posted by Mike Madison at 5:21 PM /
Act 1 loses:
YES . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,790 29.21
NO. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,337 70.79
School Directors (copied from the Allegheny County website):
SCHOOL DIRECTOR MT LEBANON (Democrat) (winners in bold):
(WITH 38 OF 38 Districts COUNTED)
LA VERNE CONLEY 891 / 8.68%
RENE GARSON 1,041 / 10.14%
ZACHARY BENKOVITZ 960 / 9.35 %
JAMES FRAASCH 672 / 6.55 %
SUE ROSE 1,423 / 13.87 %
CAROL J WALTON 1,167 / 11.37 %
ELAINE L CAPPUCCI 1,877 / 18.29 %
EDWARD KUBIT 774 / 7.54 %
FAITH ANN STIPANOVICH 1,448 / 14.11 %
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 10 / .10 %
Total . . . . . . . . . 10,263
SCHOOL DIRECTOR MT LEBANON (Republican) (winners in bold)
(WITH 38 OF 38 Districts COUNTED)
JAMES FRAASCH 1,371 / 14.09 %
CAROL J WALTON 1,418 / 14.57 %
SUE ROSE 1,575 / 16.19 %
FAITH ANN STIPANOVICH 1,031 / 10.60 %
ELAINE L CAPPUCCI 1,499 / 15.40 %
RENE GARSON 1,263 / 12.98 %
EDWARD KUBIT 1,528 / 15.70 %
WRITE-IN 46 / .47 %
Total . . . . . . . . . 9,731
So: Rose (incumbent), Walton (incumbent), Kubit, Frassch, Stipanovich, Cappucci, and Garson (incumbent) move on to the Fall. Seven candidates, five open seats.
Congratulations to the nominees.
And don't miss Dennis Roddy's clever podcast investigation of the one-named Raja, running for Commissioner in the 1st Ward. Dennis, did you read all the way to the end of the comments at this post?
YES . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,790 29.21
NO. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,337 70.79
School Directors (copied from the Allegheny County website):
SCHOOL DIRECTOR MT LEBANON (Democrat) (winners in bold):
(WITH 38 OF 38 Districts COUNTED)
LA VERNE CONLEY 891 / 8.68%
RENE GARSON 1,041 / 10.14%
ZACHARY BENKOVITZ 960 / 9.35 %
JAMES FRAASCH 672 / 6.55 %
SUE ROSE 1,423 / 13.87 %
CAROL J WALTON 1,167 / 11.37 %
ELAINE L CAPPUCCI 1,877 / 18.29 %
EDWARD KUBIT 774 / 7.54 %
FAITH ANN STIPANOVICH 1,448 / 14.11 %
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 10 / .10 %
Total . . . . . . . . . 10,263
SCHOOL DIRECTOR MT LEBANON (Republican) (winners in bold)
(WITH 38 OF 38 Districts COUNTED)
JAMES FRAASCH 1,371 / 14.09 %
CAROL J WALTON 1,418 / 14.57 %
SUE ROSE 1,575 / 16.19 %
FAITH ANN STIPANOVICH 1,031 / 10.60 %
ELAINE L CAPPUCCI 1,499 / 15.40 %
RENE GARSON 1,263 / 12.98 %
EDWARD KUBIT 1,528 / 15.70 %
WRITE-IN 46 / .47 %
Total . . . . . . . . . 9,731
So: Rose (incumbent), Walton (incumbent), Kubit, Frassch, Stipanovich, Cappucci, and Garson (incumbent) move on to the Fall. Seven candidates, five open seats.
Congratulations to the nominees.
And don't miss Dennis Roddy's clever podcast investigation of the one-named Raja, running for Commissioner in the 1st Ward. Dennis, did you read all the way to the end of the comments at this post?
Labels: election
30 Comments:
Faith Ann Stipanovich did express her opninons clearly and somewhat intelligently, she doesn't not own property in Mt Lebanon and her yard signs were in the "machine Democrate" grass. What is her purpose to be on school board???
I thoroughly resent the comment from the initial blogger. Come on, democratic machine in mt. lebanon?? puhlease!!!!! The republicans have owned this town since its inception. Faith has EXCELLENT experience. Her rent goes up when property taxes go up. I sense a SIGNIFICANT bias against renters in Mt. Lebanon and the first posting confirms my suspicions. Seems a bit prejudice to me.
j.s.
anonymous 10:00 p.m. Are you saying that people who express themselves clearly and intelligently should not be on school board? I saw a Stipanovich sign in a Republican yard, just not a "Republican machine" yard. You sound a little biased to me.
the democrats are not a machine, but thoughtful neighbors interested in maintaining and improving mt lebanon that work together! since tom stevenson led the republicans on a long walk off a short pier, the democrats have done well. forget the parties, vote for the best candidate in the fall.
