In late August the East Side community learned that controversial board member Craig Mann would resign in December after running unopposed for the district 6 County Board of Education. District leadership developed a process to solicit community input into choosing Mann’s successor, but behind the scenes a battle over financial influence and political control wages, one with deep implications for the future of the ESUHSD. Join us as we recap the events the San Jose Mercury News either chose to ignore—or directly manipulated—that has once more created appearances of conflict and brought East Side to the brink of scandal.

PROLOGUE: BUILDUP TO AN OCTOBER SURPRISE

As three incumbents on the East Side board prepared for the November 2006 campaign, Trustee Craig Mann—not up for reelection— surprised the East Side community by being the only candidate to file papers to run for the County Board of Education seat in his district. Mann’s quirky board meeting mannerisms, unabashed support of the unpopular and controversial former superintendent Esperanza Zendejas, as well as a documented history of scandal and vitriolic criticism of teachers plagued Mann’s tenure on East Side’s board. While some openly worried about an empowered Mann’s new level of political influence, majority opinion held that Mann’s departure offered the promise of a less contentious, collegial board of trustees.

Taking advantage of the moment, Team Unruly decided to run a Wooden Post against Mann as a final reminder to the public of his disastrous service to the ESUHSD. When confronted with the news that a piece of lumber was vying for his County board seat, Mann chuckled and dismissed The Unruly Advocate as a website filled with “strange content.”

In the article containing that quote, the Metro officially documented that Mann improperly used a letter of employment recommendation from former East Side board member, mayoral candidate and current city councilmember Dave Cortese as a political endorsement . This scandal, relatively minor compared to Mann’s other indiscretions, failed to faze the emboldened trustee. The prospect of a more prestigious position bolstered Mann’s confidence, a confidence used behind the scenes in forming alliances to retain influence over the East Side board, eliminate a long-time political foe, and solidify financial and political ties to the deep pockets of the Evergreen community.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #1: CRAIG MANN AND GEORGE SHIRAKAWA

Extensively documented in our summer 2006 issue, the East Side trustees, including union-supported candidate Lan Nguyen, paid a legal firm to conduct an official investigation into a public finger-poking incident between incensed trustee Patricia Martinez-Roach and Nguyen during a May board meeting after a vote on a controversial policy regarding the California High School Exit Exam. The relatively minor incident, caught on videotape, elicited a curiously sharp rebuke. Employees district-wide noted the irony of the board’s failure to address Mann’s numerous inappropriate email outbursts to teachers not to mention his abuse of district funds, all worthy of censure, while they chose to zealously seek justice over an incident equivalent to a playground scuffle.

From the moment the board voted to authorize an investigation, the appearance of coercion in targeting Roach was evident. George Shirakawa wrote a letter to board president Manuel Herrera criticizing Roach even though he did not attend the meeting when the incident took place . Mann, Shirikawa, and Nguyen collectively announced their intention to hire a specific investigative law group. Some observers noted a similarity in the trio’s public statements that gave the appearance of a rehearsed script—a potential Brown Act violation.

The investigative report concluded that Roach behaved unprofessionally but did nothing illegal. Nguyen, by that time, seemed prepared to accept the findings and move on. In spite of a law firm’s professional opinion, Shirakawa and Mann rejected the findings and moved forward with a motion to censure. While Nguyen and Herrera maintained the appearance of neutrality, Mann and Shirakawa’s backroom coercion focused on convincing their colleagues to support the censure. We can only speculate on what other quid pro quo arrangements Mann and Shirakawa offered and made.

A minor detail tells another part of the story. Mann crafted the censure resolution, blending a legal “whereas” with more familiar adjectives from Mann’s pernicious lexicon. The other trustees moved to strike one of Mann’s favorite ad hominems, “hate,” from the document he read into the official record during the public session of the September board meeting, but practiced a little intentional but technically legal malice by leaving the stricken word highlighted in blue on the pdf document.

