I wish to make two points about the upcoming Spring Election, which includes a Madison School Board race of consequence.
In Seat 4 David Blaska is waging a write-in campaign in an effort to drive home the need to talk about some foundational issues of education. I ask that you support his candidacy and vote for him on Tuesday, April 5th.
For me, the curbing of violence at our city schools ranks as issues Number One, Two, and Three. Earlier this year a high school student was beaten so badly on school property that reconstructive dental surgery was required. There is no way I can simply assume that the current school board truly cares about curbing the violence. I do not see any evidence that the board even recognizes the growing frustration of the city due to its lack of concrete measures to deal with the problem.
In a candidate forum, Blaska said what many taxpayers feel.
“I don’t think the police criminalize those kids. I think the kids, through their own behavior, did…. Getting rid of the school resource officers, that was the capstone of a decade-long assault on school discipline. I would initiate a number of programs starting with returning the school resource police officers back to the schools. I would also jettison the Behavior Education Plan. Seven years in, it’s not working.”
On whether the school board needs to address the use of cellphones in the classroom, Blaska held up a paper grocery bag and said, “cell phones go in the bag and [students] can get them back afterwards.”
“This is a perfect example of how we’re running headlong away from [holding] kids responsible. There used to be guardrails for kids called adults,” said Blaska. “And yes, it’s in the kids’ nature to test the limits. But we keep moving the guardrails farther and farther out when they test the limits and what is the result? We have almost daily fights now and not just at East High School.”
It should be noted, and much to the dismay of many folks in Madison, that Ali Mudrow is so removed from just basic common sense she can not even bring herself to call for the end of cellphones in the classroom.
Muldrow dismissed concerns expressed by teachers and parents that cell phones are causing kids to check out while in class and may be contributing to online bullying that leads to high-profile fights that have made headlines all school year.
Clearly, we need some sanity on the school board.
Now, to the second issue, I wish to address.
Muldrow claimed in a separate Q and A column that Balska was a “Trump/Scott Walker supporter”. Using such a label is meant to alert voters in Madison to be wary. As a liberal Democrat, I call that unrelated malarky. In addition, it is not factual.
While it is true that Blaska is an actual decades-long conservative Republican it is also clear from his own blog and spoken words that he can not be lumped with Trump. After all, Trump is not a true Republican as he lacks any regard for fiscal accountability, free trade, or international alliances. Read Blaska’s own words since January 6th if you have any doubt, whatsoever about his views of Trump. I know how opposed Blaska was to Trump in 2016, and know he did not cast a ballot for him in that election.
Why it matters to bore down on this issue for a moment is because it demonstrates how Muldrow goes about her work on the taxpayer’s dime. Wild broad brush strokes at every issue–from rising violence at schools to dismissing cellphones, and assuming everyone within a political party must carry water for everyone else.
Meanwhile, working on board policy requires attention to detail, not just mouthing words to play to the loudest elements in our city. We simply must have a school board tethered to the best interests of our students, but we simply do not have that today. And it is placing students in unsafe classrooms with a reduction in class time learning.
When it comes to this school board race I am confident Balska is the best candidate because he does care about kids getting an education. He is determined to bring back order and discipline to the schools. How can anyone argue in favor of disruptive and violent schools?
Look, history is filled with the best steps occurring, both in our state and nation, when folks from both sides and with competing ideas focus on the mission at hand. No one can say there is not a growing level of violence in our public schools, or that teachers and students alike are not concerned–and at times frightened.
Never should any student have a beating so severe on school grounds that surgery is required and the student decides not to return to that school. To not candidly address this topic has been my reason for being vocal about the need for change on the board.
I ask you for your support and write-in vote for David Blaska for Seat 4 on April 5.
Thank you.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
He’s got my vote.
You may want to reconsider. Joining the Blaska club puts you in the same room with his acolytes who have said some despicable things over the years, including:
“On the subject of being a sodomite; why is it wrong or inappropriate to make fun of homos? Are they a protected category?”
“Yer mixing up reality and yer time spent inna Greek army, (where ya separate the men from the boyz w/ a crowbar…”
“Free birth control (long-acting reversible contraceptives). Easy access to abortions if necessary. Would remove a lot of the feral kids.”
And the squire himself said this: “Which is why Russia insists on its own version of the Monroe Doctrine over a neighbor — poor and corrupt — with which it shares a land border of 1,226 miles.”
