Well that totally isn't biased. You would entrust the person without a college degree with our kids education, but you bash the most qualified person there? Really?

Robert:
Bloggers that blog anonymously have no credibility whatsoever. However, that being said, you bring up some valid points.

The electorate does not select the candidates. Individuals volunteer to run for office for their own personal reasons. No candidate meets all the criteria listed in my prior blog. We have to scrutinize the candidates that run, evaluate them based on those ideal qualifications, and hopefully elect the best ones.

I agree with you on one point. I would also prefer that Ms. Morell had a college degree and substantially more professional business experience, i.e. no argument there. That is why I noted in her educational profile: “No formal advanced education”. I could have chosen to omit this fact, but I believed it to be relevant. And I agree that Ms. Morell is not “polished”; she lacks public speaking skills and an aura that a business professional might carry. She is a simply and admirably a local housewife who desires to make the community a better place. However, who of the current BOE members is “polished”, certainly not John Bang!

If we were to base it strictly on credentials, John Bang wins hands down. But Holly Morell brings one thing to the table that John lacks totally, SINCERITY! Voters will have to decide who comes off as the better choice from the facts presented. These facts match Ms. Morell’s shortcomings versus John Bang’s ABYSMAL PERFORMANCE over the PAST FOUR YEARS!

I rest my case.

Howard, I have never had a real high opinion of you. What do these people have in common? Michael Dell, Henry Ford,Bill Gates,Andrew Jackson,John d Rockerfeller,Sheldon Adelson,J Paul Getty, Bobby Fischer,Charles Dickens,Winston Churchill,Andrew Carnegie, Richard Branson, Ray Bradbury, and many others.
Any one of them would have been wonderful on the School Board. And none of them have a college degree you elitist windbag.

While education is important to anyone, it doesn’t completely make a person. Education comes in many forms. Just because a person has a college degree, does not make them smart or guarantee them a successful career. There are many kinds of life experiences that teach us more than any college education. As stated by others there are many successful people who did not attend college or who dropped out of college. Just to add a few to the list above, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steven Spielberg. Drive and persistence are just as important to being successful as a formal education. Who are we to say to that Ms. Morell can’t do it or is not qualified because she lacks “Formal Education”? You can achieve success in anything you desire as long as you stick to the goals and are dedicated. Holly Morell over the past 13 years in the Fort Lee School District has shown her drive and dedication, to our schools and its children. Over the past years, our School Board has struggled. Maybe it is time for a change. Maybe we need someone with heart, compassion, and common sense, which is not something can be taught in school.

H-
Everyone seems to be worried about a formal education, we have a board full of highly educated people....and it stagnates, sometimes lacks common sense, lacks knowledge about educational process, pedological needs, and positions of argument seem more about personal/cultural vendettas than about what is best for our community. Maybe one or two less attorneys/profesionals would be good and no politicians!

A question for you---why is a spouse an important candidate qualification? Will he be on the BOE making decisions?

I am looking for the candidate that will not allow themselves be persuaded by special interests groups and maintain the highest level of privacy for our children and employees ( I have yet to be assured of this). I would like one who understands that they are not to be involved in the day to day management of schools, refrain from undermining the chain of command, use the chain of command, trust the experts they have in place (trusting doesn't mean blindly trust) and understand that they are gaurdians of the bridge from community to the school district and vice versa. Not less than that and not more than that.

So I hope he community thinks very hard about the choices, because what is promised out here, in many instances, can never be on the other side of the table due to law, regulations, process, policy and need.

Thomas Bennett, aka Republican candidate and November loser in the Fort Lee Borough Council elections. Mr. Bennett strives for recognition, but strikes out for lack of anything intelligent to say; whose brilliant campaign strategy is to eliminate candidate signs because “I am not a big believer of decorating the landscape with graffiti”.
If you were capable of reading and comprehending, Mr. Bennett, my blog supported Ms. Morell’s candidacy against another candidate with several college degrees.

Stating that a college education is preferable is not elitist, except to a misfit like you. Most families aspire to have their children attend college. And yes, some of our most brilliant minds did not attend college or dropped out before graduation. So, based on your comments, I assume that you are going to speak at the Fort Lee HS commencement ceremony and tell all the students that “college is not necessary” and that “I, Thomas A. Bennett guarantee success, a la Bill Gates, if you do not attend college”.

As for you “never having a very high opinion of me”, I personally consider that a compliment considering the total lack of respect that you command in our community.

I dislike responding to blowhards but, I do want to clear up some facts. Democrats outnumber Republicans in Fort Lee by a margin of 3-1. WE have not had an elected Republican in Fort Lee for 17 years so, I am aware of the odds. If I strived for recognition, I would write a blog and kiss everyone's butt but, we have you for that.
Signs are a personal decision. If you attended the Homeowner's debate, you would know more. I had graduates working for me who couldn't find a job with that degree. Now, my point, attending college don't make you a better Board Member than someone who didn't. I was on the Board of Education with some housewives and they did a terrific job as did some college grads. Elitists like you who demand a college degree for almost everything makes you an elitist. Next time you call a plumber make sure he has a degree.

The fact that someone like Tom Bennet can run for office
demonstrates that this a great country. I am just concerned that if he gets elected ( fat chance) the Martians will start to invade.

This is my final statement on this subject. I do no respond to annonymous bloggers who refuse to Identify themself. Their comments I give no credence to. After all someone using a man's name might in fact be a teenage girl and vice-versa. So, if you are a man or women, prove it.

So Mr. Bennett let me get this straight are you in some way comparing Holly Morrell to Bill Gates, Henry Ford,
Andrew Jackson etc? Yes those are just the people I am thinking about when I think of Holly. And when I think of Ronald Regan I am thinking about you.

No wonder more people don't want to run for BOE or other elected office in Fort Lee. When they do they are dissected and denigrated by random people on Patch or other forums, or are condescended to by people who claim to be supporting them. Any caring and competent adult, particularly those with kids in the school system, should have a right to offer their time and energy to the BOE, the PTA or any other entity without the fear that people who don't know him or her well will characterize them unfairly on Patch or somewhere else. Unfair characterizations include statements like "unpolished" or "simply a housewife". These are sexist comments to boot. Who would want to expose themselves to all that? I give anyone who would lots of credit.

Wow, How did this discussion go off on such a tangent? It started with Howard giving his opinion on the qualities and qualifications of those running for BOE. It turned into an excursion into the twilight zone. While you might not agree with Howard's opinion, I think we can all agree with his right to have and express it. If you feel that his opinions are valid or not then weigh that together with all the other information you can and vote for who YOU feel will do the best job of representing you. Howard may be abraisive at times but he lets you know where he stands on many issues. And he certainly encourages vocal disagreement. But so can Billy, Tom, Robert, and others, perhaps even myself, who contribute to the discussion.
This is America. Let's not belittle people just because they run for office. Some may not have the qualifications you think they should have but please allow all of us to make the final decision by using our right to vote. I have sat on many Board of Directors both where I live and where I work. I can remember fellow members talking about discouraging or even trying to prevent people from running. I always would not stand for it. Our democracy is only as strong as our commitment to it's principles. And one of them is the principle that anyone, regardless of their qualifications or lack of, has the right to run for office. And I strongly believe that those choosing to run should not be belittled for their beliefs. Hopefully many agree with me.