Mann, an aspiring politico and by no means a professional writer, is prone to slips of own hubris. A moment of clarity appears to have broken through the fog of his judgment-clouding ego. His voice alone would not persuade the pubic or the two semi-neutral trustees that Roach deserved censure, no matter how much “hate” he argued spewed from her presence on the board. He needed a more persuasive, professional voice, so he called in a favor from an old friend at the Mercury News.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #2: CRAIG MANN AND JOHN FENSTERWALD

For two years San Jose Mercury News editorial writer John Fensterwald attempted to steer the course of public opinion on East Side school politics. During Zendejas’ problematic tenure, Fensterwald attributed minor successes to insignificant programs, falsely credited Zendejas for turning the district around (conventional wisdom district-wide holds it will take another five years to correct what she fouled up in a year), blatantly practiced the sin of omission by failing to acknowledge Zendejas’ frequent and erratic totalitarian rampages, and spent most of her tenure dishonestly blaming teachers for financial problems far beyond their sphere of influence. After Zendejas’ contractual buyout, Fensterwald tepidly admitted that Zendejas was perhaps too blunt and forceful. In that last editorial, he took a final swipe at “union radicals” and more or less neglected East Side politics for over a year.

The truth is Fensterwald made the Mercury News look like a junior college newspaper. His dedication to an anti-union philosophy left no room for impartiality but plenty of room for contradiction and inaccuracy. Team Unruly has always operated under the premise that it doesn’t matter how many people read our site as long as the right people do. In the Mercury’s case, some of Fensterwald’s superiors read our rebuttals and counter-claims, which appears to explain why some of the links to those bygone editorials are inactive. Someone with authority and the power of the purse told Fensterwald to get his facts straight before writing about East Side. Ridiculed and embarrassed, Fensterwald turned his quasi-conservative opining to more neutral, less contentious topics.

That is, until Mann contacted him in late September.

After reviewing the documents, Fensterwald wrote the hit piece Mann and Shirakawa wanted. Martinez-Roach was chastised for her unprofessional conduct and ridiculed for her childish finger-poking incident. Fensterwald attempted to appear neutral by ending with an appeal to voters to consider replacing the incumbents. He failed to mention that there were three seats and only two non-incumbent candidates. Since Mann was moving to a new position, Fensterwald’s call for change would have no impact on the trustee friend requesting the favor.

A week later, Fensterwald penned the Mercury’s endorsements for the East Side race. As suspected, the only incumbent he wanted out was liberal-leaning Martinez-Roach, who, as a teacher, happened to be the only East Side trustee with a California Teacher’s Association membership.

Once again, however, Fensterwald stepped into East Side politics and put his foot back into his mouth. In the endorsement he noted that trustee George Shirakawa was a lobbyist for the land developing industry and could find himself in a number of conflict of interest situations. He shrugged off that concern, noting that Shirakawa recused himself from votes tainted with a quid pro quo appearance. While Shirakawa might recuse himself from voting on a particular vendor’s contract, who convinced that particular vendor to bid on an East Side contract requires more investigative work than a lazy Merc editorialist is willing to perform.

A week later Martinez-Roach struck back with an October surprise of her own that might have caused Fensterwald to swallow the shoe.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #3: GEORGE SHIRAKAWA AND THE SEVILLE GROUP

Martinez-Roach sent detailed campaign contribution reports filed with the County Elections board to the Mercury and the Metro. The report, available to the public, detailed that current East Side trustees had no problem accepting campaign donations from vendors currently under contract with the district. Shirakawa, the celebrated recuser, benefited the most, primarily from his relationship with The Seville Group, a construction oversight firm whose contract with the district is now under scrutiny due in part to Roach’s revelation, Seville claims they provide a level of oversight for a local construction bond passed four years ago. Whatever oversight they provide would be in addition to four or five levels of oversight provided by a variety of district positions, the Chief Operations Officer, the Measure G committee and the school board trustees.

Shirakawa accepted $20,000 in donations from Seville. There is an unconfirmed rumor that he even sits on their advisory board.

