Tea Party Targets School Board’s Gottlieb, Murray
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Broward School Board Chair Jennifer Gottlieb and member Ann Murray have challengers.from the Tea Party.
Susan Madori of Plantation has filed to run against Gottlieb. Rebecca Horner of Hollywood is running against Murray.
Gottlieb hasn’t raised money in a year because she didn’t have a challenger. She has about $23,000 in the bank and a wealthy husband — former state Rep. Ken Gottlieb, a real estate lawyer with family money who is running for judge.
Expect Gottlieb to move her fund raising into high gear fast.
Madori is a newcomer to Broward politics unless you have been attending Tea Party meetings.
The Sun-Sentinel’s Tony Man quoted Madori extensively in May:
She apparently is cool to both major parties. School Board races are non-partisan.
Speaking of the Broward School Board, she noted it opposed a 2008 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
“We know it’s a liberal board. If six of us in Broward County ran and took over those six seats, we’d take over a majority of that board,” she is quoted.
Like all the Tea Party’s local candidates I have written about, she spends much of the time talking about national and international affairs.
“Everything is in order to take our lands away, to put is in concentration camps. It’s all stealth, but it’s all there. Obama’s not the one that put it there. Prior presidents have done it as well. All he has to do is declare an emergency and it’s all there,” she is quoted in the Sun-Sentinel.
Man wrote that Madori moved to Broward in 2002. When she lived in California, she worked on behalf of presidential candidate Ross Perot’s Reform Party and then on behalf of conservative Pat Buchanan’s candidacy.
A graduate of Nova High School and Nova Southeastern University, Gottlieb was a teacher and a teachers’ union lobbyist before she was elected countywide in 2006. She is married to former state Rep. Ken Gottlieb and has two children.
Murray’s challenger Horner has a Facebook page filled with pro-Tea Party and anti-Democrat material. Murray also is facing Gary Plancher in the August 24 election.
June 3rd, 2010 at 5:44 am
Everyone likes Jennifer Gottlieb but she does us no good on the school board. She’s a captive of special interests and that’s exactly what parents don’t need in a school board member.
Children only get one chance in life to be properly educated. When that doesn’t happen they pay the price for the rest of their lives. School board members are supposed to stop that from happening. They’re supposed to move heaven and earth to make sure our kids learn. They are supposed to be relentless and demanding and ruthless if necessary to make sure our kids come out on top. None of them do that. Not one.
Instead they make excuses for lazy bureaucrats, protect the teacher’s union, developers, and anybody else. Teaching is not the priority. Parents have allowed that to happen. We saw it building up over the years yet did nothing. We have disgraced this community by allowing this to occur.
We allow the school board to make excuses for failure and mediocrity. They are lazy and unaccoutable and we let them. We allow them to not set the tone for excellence. This is a big part of why our kids are not as well off as they should.
The fish smells from the head at the school board. You don’t fix that. You replace them with people that want to do the job right. Gottlieb could have been one of those everyone wanted to see that happen. It didn’t. She needs to go because protecting our kids is more important than keeping her in office.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:02 am
Is 5:44 a.m. saying that voters should vote for a Tea Party candidate instead of Gottlieb? That’s just crazy because the views of that woman is crazy.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:14 am
It is very interesting to see that Jennifer Gottlieb’s new “opponent” Republican Susan Madori, who has NEVER VOTED in any Broward election by the way, shares the same campaign treasurer with Ann Murray’s new “opponent” Republican Rebecca Horner.
Rebecca Horner’s voting history is just slightly better, having voted in just 3 elections since 2002….none of them School Board races.
Treasurer to both “candidates” is Republican Elaine Laffey of Margate as listed on both challenging candidates filing documents at the SOE’s office.
What is the connection there?
Tea anyone?
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:16 am
Both Gottlieb and Murray don’t have any worries. They will sail right on through, Ann is well liked in her district and is doing a good job.
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:56 am
Murray also has a non tea party opponent and Gottlieb will get one also. They and all the others need to go and a clean slate needs to come in. They were part of the group that allowed all the waste and nonsense that went on to culminate in 687 teacher layoffs.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:16 am
I am saying that I’d rather have someone you think is crazy than someone I know is ineffective. That is a winning bet that I will take every time.
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:58 am
Think is crazy?!
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
@ janey 8:56 am
You are wrong about Ann Murray.
Ann Murray had not even decided to run for School Board when most of the issues you criticize were voted
on and passed by the old guard, yet you are lumping her in with them simply because she is an incumbent?
Her margin of victory less than 2 years ago was over 9,600 votes…a record victory in a School Board race. She was well liked then and is well liked today.
Are you forgetting it was Ann Murray, who shortly after her election, called for a moratorium on all school spending and was voted down by the old guard majority.
Are you forgetting it was Ann Murray who proposed the policy that no School Board member sit on the QSEC Committee and was voted down again by the old guard majority. Bob Parks & Stephanie Kraft, wanting to sit on QSEC, were rabidly against that proposal. They think they should decide both who the contractors are and then vote on the projects as board members too despite the fact it represents a clear conflict of interest.
Are you forgetting it was Ann Murray who appointed long-time School Board watchdog and activist Charlotte Greenbarg to the Audit
Committee literally hours after she was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by yet another member of the old guard majority Maureen Dinnen, who did not want her snooping around any longer.
Are you forgetting it was Ann Murray, who just recently voted against naming the Athletic Track at Coconut Creek High after Bob Parks, another member of the old guard majority, who has thankfully withdrawn his candidacy.
Have you even bothered to take the time to examine Ann Murray’s voting record before criticizing her? Have you ever spoken to Ann Murray? I suspect you probably have not.
Ann Murray is one of the leaders of the new guard and represents one of your your best chances for positive change on the School Board.
The change has already started with Ann Murray, Kevin Tynan and others…some yet to be elected.
Once that old guard majority vote that has been stifling all positive change and created the problems we hear about today is gone, things will be different.
Please do not be so Tea Party minded as to not allow Ann Murray the opportunity to continue her work to influence that much needed positive change.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
By the way, I am a democrat and by no means a tea party person. But I would rather see someone there that ensures our kids learn even when I disagree with them on social policy than someone who I agree with on policy but doesn’t ensure that our kids learn. That is the point. I am also willing to give Ann Murray the benefit of the doubt as she just got there. But I have my eyes on her also.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@5:44
As well you should have eyes on ALL of them. I know I do.
It is only fair to judge them individually on their own merits as well as their transgressions.
It’s the right thing to do.
Ann Murray’s opponent’s Facebook page bears a profile photo of a sign that says:
“2010 Evey Democrat Must Go”.
http://www.facebook.com/RebeccaOldynskiHorner?ref=search&sid=lQ8YSuR6FRXOp6HV1fXFLQ.3584538670..1
I suggest that this is a reckless and unfair method for choosing your elected officials, particularly in a non-partisan race.
There are several elected officials nationwide, of all parties, who do an excellent job.
July 13th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
I hate the choices, but I am not going to vote for someone who represents a group as insane as the Tea Party just for the sake of having someone “different” sitting in that chair even if the current person sitting in it did have a love affair with a big banker.
Different does not equal better. I just wish there was truly a better choice.