I happen to agree with the first post with regards to Faith Stepanovich not owning property in Mt. Lebanon, but more importantly
1.She has never had children in the district
2.Admits that she has NEVER attended a school board meeting
3.Relies on tax dollars for her salary.
Which of these attributes make her an attractive candidate for school director?
Anonymous 7:39...so what you are saying is that no one who holds a publicly funded job should run for office? If it is mandatory that candidates attend school board meetings, what is the point of televising them? Faith was a student in the district, her elderly parents live and own property and her rent is affected by property taxes. I am having a problem comprehending your points arguing she isn't qualified. Maybe people who send their kids to Catholic school shouldn't be on the school board. If they really cared about education, they would work on improving our schools rather than taking their kids elsewhere.
I'll play Blue Devil's advocate. :)
1) Watchdog for school directors who might vote their children's self-interest instead of the district's.
2) Fresh point of view as regards school board proceedings.
3) Earns that taxpayer paid salary managing payroll for the county, so she's got experience in the administrative affairs of a government office. Might come in handy negotiating salaries, perhaps?
Having heard her speak at the candidate's forum, she certainly sounds competent and qualified. So I have a question for you, 5/17 7:39 - what are you afraid will happen if she's elected?
Hmm, let me see we can re-elect three candidates who:
1)voted on the secret Marge Sable agreement costing the taxpayers $500,000;
2)voted for the "secret" early bird teachers contract providing for 5% annual salary increases plus other benefits;
3) voted for annual budgets presented by the administration without a thorough cost/benefit analysis; and
4)two of whom voted for the TIF
or
we can put a new voice on the board who has both personnel and budget experience.
Faith doesn't have kids in the district and she's running for school director. This is a problem? I don't think so. She'd have no agenda.
What I have a problem with is one of the "Blue Ribbon" team trying to move--had his house on the market for a long time, but couldn't sell it--then staying and running for the board. He's doesn't have near the roots put down in our community that Faith has.
I'll back up Faith on this one. I have gotten to know her a little during the debates/forums and even a little on election day as well. She has been well-spoken at the events and she has been kind and considerate to me as an opponent. Now the question is whether or not people think she is one of the top five of the seven remaining candidates for School Board. She will certainly present a tough challenge in the Fall general election.
To j.s. there is a big time bias against renters. That is not only in Mt. Lebanon but all over. Property owners vote at a tremendously greater percentage than renters. Renters, being more transitory in general, are not seen as having the same kind of roots in the area as a home owner. That doesnt mean they cannot make a difference, just that they are ignored for the most part because they do not vote as often as other residents. It will be interesting to see how the turnout for that section of people was for this primary election. With Act One being a big fist in the nose for all renters, I wonder how many got out to vote against it.
Matt makes some good points. Another way to say it: What about the lousy job all those folks withe the "right" qualification have done? Maybe we need more Faith!
That member of the Blue Ribbon Team that had their house on the market would be me. I would hardly consider having my house on the market for four months a 'long time' as you suggest. Our home was on the market to allow us the opportunity to purchase a home on Cochran. You may know the home, its the one on the corner of Royce and Cochran. It is a brown house. We were unable to sell our house in our timeframe to make a purchase of that home work out.
Perhaps you should want to know the answer to that question before you talk about me not wanting to plant roots here. I will tell you that we may have another 'For Sale' sign in my yard either this Fall or within the year, whenever my wife gets her non-profit started and we have a second income again.
One of the reasons we chose Mt. Lebanon was because we can find a house here for $150,000 or $500,000. Our intent has always been to upgrade to a larger home when we got a chance. My wife leaving her full-time job to start a non-profit (to help members of the Mt. Lebanon and surrounding communities, no less!) may delay our efforts to purchase a bigger home in Mt Lebanon. But the day will come when we have the funds to find a larger house (and pay more taxes!).
Believe it or not, I actually appreciate anon 6:36 posting this question on the blog. Now everyone knows the truth. Thanks!
james f
In regards to Faith, there is a Port Authority retired driver in my neighborhood who drives a new model Caddie and have no children-and they have a Faith sign in their yard!!! These people generally feel that they shouldn't have to work hard and the rich should give them all that they want. They despise the establishment of Mt Lebanon government which in fact made Mt Lebanon has great as it is today.
To anon at 9:28
Who are "these people" who you speak about. Should Port Authority drivers only be allowed to drive inexpensive cars?
What do you mean that "they despise" the government of Mt. Lebanon? Again who are "they"? All Port Authority drivers?
