Attack of the Narcisse Clones

My Version of the Weekender

All right, so this isn't The New York Times, but at least I am solvent and my readership is growing.

For your weekend viewing pleasure I am attaching a series of e-mails between Dick Murphy, Jon Narcisse (of course), Steve Deace (what a cluck), and Jan Mickelson (smart, but misguided).  You can read them here. Like all e-mail chains, this one starts at the end with Mickelson wondering why the heck he is getting these e-mails (because Narcisse included him in the chain).

Not a whole lot of surprises.  The WHO fellows graciously offer to host a debate on their shows.  That would be fine if they would also agree to step aside and let a neutral host moderate the program.  Both of these guys are buddies of Narcisse and despise public schools.

Narcisse makes his usual outrageous and unsupported allegations and looks forward to seeing Dick Murphy in an orange jump suit.  Poor Dick Murphy is really frustrated.  This is not typical Dick.  Narcisse is driving him crazy.

These e-mails demonstrate that Narcisse is a cancer that must be removed before it's too late.

One last point, in other e-mails Narcisse whines that there should be an investigation of the "leaking" of his e-mails to me.  What a hoot.  Once he sends them to a majority of the School Board they are public documents that all of us are entitled to read.  What makes his whining even more ridiculous is he copies the media and his side-kick Jon Neiderbach; demonstrating once again that his line of thinking is illogical.

Rewriting History: The Yankees Won the 1960 World Series

No, I am not off topic.  Those who don the tinfoil sleeping caps before going to bed at night to keep the aliens from brainwashing them (yes, Nan, you are one) also believe that the anti-school board candidates really "won" the election a couple of weeks ago because if you total the votes from those five candidates and compare them to the total by the three incumbents, the "anti" candidates got more votes.  According to Nan Stillians, the "anti" crowd just had too many candidates;  fewer candidates would have spelled victory.  Hardly.

That assumes that Kitti Knauer was an anti-school board candidate which is very doubtful.  Many people I know voted for Kitti and Ginny Strong and Dick Murphy.  Not an anti-school board combo.  And who voted for Larry Barrett and would they have voted if he had not been on the ballot is anybody's guess.

Nan's argument is like arguing that the Yankees really "won" the 1960 World Series because they outscored the Pirates 55 to 27 in seven games.  In Nan's world (that thought makes me shudder) the problem with the 1960 World Series is that they played too many games.  Had it been the best of three the Yankees would have been World Champions. 

Fortunately, the world doesn't work they way Nan would want it to.

Fourth Place is for Losers

In his column on Tuesday David Yepsen proposed changing the manner in which school board members are elected from the current 7 at-large directors to a ward system (technically, director districts under Iowa law).  I've been on both sides of this issue at various times, but think he is right for two reasons.  First, it may end the friction that has developed between different parts of town.  Second, with the recent change in the law the voters' fourth choice for the School Board will earn a seat on the board next year.  That just doesn't seem right.

There are good arguments for keeping the election at large.  Foremost is the fact that elected officials in districts and wards tend not to face stiff, if any, competition and easily get re-elected year after year.  This is even true for those who really don't deserve it.  Archie Brooks and Mike McPherson come to mind.

Just as important is the fact that board members elected by districts will have no reason to give a damn about schools in other parts of town and there will be a lot of horse-trading for votes on the board. 

I think this sort of parochialism is much more likely on a school board than a city council or board of supervisors because allegiance to a particular school is much more intense. The physical presence of the schools and the direct link constituents have to them will be a much stronger influence than a sewer system, a social service agency or a park.  This will mean a lot less concern for what is best for the school district as a whole.

One of the big criticisms of the current system is the fact that the west side of town can control the outcome of elections city-wide.  This is undoubtedly true, but the fact is the east and south sides could have a much greater influence on the outcome of elections if they would bother to vote.  The fact is year after year they simply don't go to the polls. I find it difficult to come to the defense of citizens who choose not to vote.

What is really interesting is the fact that the precincts that have the largest turnouts, the South of Grand area and the neighborhoods just to its north, currently do not have a representative on the school board.  This year the top three vote-getters were from the northwest, the southwest and the northeast parts of Des Moines.  The fourth place candidate was from the south side.  You have to get to the fifth place finisher before finding a candidate from the west side; and he polled best in the southeast corners of the city.  So what is the real beef here?

The real complaint is from a small group of individuals who whine the most about unfair treatment from the School Board. They cannot get their candidates elected so their solution is not to field better candidates (the ones they had this year were a joke) but to change the rules.  And they may be right for the wrong reasons.

The Iowa Legislature changed the way school boards will be elected beginning in 2009.  The terms will be four years instead of three and elections will be ever other year.  Next year four seats are up.  In 2011 there will be three seats and so on.  This may lead to more volatility (if that is possible) not less.  And it just doesn't seem right that a fourth place finisher should receive the same result as the first place finisher. 

There is also the problem of voters having to make four choices.  Most people like one or two candidates when they go to the polls, maybe three.  But four?  Not likely.  That is a lot of information to process. This will lead to voter confusion and ignorance.  The fourth place finisher could be a real wild card.

I am calling on the School Board to hold a special election to change the method of election of school board members from the current seven at-large directors to seven elected by districts beginning in 2009.  The other option is three elected at-large and four elected by districts, but if we are going to do this, lets really do it.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind.