“Putin is a snake but he’s not flying planes into the World Trade Center. Is Ukraine a distraction?”
“Sanctions? Sure. Hardware? O.K., but make certain their check clears.”
You are aligning yourself with homophobes, crypto-Nazis, and the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party. It is all reminiscent of the 72 Nixon campaign. Instead of “four more years” we now have “four more cops.”
Then you and I could never vote for Democrats as Democratic Governor George Wallace stated, “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever”. As one who worked at varying levels of politics, including being the campaign manager for a GOP Assembly candidate–no, we did not prevail—I simply ask that we not lose grasp of how policy is made and moved forward. Our allies on one issue may be our opponents tomorrow. But in a democracy, the shifting alliances are what makes for strength. What moves the ball down the field, as it were. That is the ground on which I stand, and from which I came.
I think you have the wrong impression as to where I’m coming from. You state: “Then you and I could never vote for Democrats.” I’ve never voted for a Democrat, but I left the Republican Party the day we invaded Iraq. I’ve had to sit out a lot of elections lately.
You state: “But in a democracy, the shifting alliances are what makes for strength. What moves the ball down the field, as it were.”
The groups you align with are not interested in democracy. They are insurrectionists. They want to steal the ball and blow up the field.
The ground in which I stand, and from which I came, is the Edmund Burke school of conservatism (it would take an entire book to explain that, but it puts a major emphasis on civility and moderation- the George Will brand of conservatism). We are counter-insurrectionists.
You “ask that we not lose grasp of how policy is made and moved forward.” There is another way to move forward. For example: the Republicans expelled the John Birchers from the Republican Party in 1960. They didn’t negotiate. They shut the door in their face.
His “acolytes” (Gerard never names them), do not speak for Blaska. He speaks for himself. And yes, I have done a 180-degree turn on Ukraine. Didn’t think it was a real country. Boy, have I been proven wrong! If Gerard thinks Madison public schools are just fine, he should be a man and say so.
Well said David.
David Gerard wrote, “You are aligning yourself with homophobes, crypto-Nazis, and the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party.”
That’s a lie; Humphrey is doing nothing of the sort.
Your comment is bigotry against the Republican Party in it’s purest form; absolute hate and hate absolutely.
You have absolutely no evidence whatsoever that David Blaska is any of those things; therefore, your comment is a blatantly obvious ad hominem innuendo attack and as such it’s immoral and it’s false defamation against Blaska. We clearly get the fact that you hate the Republican Party and you’re a bigot but your display of hateful bigotry is signature significant and directly reflects upon your character not Blaska’s. It’s ignorant thinking like yours that’s helping to divide the USA, you’re part of the problem.
Mr. Gerard, bias makes you stupid but hateful bigotry makes you evil.
Just to be very clear as to what I wrote, here are definitions that clarify my intent.
Bigotry: obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a belief, opinion, or faction; in particular, prejudice against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.
Hate: Feel intense or passionate dislike for.
Signature Significance: Signature significance posits that a single act can be so remarkable that it has predictive and analytical value, and should not be dismissed as statistically insignificant.
Evil: Profoundly immoral and wicked.
Immoral: Not conforming to accepted standards of morality.
Wicked: Evil or morally wrong.
In conclusion;
Mr. Gerard, you have the freedom to write whatever your heart desires; however, it would have been wise for you to fully understand this before your submitted your comments…
“It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.”
getting back to this election, the Madison School Board desperately needs some diversity, fact-checking and questioning of results. David Blaska will provide that. As a card-carrying Democrat since I was 18, I have voted for the Republican when they were better (a rare occurrence) or as a protest against the self-righteous Dane County liberals. But I vote for Blaska as an advocate of the children of all races who want to go to school to learn in a safe environment and as a watchdog on spending. I don’t know how to evaluate cryptic references to what acolytes say, when? where? who? Vlad is not on the ballot, but I may write-in Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy for the other unopposed school board race. Wisconsin really needs a none-of-the-above option on our ballots
Gregory,
I commend you for this public stand and I’m willing to publicly admit that my previous opinion of you being entrenched in the political left wasn’t entirely accurate. It’s exactly this kind of rational crossing over the partisan divide that gives me hope where hope has previously been very sparse.
Thank you for your efforts.
Steve
Second, on all counts!!!
The Gotch