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Sunday, September 16, 2007
ROCCO RECALL FAILS
SPECIAL REPORT
An Orange Net News analysis
THE ROCCO RECALL REPORT:
ROCCO RECALL FAILS
Sources close to the Committee to Recall Steve Rocco are reporting that with just a matter of days left until the September 21th deadline, the effort to collect at least 15,000 signatures to place the recall question on the February ballot has failed.
Sources state that the organizers are disappointed in the Greater Orange Community for its failure to get behind the Rocco Recall. An analysis of the effort shows the Recall Organizers, made up of mostly close friends, neighbors and associates of the OUSD Trustees who make up the current Godley Majority failed to gather a broad community coalition to support the Rocco Recall effort. As one longtime OUSD Board watcher put it “the Recall looked like a personal thing by the Board members and Godley. Most people shrug off Rocco’s antics and don't view him as a threat”. Those sentiments also seem to reflect the non-committal attitude of the district’s teachers who for the most part in this recall effort stayed off in the sidelines. As one teacher representative to the teacher’s association Representative Council summed it up, “If Marty Jacobson [recalled former OUSD Trustee] was a lone lunatic he would never have been recalled. Rocco is one vote and doesn’t control a block of votes. Teacher’s see him as harmless in the bigger scheme of things.”
While Trustee Steve Rocco is famous for his quirky Partnership Theory and verbal clashes with other trustees that have bordered on going physical, he does have some “closet” admirers who wish he could articulate some of his views sans the conspiracy focus. His past diatribes have included (between the unrelated gibberish) stanch support for the Santiago Charter during the Revocation Attempt. He has been popularly “politically incorrect” about the standardized testing speaking out about the obvious racial divide between Asians and whites versus other minorities. He has advocated for more hands on classes at the high schools. Rocco has supported negotiated teacher and support staff wage increases while questioning automatic administration raises. He has opposed all types of wasteful spending like when former Villa Park High School Principal Ben Rich was made “co-principal” of Richland High School (since Rich quit OUSD that “co-principal” has not been replaced). He refuses to participate in non-public Closed Session for reasons of principle which have frustrated other OUSD Trustees to a point beyond reason. He has been a fierce critic of OUSD Superintendent Dr. Godley (often making personal attacks on him). Perhaps more importantly, the majority of the OUSD Trustees have not been able to control, quite, or contain him despite their best legal and procedural efforts. Now, they have failed to recall him.
The Committee has stated they have until December 5th to turn in signatures for the June 2008 Ballot and that they will continue collecting signatures until that date.
Failure to recall Steve Rocco could give him folk-hero status. What now seems like a likely November 2008 election defeat could with a second recall attempt failure turn into another odd election victory as multiple candidates go after the seat.
Worst of all for the current Board, the misstep of the poorly timed attempt and failure of two Bond Issues shows a Board that is out of touch with the realities of the Greater Orange Community, a Board consumed by the efforts of manipulating public relations, and to top it all off, has now created a Recall Proof Rocco.
SPECIAL REPORT
THE ROCCO RECALL REPORT
Is produced by Orange Net News /O/N/N/
An Orange Net News analysis
THE ROCCO RECALL REPORT:
ROCCO RECALL FAILS
Sources close to the Committee to Recall Steve Rocco are reporting that with just a matter of days left until the September 21th deadline, the effort to collect at least 15,000 signatures to place the recall question on the February ballot has failed.
Sources state that the organizers are disappointed in the Greater Orange Community for its failure to get behind the Rocco Recall. An analysis of the effort shows the Recall Organizers, made up of mostly close friends, neighbors and associates of the OUSD Trustees who make up the current Godley Majority failed to gather a broad community coalition to support the Rocco Recall effort. As one longtime OUSD Board watcher put it “the Recall looked like a personal thing by the Board members and Godley. Most people shrug off Rocco’s antics and don't view him as a threat”. Those sentiments also seem to reflect the non-committal attitude of the district’s teachers who for the most part in this recall effort stayed off in the sidelines. As one teacher representative to the teacher’s association Representative Council summed it up, “If Marty Jacobson [recalled former OUSD Trustee] was a lone lunatic he would never have been recalled. Rocco is one vote and doesn’t control a block of votes. Teacher’s see him as harmless in the bigger scheme of things.”
While Trustee Steve Rocco is famous for his quirky Partnership Theory and verbal clashes with other trustees that have bordered on going physical, he does have some “closet” admirers who wish he could articulate some of his views sans the conspiracy focus. His past diatribes have included (between the unrelated gibberish) stanch support for the Santiago Charter during the Revocation Attempt. He has been popularly “politically incorrect” about the standardized testing speaking out about the obvious racial divide between Asians and whites versus other minorities. He has advocated for more hands on classes at the high schools. Rocco has supported negotiated teacher and support staff wage increases while questioning automatic administration raises. He has opposed all types of wasteful spending like when former Villa Park High School Principal Ben Rich was made “co-principal” of Richland High School (since Rich quit OUSD that “co-principal” has not been replaced). He refuses to participate in non-public Closed Session for reasons of principle which have frustrated other OUSD Trustees to a point beyond reason. He has been a fierce critic of OUSD Superintendent Dr. Godley (often making personal attacks on him). Perhaps more importantly, the majority of the OUSD Trustees have not been able to control, quite, or contain him despite their best legal and procedural efforts. Now, they have failed to recall him.
The Committee has stated they have until December 5th to turn in signatures for the June 2008 Ballot and that they will continue collecting signatures until that date.
Failure to recall Steve Rocco could give him folk-hero status. What now seems like a likely November 2008 election defeat could with a second recall attempt failure turn into another odd election victory as multiple candidates go after the seat.
Worst of all for the current Board, the misstep of the poorly timed attempt and failure of two Bond Issues shows a Board that is out of touch with the realities of the Greater Orange Community, a Board consumed by the efforts of manipulating public relations, and to top it all off, has now created a Recall Proof Rocco.
SPECIAL REPORT
THE ROCCO RECALL REPORT
Is produced by Orange Net News /O/N/N/
