Disingenuous

"…not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating; giving a false appearance of frankness"

As in, the Journal’s Sunday editorial encouraging voters to support the passage of ethics reform in the state legislature, by filling the galleries; while at the same time continuing to cover up a bona fide opportunity for voters to impose real ethics reform in public service, by voting out the Leadership of the APS for their public and repeated refusal to be held accountable to any standard of conduct that uses the word ethical.

In an upcoming, but still under-reported board member election.

A rising tide lifts all boats

I cannot imagine a legitimate political or social agenda that does not move forward on the day the first public servant finds themselves accountable in their public service for their character and their conduct.

What problem with public service does not have its roots in incompetence and/or corruption? Accountability is fatal to both.

If every day…

…everyone that read this blog got one other person to read the blog; then on Wednesday January 17th, 2007, 8,388,608 people will get an invitation to participate in the last public forum before the APS board member elections.

If of those 8,388,608 people, two hundred show up to stand up for what they believe in for two minutes; then they will see the Leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools held honestly accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct, in their character and in their competence. Even against their will.

What are the odds?

You better saddle up soon

or you are going to lose your control over your public schools.

It's all over if the APS ethics scandal is still secret February 6th, 2007

Accountability behind Mayor’s Plan for Schools

…wrote Journal editors. I disagree. Mayor Chavez’s plan is building an empire that includes control of the public schools; the lack of accountability in the APS is merely a convenient excuse.

If Chavez had any real concern over the lack of accountability in the public schools, he would tell the Journal and Tribune to tell the real truth about the lack of accountability in the public schools. He won’t, and neither the Journal nor Trib will proceed without his blessing.

The truth is that the Leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools has refused repeatedly to be held honestly accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct. If any of the Mayor, the Journal or Tribune told the truth about the APS Leaders’ refusal; public outrage would prompt an immediate and comprehensive overhaul of accountability in the APS; without assistance from the Mayor.

Which is why if you ever read the truth about APS’ lack of accountability in the newspaper; it will only be after it is too late to do anything about it.

Paul Broome wrote; “Our students, hard-working teachers and principals deserve a leadership change for real accountability and results.”

Of course they do. So why won’t Mayor Marty provide for a leadership change by telling the Journal and Tribune to go ahead and tell stakeholders the truth?

Is it because telling the truth now, before the school board election, would eliminate any need for the Mayor to take control over public schools away from its rightful stewards, the community?

What other reason explains the Mayor and the newspaper’s steadfast support of the APS Leadership’s efforts to cover up the APS ethics scandal?

They got away with it

There was a school board meeting today. The public forum was not on the agenda.

I. Call to Order
A. Pledge of Allegiance
B. Roll Call
C. Adoption of Agenda (Discussion / Action)

As you can see, the agenda listed the adoption of the agenda as a discussion and action item. I sought to comment on the adoption before it was too late. Robert Lucero stated that discussion, my comment, was not allowed before the agenda was voted on; because until then the meeting had not yet begun. This despite that fact that discussion was clearly appropriate, and that the discussion and adoption of the agenda was the third item on agenda after the meeting was called to order. I believe that Robert Lucero simply made up his "argument" on the spot; that it was fabricated to suit his ends.

Paula Maes and the rest of the board agreed with Lucero's indefensible and patently absurd reasoning.

Until I am proved wrong by someone more expert than I in Robert's Rules of Order; it is my opinion that Lucero and the board are simply bullies who trample those who stand in their way. And who then cannot be held accountable for this or any other of their misconduct.

During the “off the record public forum”, four of seven board members were not even present. Had anyone chosen to speak during the forum, they would have been speaking to more empty chairs, than occupied.

When I asked a rather large audience to stand up in support of their belief that the public forum belongs on the agenda and on the record, a half a dozen people stood up. I am grateful for the courage they displayed; the courage they modeled for a dozen or so young people in the room. Unfortunately six people, no matter how courageous, are far too few to make a difference.

The agenda of the next meeting of the board of education will not include a public forum.

Why must the Public Forum be “off the record”?

Their history is one of misrepresenting the truth about public forums. Stakeholders have been deliberately and methodically mislead by the broadcast records of the public forum.

They have moved public forum off the agenda in order to move it off the record; and to avoid having a videotaped record of the forum.