Seville wasn’t the only donor with ties to the construction and land development industry contributing to Shirakawa’s war chest. Shirakawa spent about $60,000 on the campaign, and appears to have amassed an amount far larger than he needed. Not a bad take for a man who a year before claimed he might not seek reelection in 2006. Nor is the irony lost on observers who note that Shirakawa, who oft lamented about the difficulty he faced bringing industry donations into East Side—due to board member malfeasance—had no trouble raising money for his reelection.

Why are developers so interested in East San Jose’s school board politics? The desire to win favorable building contracts presents an obvious possibility. But that’s small change. There is a much larger prize, one that promises substantial profits for developers and substantial donations for politicians hungering to climb the latter of ambition to the next rung of influence.

THE BEDFELLOW PRIZE: COYOTE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

With older schools in low-income areas remaining in various states of disrepair, an upsurge in student violence at every school, and employee retention at an all-time low, it’s hard to see how the conundrum of Evergreen Valley High School continues to receive the bulk of the board’s attention. East Side’s newest high school serves students and parents living in the district’s most affluent neighborhood. From the moment ground was broken on the 52-acre campus, controversy followed. There were questions about cost overruns and budget oversight , an expensive small-school educational model that former superintendent Zendejas dismantled, substantial administrative instability leading to an exodus of qualified teachers, and an on-going community boundary war to determine who can and should attend the school.

Driven by the misguided perception that affluence equates to safety, security and academic excellence, race and class divisions underlie the attendance boundary debate. Parents in this affluent community want, as all parents do, their children to be safe. They see a new school in an upscale neighborhood as the only safe alternative in a district operating in some of San Jose’s most poverty-stricken communities. Of course, those adhering to this belief forget to mention that when Evergreen students were issued laptops, most were stolen or returned damaged

Evergreen sprawl and limited facility space has landed some parents on the other side of the EVHS boundary line, requiring their child to attend an older East Side campus like Mt. Pleasant. Rather than fighting to direct resources to the older campuses and fueled by a bourgeois sense of entitlement, the more adamant Evergreeners have made a series of demands, sometimes contradictory, to achieve one goal: isolate Evergreen from the perceived East Side rabble. One group famously attempted to spark a secession movement until it was revealed their primary concern was raising property values. Other parents chastise the district’s other schools for failing to meet the educational excellence of EVHS. The latest demand calls for the district to build a new campus south of EVHS, in the relatively undeveloped area known as Coyote Valley.

To examine the issue, East Side’s trustees commissioned a study of projected enrollment and facility usage/impact over the next ten years. The report did not support the argument calling for a new high school and noted the state would not authorize the building of a new school if other district facilities were underused. Their recommendation—reopening a contentious can of worms for the Evergreen community—was to redraw the attendance boundaries to maximize facility use. Looking to avoid controversy with an election looming, the current trustees let the issue lie unresolved.

The fact that the state will not authorize the district to build another school has not stopped candidates from making that promise to Evergreen voters, however. Craig Mann made that promise in his 2004 campaign . New East Side trustee Frank Biehl made the same promise on his campaign website . A persuasive case can be made that the promise of Coyote Valley High is the symbolic focal point of East Side’s political corruption. For trustees pondering future political ambitions, promising to deliver your wealthiest constituents’ chief desire will earn votes and substantial campaign donations. Those looking to turn a profit only need a commitment that the East Side will build Coyote Valley High School. Securing that commitment will encourage developers to move forward with housing and infrastructure development in the region. More development means greater profit, not just to those awarded a contract to build a new school. That means more work for lobbyists tied to the various branches of the land development industry.

George Shirakawa isn’t the only lobbyist who stands to profit from the building of a new high school. With more homes come more cable and high-speed internet contracts. If Team Unruly’s interpretation is correct, securing the commitment for a new high school is a prominent early step in this process. That’s why a lobbyist friend of Shirakawa’s has decided to seek Mann’s vacant board seat.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #4: GEORGE SHIRAKAWA AND EDDIE GARCIA

In spite of the Mercury News crow-eating editorial calling for East Side trustees to clean up their campaign contribution policies , and singling out George Shirakawa post-endorsement for his campaign donation indiscretions, Shirakawa sailed to an easy victory on November 7, 2006. As Fensterwald noted in the editorial, Shirakawa outspent his competition and single-handedly raised school board election politics to a strange new level of prominence. After numerous Google and newspaper archive searches, Shirakawa appears to be the only school board candidate to run a reelection television commercial, which even the Mercury News concedes is unheard of in school board races.

