Tea Party candidate urges OC Board of Education to break the law

OC Board of Education candidate Tom Pollitt with the nutty U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

The same forces that elected Tea Partier Robert Hammond to the Orange County Board of Education a few years ago have now launched another candidate in his mold, Tom Pollitt, into the race for the Second District on the Orange County Board of Education, against incumbent David Boyd, who is also the Chancellor of the Taft University System, which is based in Costa Mesa.

Pollitt is no stranger to the O.C. Board of Education. He told the Board in public comments this year that they “should break the law and not adopt Common Core.”

Well I don’t like Common Core either but asking Trustees to break the law? What kind of unhinged nut is this guy Pollitt?

Boyd did us all a favor when he defeated former OC Board of Education President Alexandria Coronado in 2010. Coronado dug her own grave when she said, after her board voted to oppose a state bill proposing to honor the slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, “If you want that lifestyle, don’t make my tax dollars pay for it, and don’t teach it to my children.” (Source – O.C. Register).

To gay activists that statement appeared to be an open invitation for bashers to go after the OC gay community. The media picked up on it and the scandal blew up.

When Boyd challenged Coronado he said that he wold work to ensure fair and equal treatment of all students. He also said that he would strive to eliminate partisan politics in actions taken by the Board. (Source – Smart Voter). Boyd, who is registered as a Decline to State voter, has been true to his campaign promises.

So what is Pollitt promising? Here is his candidate’s statement, courtesy of the O.C. Registrar of Voters:

I’ve served as a school board chairman and nonprofit board director. I’ve taught college classes, and I’ve actively contributed to the development of educational policies and practices.

I’m a product of our public school system. As a parent and grandparent, I’ve actively volunteered in our public schools, including leading a record-breaking school fundraising effort.

I’m not a politician, and I’ve never run for elected office. I’m just a concerned citizen and family man who wants to serve our community.

As your member of the Orange County Board of Education, I will:

• Ensure taxpayer money goes directly to the classroom to benefit our children – not to wasteful bureaucracy
• Fight against tax increases
• Oppose unfunded government mandates
• Promote parental rights
• Protect charter schools
• Support limited government, personal responsibility, and family values

My leadership and experience have earned me the support of:

• Orange County Board of Education Trustee Robert Hammond
• Orange County Board of Education Trustee Ken Williams
• Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach
• United States Representative Dana Rohrabacher
• Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel

Please join my supporters in Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Stanton, Sunset Beach, and Westminster in voting for Tom Pollitt for Orange County Board of Education, Trustee Area 2. www.tompollitt.com.

It sure looks to me like Pollitt, who says he is not a politician but is in fact a member of the CRA, a Republican grassroots organization, is trying to bring partisan politics back to the OC Board of Education.

Here is Boyd’s candidate statement:

David Boyd is concluding his first term on the Orange County Board of Education. Mr. Boyd’s political philosophy is one of limited government, local control, and strict accountability. He is a supporter of academically hallenging, fiscally viable charter schools.

For nearly thirty years it has been Mr. Boyd’s privilege to lead the nationally accredited Taft University System, first as President and beginning in January 2012, as Chancellor. The Taft University System includes Taft Law School and William Howard Taft University. It presently offers distance education programs in business, education and law utilizing advancing technologies to provide educational opportunities to individuals around the world.

In October 2013 Mr. Boyd earned the California School Boards Association’s prestigious “Master of Governance” certificate having completed a two-year program that provides school board members with the necessary knowledge and skills to support an effective governance structure.

He has received early endorsements from Orange County Superintendent of Schools Emeritus William Habermehl, former California Secretary of Education Marian Bergeson and numerous local Orange County school board members.

Since 2003, Mr. Boyd has served on the Educational Standards Committee of the Distance Education and Training Council, a national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. Over the decades he has been selected to serve on numerous university site visitation teams by accrediting bodies and state agencies.

Mr. Boyd earned a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University at Long Beach and a Juris Doctor degree from Western State University College of Law. In 1993 Mr. Boyd completed post-graduate studies in Constitutional Law and English Legal History at Harvard Law School. Professionally, he is a member of the State Bar of California as well as a licensed certified public accountant.

Mr. Boyd has also served as a mediator and arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

Nationally Mr. Boyd and his wife Patricia have been listed as Platinum Circle donors by The Stuttering Foundation, the largest nonprofit charitable organization in the world working toward the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering (www.stutteringhelp.org).

He is also a member of the Board of Directors and a major donor to Children of the Night, a privately funded non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing America’s children from the ravages of prostitution (www.childrenofthenight.org).

The Boyd’s have three adult children who all graduated from Orange County public schools.

www.david-boyd.org

David L. Boyd

How do you like that? Boyd actually is an expert on Constitutional Law while Pollitt and his ilk like to scream about the Constitution while they work to deprive those who are different from them of their rights. I have a feeling that the voters will see through Pollitt’s empty verbiage and re-elect Boyd to the OC Board of Education.