Anonymous 9:28:
Who exactly are "these people"? I happen to agree with many of the posters here who mention some of the reasons why Faith would be a good school board member. But even if I didn't, I'd have to wonder who your comment is referring to. Please enlighten us.
James,
Thanks for posting as yourself. I wish you luck in the general election, and I hope to see more comments from you here in the future.
Thank Matt. I have actually posted a bit. There are two James' that post. I am the one that has a lower case 'j'. Other than that, I don't know how to tell the difference.
In fact, I was probably posting my defense of Faith when the anon poster was questioning my roots.
If you criticize Faith for not having kids in the school ask:
How does having kids in school make you a better school director?
Can the union take revenge on your kids if you don’t give them what they want?
I would like to address what my 13 year old had to endure while working the polls for the first time. She got to hear a family member of Cappucci disrepecting James Fraasch. making comments about him not growing up since High School--how would this person know-James went to school in california. My 13 year was very upset by the badmouthing that she had to endure. Shame on you! I am just glad she does have Mr. Fraasch as a role model. He has never talked dirty or played dirty, same with his partner Ed Kubit. Atleast these men have the sense to realize that our children are looking up to them.
I would like to say that during my 13 year old and I's first time working the polls last week, she did get to see a good side of politics from Faith. She was so nice and polite to the whole Blue Ribbon Team and my child and I. She was a great role model for my daughter to experience.Thank you Faith
To Anon:
That's rough some one said that a candidate hasn't grown since High School! Mt. Lebanon politics are so nasty!! Thank god that your 13 year old has a thick skin. I'm sure that she hasn't heard such "disrespect" in Middle School. She must now be ready to dive into National Politics!
I have lived in Mt. Lebanon all of my life. In fact, my children are 4th generation Mt. Lebanoners.
I am a product of the Mt. Lebanon schools, I have rented apartments and owned 2 houses in Mt. Lebanon and my 3 children now attend the Mt. Lebanon schools.
My parents and my in-laws have all lived in Mt. Lebanon for their entire lives and they all graduated from Mt. Lebanon. Therefore, I think I'm about as "Mt. Lebanon" as one can be.
I'm not sure how many different posters make up this string of comments because everyone chooses to be anonymous. However, I think this string reflects my fundamental frustration with politics generally and politics in Mt. Lebanon specifically.
Everyone has an opinion about those currently in office or those running a campaign. Unfortunately, those who express their opinions the loudest or the most frequently NEVER and I mean NEVER choose to serve themselves. We all know by name and address the "repeat complainers" who attend the school board meetings, the commission meeting and even the meetings of the lesser boards and authorities in Mt. Lebanon. However, with few exceptions, I have no recollection of these folks making a run at elected office or even volunteering to serve a 3 year term on the Traffic Board.
Moreover, these traditional Mt. Lebanon whiners NEVER and I mean NEVER offer alternatives or constructive solutions to what they perceive to be the problems facing our community. they simply whine and demand better.
Anyone can whine and complain - that's certainly your right and privilege. However, just once, instead of complaining, please sign up to serve yourself or at least offer a viable solution in conjunction with your hollow criticism. We will all be better for it.
I agree with David.
I heard from a number of people that had complaints over the past 4 years about this and that. However, the people that complained did not vote last week. I find it hard to complain if you don't take the time to vote.
In regards to anon 11:35, I heard the comments from the Capucci party. I was going to vote for her, but was upset by the comments and direction her group went that I did not vote for her. It is a big deal when we are trying to give kids an opportunity to learn how to behave and act in a kind manner. My 8 year old was with me and I told her that my expectation is that she never behave like that man and say those kind of things about anyone. Especially because you could tell he was blatantly lying and making a fool out of himself. Then I explained inside the voting area that we don't support people that act like that. In regards to the 13 year old that was there, my daughter asked me how you got involved, so you were a role model that day too. Maybe one day she will do the same thing for a candidate she believes in.
Anon 1:24,
I'm with you up until "we don't support people that act like that." I wasn't there, I don't know what was said. I think a candidate should be seen partly through the company they keep and the behavior of their campaign staff. But I also think it's easy to find one complete douche who's a Joe Candidate supporter/relative/friend/lackey.
Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater, is all I'm saying. Again, wasn't there, maybe it was a totally egregious comment.
I totally abide by the notion that election day is a wonderful opportunity to educate children on the political process. Get them encouraged early to vote and participate themselves someday.
Matt,
I've noticed you're often "the voice of reason" on this blog. And I respect your opinion even when I don't agree with you.
About your last point though, I do. My husband and I take our child to vote with us because we want him to see how important it is to us and what's involved.
