Wayne Garcia of the Weekly Planet wrote a good article about April.
"Griffin is running for the School Board in Hillsborough County, which is at the front lines of the biggest issues in Florida: growth and education. When this Seminole Heights resident suggested we meet for a conversation at the new Starbucks in her neighborhood, frankly I was expecting just another "throw more money at education" liberal. I got a much more pragmatic candidate instead, one who'd have an ally in the School Board's only true maverick member, Susan Valdes"
. . .
"She comes across as a realistic critic of the school system, neither wild-eyed bomb thrower nor insider-supported status quo candidate. She talks about canvassing neighborhoods in her campaign and offers, "Do you know how many times I've heard the phrase 'good old boy system'" applied to Hillsborough schools?"
Vote April in November.
I met her opponent the other night, Dave Schmidt, and he seemed like a great candidate. Both Schmidt and his wife have a tremendous amount of experience. He said some of the things he would like to see the School Board achieve is communication managment - responding to parents' needs. Schmidt also wants to promote student acheivement and increase the high school graduation rate (as well as send out students that are able to graduate from college).
ReplyDeleteIn addition, Schmidt said that he was a big supporter of expanding vocational training in high school (that is the business he is in).
Just thought I'd share some of the things I heard with the neighborhood...
Does Schmidt support allowing the military to come on the high schools?
ReplyDeleteEveryone deserves a chance to talk.
Schmidt may be a good candidate, for all we know. But April is a much better candidate, and here's why:
ReplyDelete1) She's been working flat out since January to get this job, and it shows. Her ideas are much more developed and mature, and they don't have the inevitable "insider tunnel vision" that you get working in the district for so long. You can tell she's done her homework.
2) There is no 'side' to April. What you see is exactly what you get, and you never have to wonder whether she means what she says. If you ask her a question and the answer is 'no', she'll say 'No.', but she'll listen to you when you say it. If she had been on the board when the recent boundary changes were proposed, she might well have voted to implement them; but you can bet your ass that she would have made damn sure that nobody would have been blindsided by those changes, and she would have made sure to go around the county to give everyone a chance to (a) have their say and get listened to and (b) try their hand at coming up with a better solution. Then, even if the original plan got implemented everyone would have understood why it was done that way instead of just being told to take it and like it. Rudeness in a public servant is inexcusable.
3) This can't be emphasized enough - April is an outsider who has enough inside experience to give her a balanced, realistic perspective. Her being an outsider is crucial; she can ask hard questions of the district administration and get straight answers. She can do this because she isn't compromised by long years of "experience" in the very school district that the board is set up to direct and hold accountable.
4) Finally, April has years of political experience. Before you flinch at the word "political", the skills she has are valuable - listening, finding common ground, the ability to disagree on principle without demonizing the people she disagrees with, learning from experience, ability to work within a group to further an agenda.
I agree, the military should be controlling our schools. We would have a much more obidient society with immediate and thorough enforcement of any broken 'rules.'
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on what the public servants job is...A cop cant just say excuse me Mr. Green, I am now going to place these nice handcuffs on you for kicking the Shi! out of me.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you don't mind, I am going to give you a nice cozy ride down to booking because you bit my earlobe off.
Just wait a minute in my air conditioned car while I get this stiched up and we will be on our way.
It comes out more like...
Shut the Fu@K up, get your a$$ in the car, and put your d@mn hands behind your back now before I put you in a choke hold...Mr. Green.
Where's the crack pipe and the counterfeit money?
I want to see your hands NOW..is this a glock under the seat?
There's a difference between rudeness and the appropriate response to being attacked. Or are you suggesting that the parents of children who go to the affected schools (Westchase and Dickinson) are criminals who deserve the arrogant and dismissive attitudes they got just for daring to approach their elected school board to voice their concerns and ask for help?
ReplyDeleteWho said anything about those two schools?
ReplyDeleteJeez.
No sense of humor at all.
"Who said anything about those two schools?" I did, because I started talking about a great school board candidate and how rudeness in a public servant is inexcusable and you leapt right to an episode of COPS.
ReplyDeleteThen I asked you if you were comparing criminals to parents who were victims of school district and board rudeness and dismissiveness. (I'm still waiting for you to answer that question instead of sidestepping it, btw.)
Finally, you try to pretend it was a joke that I didn't get. I guess that's possible, but if it was a joke you really need to work on your delivery.
No..there was an expansion on the rudeness in a public servant part.
ReplyDeleteThen the joke.
Then you leapt right into the attack mode and I will crush anything someone else has to say that I dont like mode.
If nothing was said about the criminals being compared two the parents part...then obviously that is not what was meant.
You are trying to get a reaction out of someone who doesn't have kids and really doesnt care what you think about anything.