The Administration, the Board, and Modrall want the public forum off the record; why?

Public forum is the only place that the leadership of the APS will be asked to account for their failure to hold themselves accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct. They will not be held to account in the Journal or the Trib. Nor will they be held to account by the TV or radio news. Nor will they be held to account by the senator, the governor, the mayor, the city council, the chamber of commerce, or the Character Counts Leadership Council.

Public forum is the only place they will be asked to tell the truth. And they don’t want their response on the record.

In exactly whose interests?

It would be a shame if the next school tax failed

It will be a shame for students and staff in schools that are in need of repair.

This community has a record of taxing itself in support of its schools. But voters are tired of holding their noses while they trust even more of their money to people they don’t trust.

When Governor Richardson urged voters to support the last bond issue; he asked them to ignore APS’ waste on bureaucratic red tape, long history of dodging accountability, ill will across the state, Legislative and community distrust, and lack of leadership.

Through how many tax elections are we supposed to ignore the problems with the people who spend the money?

Voters will turn down new taxes because they cannot turn out those whose history is one of squandering their trust and their treasure. Because the Leadership of the APS has no record of honest accountability for corruption or incompetence; voters will hold them accountable in the only way they can.

Between the February and September bond issue elections; the number of voters who voted against the issues almost tripled.

Before the September bond issue, Governor Richardson said, “Following the election, I welcome a debate on potential solutions aimed at requiring more accountability in our schools.”

I guess he didn’t mean that he would assume any personal responsibility for a debate, or that there would actually be any debate; just that it would be welcome if it did happen.

It didn’t.

More proof

There is evidence of a deliberate distortion of the truth in the broadcast version of ten public forums; the forums during which the school board members and superintendent each refused to hold themselves honestly accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct.

If you compare the edited and unedited versions of public forums; you will see a deliberate effort to misrepresent the truth.

APS Records Custodian Rigo Chavez has the capacity to furnish the edited and unedited versions of the truth, in response to a carefully prepared NMIPRA records request.

Whether he will or not, is a whole other question.

APS Board hides its misconduct

During the last board meeting, the Public Forum was moved
'outside of the APS board meeting" by putting it before the agenda.

By their reasoning, the record of the public forum could then be edited from their “broadcast version of the truth”.

And their constituents would not watch them as they refused to hold themselves honestly accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct. For the tenth time.

It "isn't dishonest" because it's not the "official record."

APS “Ethics scandal”

So far as I know, I am the only person using the phrase, ethics scandal; is it fair, is it responsible, is it ethical? You tell me.

Clearly the word ethics is used correctly. The issue is the ethical accountability of the Leadership of the APS.

Is there scandalous misconduct? According to my online dictionary a scandal is;

A person, thing, or circumstance that causes or ought to cause disgrace or outrage: a politician whose dishonesty is a scandal.

Damage to reputation or character caused by public disclosure of immoral or grossly improper behavior; disgrace.

A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society.

Students in the Albuquerque Public Schools are accountable to an ethical code of conduct.

The Leadership of the APS excepted themselves from accountability to that standard by removing language from their own code of conduct which read; “…in no case shall the standard of conduct for the adult be lower than the standard for students…”

They cannot claim honest accountability to a code of conduct that uses the word ethical.

Their record is one of dodging accountability even to the law.

They have taken these steps in order to dodge accountability to currently unresolved allegations of ethical and criminal misconduct.

They and the news media have deliberately hidden this misconduct from voters now, through three elections.

If this is not scandalous misconduct; what is?

If this is not an “APS Ethics Scandal”, what is?

Albuquerque Public Schools, Board of Education, District 2

Robert Lucero, according to the Trib, intends to run for re-election in board district 2.

Someone needs to oppose Robert Lucero’s effort to be reelected to the board.

Someone needs to ask Robert Lucero to answer a few questions.

As a board member, why is he accountable to no code of conduct that uses the word ethical?

Why did he dispose of a motion before the board which would have required administrators and board members to respond to a legitimate question by telling the truth?

Why did he oppose a motion that would have held board members and administrators honestly accountable to the student standard of conduct?

Why did he vote to deny whistleblower protection to those who expose ethical misconduct by administrators or board members?

Why has he refused ten times to hold himself honestly accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct?