The television commercial did not run on broadcast networks, however. It ran on cable stations throughout San Jose. Besides satellite providers, the cable industry runs without direct competition because it provides an infrastructure service. Cable companies present bids to city councils and win approval to provide cable services for the entire city. In San Jose, that equates to nearly a million homes and potentially hundreds of thousands of customers. And because cable companies are directly tied to local governments, they employ their own “government relations” people, a fancy title for a lobbyist on the corporate payroll.

Comcast is San Jose’s cable provider. Comcast’s “Director of Government Affairs” is Eddie Garcia, a former James Lick graduate and current Evergreen resident who sits on a number of local advisory boards. For example, Eddie Garcia chairs the board of directors for the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Not surprisingly, George Shirakawa also sits on “The Plaza” board. . Eddie Garcia brought substantial corporate donations to East Side, primarily to improve academic performance at struggling James Lick High School. Comcast has a vested interest in San Jose expanding housing development to the city’s southern border in the Coyote Valley.

Once the election passed, Eddie Garcia filed the necessary application to replace Craig Mann on East Side’s board.

Team Unruly has learned that Shirakawa took trustee Lan Nguyen (confirmed) and possibly Manuel Herrera out to lunch to meet Garcia. Garcia was also given softball questions in the community interview to choose Mann’s successor. In spite of the softball questions, Garcia easily landed a spot on the short list of four possible successors.

The appearance of conflict raises innumerable questions. Did Garcia buy himself a chance at the seat through charitable contributions to the district? Did Shirakawa make backroom promises to his board colleagues, like campaign contributions if and when they choose to run for other offices, if they voted in favor of Garcia? Did Eddie Garcia give Shirakawa reduced rate—or worse, a gratis favor—on his Comcast commercial?

Prognosticators in various spheres of district influence see Garcia as the most likely candidate for the seat. The only significant roadblock to his confirmation is the outcry for equity in gender and community representation. If Garcia wins the confirmation, shaking off the appearance of conflict will be a difficult task for the new trustees. Shirakawa, however, is not the only person taking board colleagues out to lunch.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #5: BARBARA BOONE AND CRAIG MANN

In mid-October the board of trustees passed the resolution and censured Patricia Martinez-Roach . With that personal agenda item off the table, Craig Mann moved to lobby his board colleagues behind the scenes to support his replacement candidate. Team Unruly has learned Mann took the neutral colleagues out to lunch to meet Barbara Boone. Boone, a former Franklin-McKinley teacher and school administrator, is one of two African-American finalists for the position. She is listed among the “Many Friends of Craig Mann” on his website . During the interviews she openly stated that she and Mann were good friends, implying that Mann might retain influence on East Side’s board.

Boone has one disturbing unruly skeleton in her closet. She was the principal at Cupertino Middle School during the tenure of autocratic superintendent William Bragg, the first recipient of The Unruly Advocate’s Kiko Award for destructive school district management . One of the many incidents that qualified Bragg for the award was the fact that school teachers built a model of the Titanic and sent it to the district office to protest Bragg’s management, seen as the primary cause of the exodus of qualified teachers from the district. In a contentious school board race in November 2005, Bragg’s board supporters won reelection but, due to public outcry based in part on the evidence gathered on this website, Bragg tendered his resignation for the end of the school year. Boone retired when Bragg did, which raises the specter of Boone being a Bragg protégé—a disturbing prospect for a district still recovering from the morale wounds inflicted by a former tyrannical superintendent.