However, since Scott supports this candidate, I may vote for her because I like his blog.
But please don't put words into anyones mouth.
anonymous 9:45 - words into someone's mouth? I reread the entire exchange and didn't see anything like that. As to you not caring what I think about anything, so what? I wanted to talk about a political candidate, and you chimed in with several off-topic posts and an apparent Grand Canyon sized leap from one topic to another. As for crushing anything someone else has to say that I don't like, hah. You either make a point that stands or you don't, and if it's a good point nothing I can do will 'crush' it. My impression is that you came to a gunfight with a rubber band gun. I refuse to patronize anyone by dumbing down my posting. I'd rather pay you the compliment of treating you like you're a competent debater who is capable of holding up your half of a discussion.
ReplyDeleteLord Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI may have to vote for anyone but April now that I see how her "supporters" are.
1st off you are a crazy indigent who comes off as arrogant in every post.
I bet you are arrogant in real life too.
When people meet you...you are "too good" to discuss or think about anything other than your one-sided point of view.
You don't have to dumb down your postings because they are dumb enough already.
You said that I accused parents of certain schools as being criminals(of which I did neither and no one had even mentioned those schools or the parents.)
You jumped the rubber band gun and used your one-sided personality to write that post.
Where in any of the previos posts does it discuss those two schools.
Show me and I will let you win.
It doesn't.
April must not support the military being in public schools or you wouldn't have made a fool out of yourself and tried to divert attention away from the issue.
Do you think I am stupid, beneath you, or just a non-voter and my concerns aren't important?
Which one is it...
I must just be beneath you.
Anonymous 8:23 - Glad to hear from you again. For the record, I don't speak for April; if you want to know how she feels about something or what she thinks, go to her website or email her and she'll tell you. She's not shy, and she has the courage of her convictions. And she is extremely honest, so you'll get back an answer that means something.
ReplyDeleteNow on to your "points". I was speaking positively about April, and in particular was talking about how the parents in those two schools were treated by the district and the current board. Then, in the very next post, you started talking about police and apprehending criminals and maybe rudeness is a job requirement. (Ask any police officer about that; I bet they'd tell you P.D.Q. that being polite and respectful keeps a lot of situations from escalating into violence, and that they don't have a lot of use for a cop who's rude as a matter of habit.)
And since I can't read your mind through two keyboards and the Internet, I had to ask if you were trying to equate them so I could be sure of what I was replying to. Unlike some other posters, I like to make sure I reply to what my discussion opponent is actually saying instead of trying to drag unrelated topics in to try and muddy the water.
As to being a crazy indigent, be careful about the words you throw around. As a supporter of Dave Schmidt, you should be very careful about making statements that can be attributed to your candidate (rightly or wrongly). These 'anonymous' accounts aren't all that anonymous - they can be backtracked through the web server logs and the computer addresses can be cross-referenced with your service provider (Verizon or Brighthouse or whoever) to pinpoint the location of the computer you're typing your posts on. (I'm a web developer and used to do computer security, so I know something about this.)
I have no idea what April's position on the military in public schools is. You'll have to ask her.
As far as thinking you're stupid or beneath me, I don't even know you. All I can judge are your posts, and they don't tell me much about you at all... except for one thing. You sure seem smitten with Dave Schmidt. Are you related to him?
I personally know April Griffin. Her real personality, after work, is "a lunatic"
ReplyDeleteFrom someone who knows and lives next to her. April Griffin is an advocate for April Griffin.
She does not do her job and she has not done anything to help the community.
She is a mean spirited person who thinks more of herself than she ought to.
anon 10:28 - you could not be more wrong. I have known April and her husband for many years, and 'mean spirited' is a phrase that nobody could apply to her. If you actually live next to her and know her, there are only a few ways you could get away with lying like this:
ReplyDelete1) You're being paid by one of her political opponents who can't get any traction on the actual issues and has to stoop to cowardly third-party character assassination.. OR
2) You have a personal grudge and are using this forum to indulge it (which is very bad manners, btw).. OR
3) You're actually working for one of her political opponents who can't get any traction on the actual issues and has to stoop to cowardly third-party character assassination.. OR
4) There are recreational chemicals involved and you were "not thinking clearly" when you said those things.
From your post, it's not clear which is the reason. If you could tell me which one it is, the discussion could go on with more dignity.
How can I contact to speak with someone who is anonymous?
ReplyDeleteI have paper work to prove everything I said and more. April Griffin belongs sitting in prison, not the school board. I have proof an have been showing it. It may make the papers here shortly. You do not know someone unless you live with them or next to them. It is so easy to act like a great person when you have incentives. Griffin's own lawyer called her a lunatic. I judge because I have the proof. You judge, you have only Griffin's words. It is so easy to lie!