School Board, District 5:
The Westside Gazette endorses Ruth Carter-Lynch. Simply stated, when an organization goes to the lengths that the Broward Teachers Union (BTU) has gone to lie on and discredit a candidate, it probably means that the candidate they are endorsing is not worth voting for. We know that President Fusco claims to “own” those she helps to get elected. With all that is happening with the Broward school district, we need Board members who have their own mind and will work for our children. Fusco claims she owns superintendent Vickie Cartwright. Fusco and the BTU endorsed and got behind Debra Hixon and Sarah Leonardo for their races a couple years ago. Once they won their seats, Fusco pressured them, especially Hixon as an at-large member on many issues, especially to target Black principals and district staff she didn’t like.
Carter-Lynch’s opponent, Jeff Holness is Anna Fusco’s puppet. If elected, she will own Holness, and we cannot afford another puppet.
The Westside Gazette endorses Ruth Carter Lynch for District 5.
School Board, District 2:
The Westside Gazette endorses Marie Murray Martin for District 1 for much of the same reason it endorses Carter Lynch. Murray Martin is a teacher at Apollo Middle who is a BTU member. Fusco did not endorse her, and it is widely believed that the BTU paid a PAC to run a negative media campaign against Murray Martin and Carter Lynch. The BTU paid a PAC, The Democracy Project over $119,000 of their members’ dues. The Democracy Project is responsible for the smear campaign fliers that were mailed to the homes of Carter Lynch and Murray Martin’s constituents. You do the math on who’s responsible for these negative, untruthful ads.
Though Murray Martin is the daughter of suspended and removed former Board member, Ann Murray, she has proven that she is NOT her mother, and she deserves an opportunity.
The Westside Gazette endorses Marie Murray Martin for District 1.
School Board, Countywide, At-Large Seat
The Westside Gazette endorses Daniel Foganholi for the at-large, county wide seat. I know he is not on the ballot for this race but stay with me here. Suspended and removed candidate Donna Korn is still in the race and we don’t need any remnants of that Board. Yet, Dr. Zeeman, the other candidate for this countywide, at-large seat has appeared to behave like them. The community says the more Zeeman talks, the more he comes off as arrogant, entitled and in-genuine and he flip flops his position depending on who he is talking to. It is difficult to pin down where Zeeman stands. Initially his position was in support of the superintendent, and he blamed the Board for not giving her enough direction and support. He then flip-flopped to being ready to call the question of her firing on day one. Now he has flipped to the “wait and see” because “I don’t have enough information” position. Zeeman appears to be unaware that the various groups he talks to also talk to each other.
Here is an interesting thought. If there is the slightest credible chance that Governor Ron Desantis would remove Donna Korn and appoint Daniel Foganholi in her stead, I would endorse Korn to get Foganholi. If speaking truth to power and doing what he promised were a person, it would be Foganholi’s name. He has delivered on some big-ticket items that former Board member, Rosalind Osgood neglected for a decade. Most notably, Foganholi secured the construction dollars for Parkway Middle School. Osgood did not deliver for ten years and when city of Lauderhill’s elected officials and community members created the momentum to pressure the Board to cough up the money for these construction projects, Osgood reportedly shut down the efforts because she didn’t want the negative attention during her run for her Senate Seat. Yet months later, Foganholi came behind her and sealed the financial commitment. The Westside Gazette endorses Korn for the win and suspension, and Foganholi for the replacement of the countywide seat. Read that again. This would also require him not winning his Coral Springs Commission race. But a man can dream.
School Board, District 6
The Westside Gazette endorses Steven Julian for District 6… with some hesitancy and reservation.
His opponent, Brenda Fam is running on academic excellence, accountability and putting families first. It all sounds good until you start peeling back the layers. To her credit, Fam is not gun shy at all with accountability. She has not been cowardly in her criticisms of Cartwright and that she would support her removal as superintendent. Unlike other candidates like Debra Hixon and Sara Leonardi who misrepresented the truth about whether they would support firing former Superintendent Runcie, Fam has spoken at Board meetings to urge the sitting Board to fire the current Sup. She doesn’t hide behind the “let’s wait and see” or “I need more information”. Whether you agree with her or not, she has guts.
Fam, however, goes too far off the radar with her stance on parental rights. We must balance the rights of parents with those of children and the work that needs to be done in the educational setting. Fam supports the banning of books that are historically accurate but hurt the feelings of White people. Books that deal with the history of slaves or the lived experience of Black people in America are written to inform and heal, not make White people hate themselves. In addition to banning books that the minority of Whites do not like, Fam’s families first platform supports the notion that adults in schools should not provide LGBTQ+ students with the education and social emotional supports needed as part of sex education or when they solicit assistance to understand and cope with their sexuality.
There are certainly some things I like about Fam. She has guts. She has the courage of her conviction. But some parts of her platform are too far off the grid.
Steven Julian is running on a “Students First” campaign. His experience as a wrestling coach at Fort Lauderdale High School gave him a glimpse into the struggles of disadvantaged students and the district’s lack of financial resources or commitment (you decide which) to provide students with an equitable educational experience. He described a situation of haves and have nots when students could not afford to pay the expenses of participating in extracurricular activities and coaches and athletes had to fundraise or donate their coaching salaries to help students.
Julian, a special needs student himself, believes his education at American Heritage, a local private school helped him to be successful.
While Julian is espousing equity and fairness, we have heard this before. We’ve heard it every Tuesday from the sitting Board members for the past three decades but see little in the way of action or results. Unlike Julian who is towing the political line of “let’s wait and see” and “I don’t have enough information” on the current Superintendent’s fate, (a Superintendent who claims to support the PROMISE program but admitted from the dais two weeks ago that she has never been to visit the program), the Westside Gazette is taking a position on this school board seat.
The Westside Gazette endorses Steven Julian for District 6. We hope not to regret it.
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