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Voters will have seven candidates from which to choose April 1 to fill four seats on the Racine Unified’s Board of Education.
Candidates had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to turn in their nomination papers to get their name on the ballot.
Four is an unusual number this election because typically there are only three board members up for election each year. But, former BOE member Gretchen Warner resigned last fall and Wally Rendón was appointed to fill her seat but only until the next general election.
Incumbents Pamela Handrow, Melvin Hargrove, and Dennis Wiser are all running to retain their seats, and Rendón is as well. Challengers Thoman Fineran, Henry Perez, and Jacqueline Pinager also turned in packets by the deadline.
The question was posed as to whether or not this information regarding signing the recall was significant to the election. I would have to say yes in that I believe the recall and the events around it (including the hiding in Illinois, sit downs at the capital, teachers wearing t-shirts to school, vans driving around with megaphones circling playgrounds) was a very ugly display at best. This is not to say the candidates participated in all of these activities, but their willingness to sign the petition means they participated in the process. This makes me question their ability to handle issues with a level of civil discussion.
Heres the news you ALSO need to know about the 7 candidates running for RUSD board seats:
There will not be a primary and 4 of these 7 will be seated, unless a write-in candidate can get enough votes:
Melvin Hargrove; Guadalupe “Wally” Rendon; Jaqueline Pinager and Dennis Wiser all signed BOTH recall petitions to RECALL Gov Scott Walker AND St Senator Van Wanggaard.
Thomas G Fineran recently relocated here from Middleton, WI and Signed the Gov Walker recall, (He didn’t have a St Senate recall in Middleton)
Henry Perez (currently Racine city Alderman) signed the recall only against St Sen Van Wangaard.
That leaves ONLY Pamala Handrow as the only School board candidate who DIDN’t try to recall Walker or Wanggaard. I suggest you read about the “non-profit she was running in Racine that had costs of $3,400.00 per person as a SAFE/ half way house. type of place that ran out of Fed Govt Grant cash and was terminated earlier last year:
$17,000 a MONTH for FIVE people???
$3,400.00 Per month per person!? Add to that the $10-13,000 a year for public school education. You are almost $50,000.00 a year. This program should’ve been nixed years ago! There are so many Govt. scams out there it’s just ridiculous. We can help 5 troubled/ runaway youths for a whole lot less $$ . If you are getiing cared for @3,400 a month you might actually CHOOSE to runaway!
Clearly NONE of the candidates running for these seats is a fiscally responsible minded candidate.
There is only ONE solution this April; it’s a Write in Campaign for a SINGLE person or 2. If EVERY Conservative voter in RUSD’s market refused to vote for any of the above candidates and WRITES in one or 2 names we could win 1 or 2 seats. It would require that we vote for NONE of the rest of the candidates.
Who is interested in running and being promoted?