Some argue that Mann is trying to ensure that his board seat goes to an African-American candidate. Team Unruly believes that Mann is trying to retain influence over the East Side school board. The evidence, while circumstantial, points in that direction. Mann has a well-documented history of placing personal needs over the needs of his community. His polemic behavior has lost him the support of organizations usually friendly to democratic, African-American politicians, like the NAACP. Rick Callendar, the local chapter president for the NAACP, has had a problematic relationship with Mann since Craig served on San Jose’s Human Rights Commission . Callendar and Mann “kissed and made up” when Mann took a job as Terry Gregory’s chief of staff , but that was before Mann lost the job due to allegations of the misuse of public funds in East Side and his participation in receiving gifts when under Gregory’s employ.

Mann has managed to make race a central issue in the selection for his replacement. He sent out this email to prominent political members of San Jose’s African-American community:

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

On December 14, 2006 at 7pm the East Side Board of Trustees (less me) at the Board room located at 830 Nth. Capitol Ave (between McKee and Berryessa) will be interviewing four candidates to succeed me. I am happy to advise you that we are truly blessed that two, super, highly qualified, highly capable African-American women; Barbara Boone and Sharon Godbolt, have made it the final round. And with no disrespect to the other two finalists, the two sisters are head above shoulders the absolute best of the four and most meritorious of joining the East Side Board. Further, your should know your history as for 32 years, there as always been at least one African-American serving our students in this critical policy position. The 100 Black Men of America know that "What They See, Is What They Will Be", ergo it is mission critical that we are seen in every hall or hamlet where a difference can be made.

I implore you and yours (i.e. husbands, wives, children, big momma, etc.) to be present and accounted for on this fateful evening of decision. Trust me, it truly makes a difference if you show that you really care about this.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was famous for saying "Keep the Faith, Baby" and I want you to do just that but combine it with people power in the form of you and yours showing up to the Board meeting. If the Board room is not in a "standing room only", flowing over into the foyer status on December 14, 2006 at 7pm sharp, we will have failed our ancestors as well as the two, superb outstanding candidates.

Thanks in advance for your robust response to this call to action and please share this with your network as we pursue a very blessed outcome.

Best regards,

Craig Mann

Governing Board Member, East Side Union HSD

Governing Board Member-elect, Santa Clara County Board of Education
p.s. also please feel free to communicate your feelings directly to the Board members:

J. Manuel Herrera: jmanuelherrera@aol.com
George Shirakawa: shirakawag@esuhsd.org
Lan Nguyen: nguyenl@esuhsd.org
Frank Biehl: biehl@comcast.net

He even published a letter (this time under his own name) in the Mercury News in response to yet another Fensterwald editorial making a similar call in favor of gender equity:

East Side board needs greater diversity

I really liked how you encouraged women to apply for the open trustee position on the East Side Union High School District board (Editorial, Nov. 15). There are other demographic issues on the current, post-Nov. 7 board, too. Three of the four current board members live in Evergreen, so the East Side, which covers a little more than five city council districts, has no representation from council districts 2, 5 and 7 or unincorporated areas. There are other issues as well. I hope the board looks at the many facets of diversity, fairness and equity in making this appointment.

Craig Mann

San Jose

Given Mann’s troubled tenure in East Side, it is not only easy but also prudent to question Mann’s sincerity. If Mann took Boone out to lunch to meet his now-former East Side board colleagues, why is he casting his support behind Sharon Godbolt as well? Is Mann purely supporting Godbolt because of her gender and race? Is Mann looking to repair his relationship with African-American community leaders? And what about Godbolt’s qualifications as a candidate to replace Mann? As an education outsider, would Godbolt have any unruly skeletons in her closet?

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #6: GEORGE SHIRAKAWA AND SHARON GODBOLT

Sharon Godbolt is a young, local attorney with a long resume of public service. While articulate and knowledgeable on issues, some observers think she is merely looking to add another bullet to her political resume. Google her name with George Shirakawa’s and you find that Godbolt served on the planning commission when Shirakawa was San Jose’s vice-mayor . She also worked with Shirakawa on the Civic Plaza Redevelopment Plan .

There is no evidence to suggest Godbolt is coercing with board members or will rubber stamp bids with questionable ties to lobbyist/trustees like Shirakawa. However, in a district filled with officials who find avoiding the appearance of conflict difficult, it is hard to dismiss the connection between Shirakawa and Godbolt as mere coincidence. A member of the planning commission and a developer lobbyist cross paths many times in the course of conducting business.

