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Title : Seattle City Council Race District 3 - A Firm No on Zachary DeWolfe
link : Seattle City Council Race District 3 - A Firm No on Zachary DeWolfe
Seattle City Council Race District 3 - A Firm No on Zachary DeWolfe
I don't normally jump into City Council races except on issues of public education. But when a sitting Board director decides to jump ship for a City Council position, it'sa good idea for voters to consider a candidate's current performance as an elected official. Which brings me to Zachary DeWolfe.As some may know, Director DeWolfe was not my first choice when he was ran for school board. I had met with him - twice - to see what he knew and learn his reasons for running. I had come away seeing that, while he has a good heart and is he is an eager learner, I believed he would be in way over his head on the Board. But, as it turned out, he cleared the primary along with another candidate who was a charter school supporter and I threw my support to DeWolfe. Repeatedly, on this blog and in social media.
He did end up winning. Butsadly, he has been a disappointment for a couple of simple reasons and this is why I urge voters in District 3 to vote for other candidates in the race.
1) Meeting attendance. From my vantage point of someone who has attended Board meetings, committee meetings and Work Sessions for more than a decade, he seems to have missed more of those meetings than most directors. The Board meetings are where the legislative work is done - the voting as well as listening to constituents. The committee meetings and Work Sessions are where the sausage gets made and policies hashed out. Reading minutes is not the same as being there. He not only missed meetings; he also left some meetings early.
Most damning of all, when the K-12 Science adoption was introduced, he missed the Board meeting. He explained at the next Board meeting why he had missed two Board meetings (he missed another previous Board meeting as well), saying his grandmother was gravely ill and he had gone to be with her.
That is absolutely understandable and the right thing to do.
Except at the Board meeting for the Science adoption introduction, he WAS back in town. Did he come to the meeting that he was duty-bound to be at? He did not. Instead, he went to a campaign event at the Labor Council.
Completely the wrong thing to do if you truly care about doing your current elected job well.
2) Constituents. By my count he has had only two constituent meetings in two years. Every other director, on this board and past boards, had at least one a month. Visiting schools is not the same. Going to school events or PTA meetings is not the same. The ability for those in his district, as well as all the other parents in the district, to come to him, in an open forum with no agenda and express concerns is vital. And yet, he just couldn't be bothered.
He touts making one Work Session "off-site" like that's a big deal. It isn't because the public cannot interact - at all - with directors during a Work Session. I was there and there was not a crowd.
3) Responsibilities as a Director. The recent K-12 Science adoption was a good example of seeing how Director DeWolfe thinks. He, along with his mentor, Jill Geary, both spoke passionately about teachers and "trusting them." Honoring the work of those who are on the front lines is important as well as having the compassion and understanding about dealing with the very real lives of children.
However, the real duty of a Board director is to create policies, enforce policies and watch the costs to taxpayers. At the Board meeting when the Science adoption took place, DeWolfe seemed to choose to completely ignore the work that Director Eden Mack, Director Rick Burke and Director Scott Pinkham had done to illuminate these costs. That was deeply troubling.
All of these issues are the exact same ones he would face on the City Council. If he's not able to sufficiently carry out the duties of a Board director that he currently has, then the 10x larger job of City Council will completely elude him.
What he is good at is managing to talk on any district subject and then somehow bringing the discussion around to himself and his life experiences.
What he is good at is making sure to be at any district photo opp.
Again, he's a decent person but he's also an opportunist who appears to be willing to forego responsibility that he asked for. He has not explained to parents/students/teachers/staff why he is taking this step and frankly, he does owe an explanation. (Interestingly, Jill Geary never explained why she took the step of trying to get an newly-opened seat in the Legislature.)
If you live in District 3 or have friends/family/co-workers, urge them to consider the other choices. I went to one forum and frankly, I thought all the women in the race - Ami Nguyen, Pat Murakami and Kshama Sawant - were the best candidates in comparison to the men in the race.
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