Election 2014: You decide
By OFT President Melissa Cropper
“I don’t want to get involved in politics.” I cringe every time I hear an OFT member say those words. On the one hand I understand. After all, I once felt the same way. I went into education because I have a passion for working with children, and I wanted to be in a career where I could help children reach their full potential. I know many of our members, whether they be social workers, bus drivers, paraprofessionals, teachers, or in some other type of public service, share that passion. On the other hand, though, the reality is that when we choose public service career paths, we are in politics. We can’t escape it. The decisions that govern our professions are made by elected officials, some who use their positions to support us, others who use their positions to attack us. We have the power to get rid of those who attack us if we all engage in politics simply by voting those people out.
Over the past four years, we have felt the severe impact of decisions made by those in elected office. Collective bargaining rights have been attacked and funding to traditional public schools has been cut while funding to charter schools has increased. More public services are privatized, more high stakes testing is being imposed, voting rights are being restricted, and the voice of the professional is being drowned out by outside reformers such as Michelle Rhee.
Just a few weeks ago, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie visited Ohio to campaign for Gov. John Kasich, who signed SB 5 into law. In a speech, Christie said, “I want to see (him) re-elected by a substantial margin because it would send a strong message across America about the way we want to see our leaders govern.” Do you want a governor who eliminates collective bargaining rights?
Our votes send a message – and not just our votes at the top of the ticket, but our votes in every single race from the statewide races to the Senate and House races to the Congressional races to the Supreme court races to State Board of Education races to all the local races and issues on the ballot. Our votes send a message.
What do we want that message to be? In our conversations with you, we have heard you say that you want leaders who:
· Will respect and support the professionals in the field.
· Will support public employees and reject privatization efforts.
· Will provide the needed resources for educating children so that all schools can be high quality schools.
· Will preserve collective bargaining rights.
· Will address poverty issues in our schools and communities.
· Will hold charter schools accountable for the public dollars they receive.
· Will preserve defined-benefit plans for retirement stability.
· Will reduce student and parent debt by making higher education affordable.
· Will de-emphasize high stakes testing and restore faith in our educators.
· Will ensure that all children have access to quality early learning
opportunities so that they can start school ready to learn.
· Will focus on making voting more accessible to all people.
This is the message that you have said you want to send. We have that opportunity today and every day through Nov. 4. We send that message by who we vote for. We send that message by talking with our friends, neighbors and colleagues about these values and the candidates who support them. We send that message by spending Saturdays knocking on doors to share the information with others. We send that message by working at phone banks throughout the week to encourage others to vote for the candidates who represent these values.
Think about the message your vote sends.
The governor sets the tone for the whole state. Kasich attacked collective bargaining rights immediately upon taking office. Ed Fitzgerald, endorsed by OFT, opposed SB 5 and has vowed to protect collective bargaining rights. Which message will you send with your vote?
The treasurer makes appointments to the state pension fund boards and makes other decisions that impact our retirement stability. Josh Mandel, who does not hold an MBA and is on record opposing public employees. Connie Pillich, who has earned an MBA, has been a strong supporter of public employees and collective bargaining rights. She will preserve our defined-benefit pension system. Which message about protecting our pensions will you send with your vote?
The secretary of state determines voting rights such as access to polls. In addition, the secretary of state determines ballot language whenever an issue is brought before the people for a vote. John Husted has been taken to court numerous times over his attempts to restrict voting rights in Ohio. Nina Turner was a strong advocate for defeating SB 5, taking the message to a national level. She has also used that national exposure to push for expanding voting opportunities for all citizens. Which message about voting will you send with your vote?
The state auditor has the authority to investigate and reveal how public money is being used in school systems, including charters. David Yost has accepted money from large charter school operators and has been lax in investigating charter schools while at the same time being aggressive in looking for scandals in traditional public schools. John Patrick Carney has worked to increase awareness about the financial impact of giving public dollars to poor performing charters. He has been active in bringing to light the misuse of public dollars and will vigilantly expose misuse through audits . Which message about accountability for public dollars will you send with your vote?
The attorney general also plays a huge role in holding charter schools accountable and has the ability to recover misspent taxpayer dollars from charter schools that close. Mike DeWine has failed to collect $30 million owed to Ohio by failed charter school operators. In addition, he failed to file an amicus brief in a case against White Hat Management, but did file an amicus brief to restrict voting rights in Ohio. In other words, he wants to help for-profit charter school operators make more profit while limiting the ability of Ohioans to vote him out of office for doing so. David Pepper wants to form a Taxpayer Protection Unit to recover misspent taxpayer dollars. In addition, he is a supporter of collective bargaining rights and increased voting access. Which message will you send about the leadership we want from an Attorney General?
Our state Board of Education races are highly important. Our state board consists of 11 elected members and nine members appointed by the governor. Currently, our state board has very little representation from K-12 educators even though they are making policies that impact what happens in classrooms. In fact, one state board member who is up for election never even attended a public school. We have candidates who have classroom experience, and we have candidates who have spent time with educators to get a full understanding of our issues. Which message about support for public education will you send with your vote?
See a full list of OFT-endorsed candidates. Candidates receive an endorsement based on their responses on a questionnaire that reflect the values I've outlined here. Our endorsements include both Democrats and Republicans as party is not the determinant, but rather stance on issues. We appreciate the thought you put into your voting decisions. Please use our endorsements as a tool to help you know which candidates support you as an educator and a public servant . You decide.