Godbolt also appears to be appealing to the Evergreen community. We aren’t sure if she resides in Evergreen, but during her interview for the board post she claimed she would approach the city for funds to build the prized new high school. Cities don’t fund school construction in California; that money comes from either the state or a local bond measure. Her statement implies either naivety on school management or savvy in lobbying city councils.

If Shirakawa fails to persuade his colleagues to support Garcia, trustees will default to Godbolt not because of race, as Mann implies, but because of her numerous political connections.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS #7: MANUEL HERRERA AND DARCIE GREEN

The fourth candidate for the post, a young Latina from Alum Rock, stands out as the strongest candidate of the bunch. Dynamic, energetic, and knowledgeable, Green is the only one not representing an affluent community. As a recent James Lick graduate, she knows first hand the challenges state-designated underperforming schools face. Having worked for a government official, she has experience with bureaucratic budgets and state politics.

That’s probably why she won’t get the job.

Green works for state assemblyman Joe Coto, the former East Side superintendent who ran the district for 13 years prior to the tenures of Bob Nunez and Esperanza Zendejas. Coto had a wealth of supporters and some serious detractors, most notably Mann. Mann supported Zendejas because he wanted to purge Coto’s influence from East Side. The question of Coto’s influence over Green looms large around her. Will Green be a puppet for Coto? As a state assemblyman, Coto shouldn’t have the time to concern himself with East Side’s internal politics. The connection raises concerns for those who viewed Coto’s tenure in the district unfavorably. Since Green works in his office, the appearance of conflict, unfortunately, is there.

Manuel Herrera has been relatively neutral in this debate, but he and Coto are friends. Herrera wants to move out of school board politics and into higher office. He attempted a feeble mayoral run last year and is looking to replace Chuck Reed on the city council. Will Herrera ignore the politicking of Shirakawa and Mann to support Green? Will he simply support Green because of his Coto connection?

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS EPILOGUE

On Thursday night, the East Side trustees will set the focus of district policy for the next five years, perhaps the next decade. The final question in this litany of unknowns is not who will get the job, but what will become the board’s priority. Will the trustees recognize that placing petty politics and personal gain ahead of the entire East Side community’s needs has decimated employee morale and tarnished the district’s reputation? Will trustees continue to profit from connections to vendors providing contracted services like the Seville Group? And will the trustees make a bold choice to ensure that other school attendance areas have equitable board representation instead of selecting another representative from the district’s most affluent community?

There’s the rub. When race is taken out of the equation, Mann’s departure can be seen as trading one Evergreen community member for another. While Team Unruly agrees that Patricia Martinez-Roach lacked the depth of intellect and professional decorum we would like all our board members to possess, the fact remains she was the only person representing the concerns of the traditionally underrepresented students and families in the district. Though she often appealed to the Evergreen community where she lives in her various quixotic attempts to break into city and state political office, she taught kindergarten in Franklin-McKinley, an East Side feeder district serving one of San Jose’s most economically depressed areas. The three front-runners for Mann’s seat live—and openly represent—their Evergreen base.

The trustees need to face hard political reality. They cannot promise to build Coyote Valley High School if the state tells them no. Kowtowing to the demands of Evergreen residents and making their boundary issues the district’s top priority by forsaking the other eleven schools does not serve the East Side community at large. At some point, the trustees need to cop to past mistakes and turn their attention to restoring the public’s trust in the system. That means placing the needs of schools serving low-income families ahead of the more vocal and affluent parents in Evergreen—and the needs of students ahead of their own political ambition.

It also means that the three seemingly neutral board members need to stop building backroom alliances and making quid pro quo deals with colleagues who want their favorite candidate to win. They cannot allow their judgment to be clouded by promises of donations and fundraisers when they eventually choose to run for other offices.

The right choice is often the hard choice. It is easy for those far removed from the daily grind to believe that with Zendejas out of sight East Side’s problems are out of mind. Zendejas was a symptom, not the disease. The trustees that chose her to run the district still sit on the board. If perception defines reality, the perceived conflicts and appearance of personal ambition taking precedence over community must be addressed. That perception is the reality of East Side.

