) and I. We never have had an African American male.
“And that is extremely important for our children and everything.
“This is very, very, very important, and we need to get him elected.”
Glancing in Ms. Siever’s direction, Mr. Taylor said, “Thank you, Pat, for setting the bar so high.”
(To be continued)