Narcisse, Neiderbach form PAC; Spend Undisclosed Sums

This afternoon Narcisse plopped down $1,000 for a radio buy on radio station KJMC 89.3-FM.  The buy was in the name of Citizens for Accountable Des Moines Education PAC and was for radio ads supporting Flood, Pike and Crisman. 

Narcisse is the Chair of the PAC and Neiderbach is the Treasurer. View the filing here.

The PAC has not filed a financial disclosure report so we don't know where the $1,000 came from (so much for transparency).  Who is financing this PAC?  Why won't they disclose the contributors?  What are they hiding?

If they have $1,000 to spend on a little known and little listened to radio station, how much do they have to spend on WHO Radio and cable television?

Who is trying to buy this election?  Why won't they disclose?  What are they hiding?

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Flood Feels the Need to Wear Flak Jacket to Our Schools

At last night's school board forum Steve Flood said when he visited one of our schools he felt the need to wear a flak jacket.  He wouldn't name the school.

That sort of comment by a potential school board member is appalling.  It suggests a level of danger that is obviously untrue.  Certainly the teachers and parents would not let such an atmosphere exist.  It is insulting to the teachers of the school, suggesting that they do not have order in their classrooms, and it is insulting to the parents, suggesting they would allow such an atmosphere to exist.

It is just another example of how Narcisse and his slate of candidates are trying to create a crisis in order to get elected.

But it is also Steve Flood's attitude towards Des Moines Schools.  He thinks our schools stink. (Remember he sends his kids to private school.)  He never passes up a chance to take a pot shot at our schools.  And that is the attitude he will bring to the school board.  Don't let him have the chance.

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The DSM Misinformation Times Exposed

Jon Narcisse promised to resign from the School Board if anything in the DSM Misinformation Times turned out to be untrue (KCCI interview July 2008).  Well, in case you missed it, in today’s Des Moines Register the Des Moines Police Department had this to say about the East High police calls and arrests as reported in the Misinformation Times:

“The figures are misleading any way you look at it, whether it’s the first semester, the second semester, or a combination of both,” Police Sgt. Vince Valdez said. “It’s just totally off. If that were the case, we’d look at it as a very serious situation and we’d have to totally revisit how we do things there. Obviously, the officers would be in danger if there was that much criminal activity at East."

I would call for his resignation, but what is the point?

The Register article is a fascinating read anyway.  Look at what Neiderbach and Narcisse have to say about their own tabloid:

“Neiderbach acknowledged to The Des Moines Register last week that the statistics he used did not come from police. They were based, he said, on a conversation someone involved with the publication had with school officials. He could not immediately recall who was involved in the discussion or when it took place."

Translation: “It’s all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.” (With apologies to Phil Lesh.)

“Narcisse, meanwhile, said: ‘I want to stress, this was not as much a story about the district as the failure of the media to investigate these stories."

Translation:  He doesn’t understand why the media doesn’t investigate stories he makes up.  It is all a conspiracy, of course.

And these two actually want to be in charge of the education of our students.

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Mike Pike's Reasoning Doesn't Ring True

In the Des Moines Register article about Mike Pike's candidacy he says the reason he sends his oldest and only school-age child to a private, religious school is because the school district closed his neighborhood school.  Let's look at the facts.

Grand View Baptist is 1.8 miles from his home at 3922 E. 27th Street.  There are five (5) Des Moines Public Elementary Schools that are either closer to or about the same distance from his home according to my research on Google Maps.

Garton is just .9 miles away, Phillips is only 1.6 miles away, Brubaker is 1.9 miles away, Stowe is 2.0 miles, and Cattell is 2.1 miles.

Could the real reason have something to do with his $100 contribution to Chuck Hurley's Iowa Family Policy Center PAC on June 22, 2008?  See the report here.

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Labor Day Edition

In recognition of Labor Day, I am going to let someone else do my work for me.

Please read the latest campaign flier from the worried Des Moines parent attached here.

September 2 Update:  This morning I confirmed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board that my posting of this flier is legal even though the flier itself may violate IECDB rules.

NEWS FLASH: Flood Finally Visits a Public School

I've learned that this morning school board candidate Steve Flood made a surprise visit to a Des Moines Middle School.  I believe this may be the first time he has set foot in a public school since reaching adulthood.  It's about time.

Although he didn't make an appointment, the Principal took the time to meet with Flood and show him around the school. 

Along the way, Steve commented that it was too bad teachers had to buy their own supplies.  The response of the Principal must have floored him, "Teachers don't buy their own supplies.  They are supplied by the school district."

This is just one of the many myths that have been created by Jon Narcisse.  Poor Steve Flood has bought into them hook, line and sinker.  His entire candidacy is based on believing Jon Narcisse.

He joins the ranks of those who have learned the hard way that Jon Narcisse cannot be trusted to tell the truth.  Just ask his former business partners, attorney, lenders, subscribers to his Cyclone football service, and on and on and on.

Parent's Flier Flies Around the Internet

I received the attached flier by e-mail three times in the last 24 hours.  From talking with others it must be in almost every inbox in the city.  But just in case you weren't on anyone's list, read it for yourself here.

It lays out in clear terms what is at stake in this school board election.

September 2 Update:  This morning I confirmed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board that my posting of this flier is legal even though the flier itself may violate IECDB rules.