Why did he abolish for the Leadership of the APS, the expectation that; “…in no case shall the standard for an adult be lower than the standard for students…”?

If no one opposes Robert Lucero, he will continue to stonewall.

And as a role model for 98,000 of our sons and daughters, and as a steward of the public trust and treasure, and as a public servant; he will be accountable to no meaningful standard of conduct.

How can you trust someone who stonewalls?

The question is, can you demonstrate that you are honestly accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct?

The Leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools should be able to respond by saying, yes. As stewards of the public trust and treasure; they should have created a system that protects public interests from corruption and incompetence.

They have not. They cannot answer yes.

They cannot answer no.

They will not admit that they have failed to protect public interests from individual and systemic corruption and incompetence.

So they stonewall.

The Administration, the Board, and Modrall can get away with stonewalling because they are powerful. They are powerful only because they are the stewards of the people’s power. Our power is being used to dodge accountability for the corrupt and incompetent abuse of that very power. It is absurd.

So far, they’re getting away with it.

APS Leadership renounces accountability

What ever else they say about their accountability for their misconduct; they cannot show to you:

• Any system in APS that provides that a complaint against an administrator or board member will see a principled resolution.
• A record of having stood up to the consequences of their misconduct.
• Any evidence of their willingness to be held honestly accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct.

They cannot be held accountable for their misconduct for the same reason a playground bully is not held accountable for his.

For exactly the same reason.

APS Praetorian Guard fails to investigate

According to the Journal, the Commander of the Praetorian Guard, Gil Lovato, failed to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct by a fellow APS administrator.

That illustrates the problem with the APS Leaders' ownership of the system by which they are held accountable for misconduct.

Gil Lovato is himself, the subject of unresolved allegations of evidence tampering, destruction of public records, and conspiracy.

Those charges were never investigated either.

Because the APS administration, board, and Modrall, cannot be held accountable for their misconduct.

If you need proof that you have been stripped of your control over your power

Consider that it is the public servant who decides if and when they will answer questions about what they are doing with it.

Corrupt politicians usurp power

Public servants wield a great deal of power. They yield it legitimately only in the interest of the people whose power it is. The power is entrusted to them for no other purpose. Any other use is illegitimate; it is an abuse of power.

Our power is certainly not entrusted to them in order that they can self-except themselves from accountability for their misconduct.

Rules apply to everyone; or they apply to no one.

Who exactly is going to hold themselves accountable to a higher standard than the example that is set for them?

Once that power has been usurped, it will not be given back. Or, it would have been given back already.

The power must be taken back; even against their will; most certainly against their will.

They have repeatedly refused to be held honestly accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct.

They have repeatedly refused to return to the people, the control over the power which is fundamentally theirs.

What are you going to do about it?

The citizens of Albuquerque have lost their control over their public schools.

The citizens of Albuquerque have lost control of the power that they entrusted to APS Leadership. The power has been usurped by the board, the administration and Modrall.

The eight men and women and their lawyers who run the Albuquerque Public Schools refuse to be held accountable in their public service.

That means they refuse to be held accountable to the people.

If they were really accountable to the community; if they were accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct; they could show you a system in the APS where a complaint against an administrator or board member sees a principled resolution; a fair hearing. They can not.

If they were really accountable for their conduct; their record would be one of stepping up to consequences. It is not.

If they were really accountable; when asked if they are accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct; they would say yes. They won’t.

If the people of Albuquerque had control over their power, their power would not be being used to enable corruption and incompetence in the administration of the public schools.

Just for the heck of it

I decided to find out if the Journal and Tribune would tell the truth if I paid them to.

I submitted a suggested text for my advertisement. It included mention of the APS ethics scandal, and the refusal of the Journal or Tribune to investigate or report upon it.

I was informed that the following policy applies.

“Acceptance of all political advertising is subject to review. The publisher reserves the right to reject for publication any advertisement for any reason at any time.”

Frankly, that makes it difficult for me to publish a political advertisement that points out that the Journal and Tribune are helping to cover up the ethics scandal in which my opponent is involved.

Very difficult.

Imagine a line between the things that are alright and the things that aren’t.

On which side of that line is a public servant who refuses honest accountability to a meaningful standard of conduct within their public service?

And why is it not alright to ask him which side of the line he is on?

And then expect an answer.