We are shocked to admit that for the first time in the history of The Unruly Advocate we find ourselves agreeing with Craig “Hotmail Bob” Mann. In making this appointment, the board must consider “the many facets of diversity, fairness and equity.” The board must also look through Mann’s rhetoric and be wary of the appearance of appointing a puppet. Race is one facet. Gender another. Poverty, however, transcends race and gender, affecting a much larger segment of East Side’s diverse community. It’s no surprise that the final four candidates were chosen more for their at-large political connections or relationships to trustees than an ability to honorably represent East Side’s families and teachers. In that regard, the appearance of conflict must be measured by the degree of conflict. Therefore, if equity in representation does become a critical factor for consideration instead of an empty nicety to appease the public, Team Unruly believes the board only has one legitimate choice: Darcie Green.

THE KIKO AWARD

So many nominees, so few awards. The November election uncovered oodles of dirt in the corrupt soil of educational management throughout the United States. There’s Curtis Johnson, the former school board president of School Board #9 in South Bronx, New York, who pleaded guilty to “grand larceny, defrauding the government, receiving bribes, receiving reward for official misconduct and official misconduct” , or the on-going problems of Capistrano Unified School District . This issue of The Advocate focuses on San Jose’s ESUHSD, and one Kiko-worthy East Side player, long the subject of our ire but never a Kiko winner, must take the prize.

The winner is not a member of The East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees, but he often acts like he is in trying to sway public opinion against teachers and in favor of his own semi-conservative, anti-union brand of Libertarianism.

John Fensterwald was the catalyst that started this webzine. While Zendejas was in charge Fensterwald was more than willing to play puppet, penning invectives without much concern for the aspects of his job other journalists adhere to with pride and integrity. You know, stuff like facts, truth, and accuracy. That’s when we started to strike back hard with articles and opinions of our own. .

Fensterwald does not need to be impartial. He is an editorial writer who opines for a living. We recognize that. There is a big difference, however, between offering an opinion and doing the bidding of a politician, especially someone with as sordid a career in local politics as Craig Mann. A local newspaper’s reputation hinges on the perceptions of its readership. When readers sense their newspaper lacks impartiality, any article they print comes into question. At the end of the Zendejas debacle, we warned Fensterwald about the role he played as her “information minister” in decimating district morale. . By that time, even 16 year old students were wondering how the Mercury News could be so wrong. And, as we mentioned in this issue, Fensterwald appears to have been on thin ice with his employers. Team Unruly learned from a long-time Advocate reader who had past dealings with Fensterwald that he was rattled by the “teacher radicals” blaming him for merely writing the opinions of the “Mercury News Editorial Board”. Somewhere along the way Fensterwald learned or was ordered to keep his mouth shut.

Fensterwald did himself no favors when East Side’s biggest clown called to have him join the censure Roach circus. By breaking his silence, he opened old wounds and once again confirmed for observant skeptics that the Mercury News editorial board is happy to play barker in the most corrupt educational show in Santa Clara County, if not the Bay Area. His willingness to grant Mann’s request brings to mind one important question: if the Mercury News is willing to grant favors to a political plebeian, the lowest elected harlequin in the clown car of public service, what are they willing to do for politicians with greater clout? How many times has the Mercury granted favors to the RNC or turned a blind eye to a city hall garbage contract?

Whereas John Fensterwald repeatedly abuses the power of his position by publishing editorials to target other people’s political enemies. Whereas Fensterwald, by abusing said power, calls into question the journalistic integrity of San Jose’s only local daily newspaper. Whereas Fensterwald appears to enjoy the taste of shoe leather because his sloppy attention to detail almost always forces him to put his foot in his mouth, shown this past November by giving Shirakawa an endorsement before looking further into the . Therefore, the editorial board of The Unruly Advocate presents Mercury News editorial writer John Fensterwald our most coveted award for being a far more compliant puppet to East Side’s elected officials than Kiko ever was.