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A Times Editorial
A comparison of resumes clearly shows which candidate has the experience to tackle the challenges of helping to run Pinellas County's schools.
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 16, 2002
In a five-way race for a vacant Pinellas School Board seat in September, two candidates emerged in a virtual dead heat. The choice for voters in this Nov. 5 runoff, though, is not so close.
The difference here is defined in years and community shoe leather.
Mary Brown, 67, has taught in schools, run day care centers and trained educators. She is a quality improvement specialist for Coordinated Child Care of Pinellas County, co-chairwoman of the St. Petersburg Community Alliance, a board member for the Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens and a former member of the St. Petersburg Junior College Child Development Education Advisory Committee. She has a degree in business management and a certification in early childhood education.
Tiffany Todd, 24, has been a registered nurse at Tampa General Hospital for less than a year. She received her high school diploma from Tomlinson Adult Education Center in Pinellas County in 1996 and an associate's degree in science from St. Petersburg College in 2001. She has no real record of community service.
The resumes tell the story of this matchup, but the issues also shed some light. Brown and Todd both say they want to look carefully at whether choice student assignment can work as envisioned, though Brown has shown a healthier skepticism. They both support zero tolerance discipline policies, though Brown calls for some common sense in how the policies are applied. Brown, who is trying to become the first African-American elected to the board, supports a district election system that would resemble the plan voters adopted for the County Commission. Todd opposes single-member districts.
Given the striking disparity in qualifications of these two candidates, the political subtext is notable. Todd is the daughter of Tom Todd, who held this seat until his death in June, and Barbara Todd, a county commissioner. Commissioner Todd has twisted arms to help her daughter amass $38,400 in campaign contributions and has answered for her daughter's lack of credentials this way: "I think diversity in age and experience is a good thing." In this case, though, Tiffany's "diversity" derives primarily from a lack, not a difference, of experience.
We strongly recommend Mary Brown.
The Times offers candidates not recommended by its Editorial Board an opportunity to reply. In this Pinellas School Board race, a reply should be sent in no later than 5 p.m. Friday to: Philip Gailey, editor of editorials, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. By e-mail: letters@sptimes.com (no attachments, please). By fax: (727) 893-8675; Replies are limited to 250 words.