Plans Run For Third Term On Natomas School Board
Candidate Lisa Kaplan this afternoon announced she has withdrawn her bid for the City Council, District 1 seat.
Kaplan, currently serving her second term on the Natomas Unified School District board of trustees, instead plans to seek a third term on the school board.
“I first ran for school board because I knew I could make a difference and had a passion for changing the lives of the children of Natomas for the better,” said Kaplan in a press release. “My passion is for the children of Natomas and I want the opportunity to continue to make a positive difference in their lives.”
Kaplan’s decision to withdraw her candidacy was preceded by John Dahilig, a former candidate for District 1, who also bowed out of the highly anticipated race to represent the Natomas region at City Hall.
That leaves challenger Angelique Ashby, president of the Creekside Neighborhood Association, and incumbent Ray Tretheway on the ticket for the 2010 race. Kaplan said she is not endorsing either candidate at this time.
“Lisa has shown her commitment to improve the quality of education for Natomas children,” said Councilmember Tretheway of the announcement. “I look forward to continuing to work with her in making Natomas the best community in Sacramento.”
About her plans to seek a third term on the school board, Kaplan added, “I cannot knowingly vacate my school board seat without setting the District right financially as we weather this economic downturn.”
Lisa had the best ideas and the best set of experiences to truly represent ALL of the 1st District at the City Council. Her presence in this race will be missed but her commitment to NUSD is tremendous and appreciated. As a Natomas Park Resident I can only hope that Ms. Ashby will expand her circle of support, broaden her perspective, promote truly inclusive policies by preventing NIMBYism, thereby allowing an honest and needed election for this seat.
Wise move.
She’s got a job to do at the district. The fiscal situation at NUSD is an unmitigated disaster and I hope the school board has learned some lessons from past mistakes that will help them get the district onto a solid financial footing.
Some of the terrible decisions NUSD has made in recent years resemble those made by our city council: talking about safety as a priority while at the same time cutting funding for it, wasting millions of dollars on land at inflated prices that doesn’t get developed, felony convictions against high ranking administrators who steal or profit illegally by their egregious conflicts of interest, ousting of officials who were at best clueless about the malfeasance or at worst complicit in their activities, and wild out-of-control spending when the economy was good without the fiscal discipline to save and invest wisely for the inevitable rainy day.
Natomas Park Resident wrote: “. . . I can only hope that Ms. Ashby will expand her circle of support, broaden her perspective, promote truly inclusive policies by preventing NIMBYism. . .”
Angelique Ashby’s “circle of support” gets stronger each week as the campaign advances. She has hundreds of endorsements from the community and a number of impressive organizations who are emphatic supporters of her campaign.
Rather than making vague critical remarks, perhaps you could be specific with your concerns. Then a productive dialogue can be had, rather than a drive-by critique devoid of any substance.
Natomas Park Resident sounds quite a bit like someone who worked on Kaplan’s campaign and has been a NP resident for a short time. Having lived here for nearlyt eight years (witnessing firsthand the erosion of our community…you can call me NIMBY if you want to) AND having worked with Ashby, she is hand’s down the best candidate to represent District 1 on the council.
Trixie
To say “Angelique is the best candidate” is to say that Angelique is “better than the incumbent.” This is true. In fact, it is an understatement.
We are very fortunate that she has decided to run for the seat. So often our choices in an election involve choosing between two less-than-ideal options. Jerry Garcia once said, “constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” Thankfully, that is not the case here — our choice is clear.
We have seen the incumbent’s work for over eight years. We have witnessed the mistakes in land use, public policy, misplaced priorities, stubbornness, ineffectiveness, and in general, absence of leadership.
In the last few of years, community leaders have risen in an effort to right the wrongs and make a difference in Natomas. Angelique Ashby is one of those people, but she is special because she has the ability and talent to lead the leaders. That’s why nearly all of the community leaders are behind her in her campaign to represent District One.
The incumbent has done a few things right, but his best isn’t good enough and we need a strong, articulate, engaged leader who will diligently represent the best interests of the district and the city. Angelique is that person and I am looking forward to giving her that much-deserved promotion in June.
Kudos to Kaplan for staying In the Thick of Things where she is most needed. A brave and honorable decision. And knowing Angelique Ashby as well as I do, I can assure ALL of the residents of District One that between now and the election in June, she will be indefatigible in her efforts to “expand her circle of support”, and she is always interested in looking at ALL sides of any given issue. I have no idea where “NP Resident” is coming from when using the NIMBY term in reference to Angelique. It is simply non- applicable, as far as I know.
Angelique is happy to schedule a neighborhood Meet and Greet so that ANYone in District One can get to know her better. It’s a great opportunity to learn about what she stands for and why she is so passionate about keeping families in the Natomas and downtown areas AND about keeping them SAFE. The Community Involvement button on her website offers a comprehensive view of what she has done for the Communty this far….it’s very impressive!
In my humble opinion, speaking as someone who has lived and worked in Natomas since 2001, time spent getting to know Angelique better is a very positive investment for the future of our community.