As far as the comments about the man (if I'm understanding everyone correctly) who made the comments about Mr. Fraasch, it would be nice if the process went smoothly and nothing negative or untrue was ever said about anyone. But if the offending person didn't say these things TO the children, then I suspect it wasn't meant for them to hear. (It is unfortunate that they did.) I suspect it was someone using poor judgment and talking too loud, not purposely offending the children. That being said, I've heard a few horror stories about other candidates (Mrs. Cappucci included) also being denigrated by people at the polls. Perhaps Mrs. Cappucci and her supporters haven't been busy blogging to get their stories out about how they've been treated. I don't know. What I do know is I heard a few nasty comments made about candidates (one about her, one about someone else--I can't remember if it was Carol Walton or Faye Stipanovich) that were also made at the voting places. I was talking with a friend so I was standing there for a little while. So I know there's more of that going around toward other people, too.
However, I think Matt has hit the nail on the head--no candidate has complete control over his/her supporters, especially in something like a school board race where poll workers aren't always the party faithful, and they're certainly not paid staffers.
What I'd really like to know is what Mr. Kubit and Mr. Fraasch intend to do in the Fall. Mr. Fraasch was beaten by Carol Walton, who was part of the board who HIRED Dr. Sable. How did this happen? Instead of wringing our hands about all these other things, let's focus on the actual campaign issues!
I wouldn't say that the actions were unexpected I guess. Anytime you put your name out there to run for a public office, things are bound to happen. I have no problem if people decide they dont want to vote for me because of how I would deal with certain issues. That's why we have elections. If my opinion is constantly in the minority with regards to the community, then by all means, don't vote for me. You should want someone that would represent the views of the community when it comes to voting on issues before the Board. But let's not make up stories about other candidates. I think overall that we have a very well qualified group of candidates and Mt. Lebanon should be please with its choices.
Anon 11:54, I did make the general election by placing 5th out of 7 on the Republican ticket. The good news was that I was closer to 4th than I was to 6th. I am not at all ashamed of coming in behind Ms. Walton. She has been on the school board for over 20 years and, no matter how you feel about some of the controversial votes held over the years, Mt. Lebanon keeps getting ranked as one of the top schools not only in Western PA but in the entire state. Additionally, two of the three incumbents running for re-election had enough voters to easily get elected on both sides of the primary ballot and the third incumbent made it on the Democrat ballot. There was not a whole lot of anti-incumbent sentiment shown in the primary election. At least it didn't show up amongst those that turned out to vote.
Being a resident of Mt. Lebanon for a relatively short amount of time (compared to the other candidates), I felt that the odds of making it to the fall were long. I did work hard to get to know people in the community and I think it clearly paid off. Now that I head toward the general election, I need to make sure that I knock on more doors and meet more people than anyone else that is running.
I think that the more Ed Kubit and I can talk about our ideas, especially when it comes to managing budgets and implementing technologies that can not only save the District money, but increase revenues as well, people are extremely receptive. We both know that we will have to outwork everyone else to get elected in November. I know I look forward to the challenge and I am sure Ed does, too.
james f:
I have a suggestion for you. Read the archive posts from when Mrs. Posti was running for School Board. She posted some opinions that offended many voters and nearly lost the election. (October 2005, Dollar Store Topic) Her statements were also then published in the Post Gazette. I don't know Mrs. Posti, but have never felt the same about her since reading her comments. I respect you for using your name, but just be very careful what you write. Good Luck to all the candidates!
I feel this has gone on long enough. I'm not normally one to recount personal conversations--especially ones that were poorly eavesdropped on, but let me set the record straight.
I was part of the conversation that the 13-year-old was listening to. The person who talked about growing up since high school wasn't talking about Mr. Fraasch. They didn't know him then of course. They were, however, talking about Zachary Benkovitz. They knew him in his sophomore year at Mt. Lebanon High School. And, in fact it was discussed that although he was a bit of a untamed kid at the time, he HAD grown up since high school. He's done a lot of things since then including going to college and leading a trip to Israel.
Perhaps fact-checking would have been in order here.
In response to Dave Franklin's harsh criticism of the "meeting goers"...these are good citizens that are serving their community in the capacity that they choose to serve...
These citizens are an important part of our democratic government. The municipality and the school district needs to be monitored...the Sable buy out, the secret contract, the Zamigas TIF, the cost over runs of the elementary schools, MRTSA...
I appreciate their insight and presentations that keep tabs on these boards.
I respond as annonymous so that my children are not affected by my published post on the blog. They were humiliated by an elementary teacher for having the wrong school board candidate sign in our front lawn.
Don't underestimate the power of the teacher's union in elections.
To anonymous 8:47
THANK YOU !!!
Over the course of two different comments on this site Mr. Franklin criticized both those who take the time to attend these public meetings and those who don't.
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