Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 5, 2000
The Times offers candidates not recommended by its editorial board an opportunity to reply. Here is one of those replies.
There is no doubt that Pete Kelly and David Hickey offer unprecedented, lifelong tenure in what is called the "Society of Bureaucrats." Their claim of 24 and 34 years of collective experience within the system is legitimate, but I beg to differ with them about that experience. It could be said they have one year of experience, 24 and 34 times.
I would venture to say that my life of experience of 60 years has been one of broader and more in-depth experiences and one of hands-on approach, dealing with the everyday environment of young people, as well as the adult community.
Both candidates have a history of shutting the public out of "public education" and both lay claim to having a vision, but in my opinion they are not visionaries in any pure sense of the word.
It seems to this candidate that both newspapers found themselves facing a moral dilemma. How do we make a change in the way we have always done things in the past and endorse a candidate who doesn't fit the mold of party politics?
As was so aptly stated in the endorsements, "Briggs is the idea man in this race. He has more suggestions, some of them rather unconventional, for education reform than Kelly and Hickey combined. Those lifelong educators may understand bureaucracy, but "Briggs understands people. Both could take a lesson from Briggs about how to connect with the public and with young people."
The news media states I lack what it takes to administer such a large public entity. Here is a list of some of my administrative skills.
Program development.
Budget maintenance and development.
Accounting.
Survey research.
Public relations.
And, most important, delegation of responsibility.
I will leave the rest up to you, the voter.