Candidate for EMSB Chairman Anne Lagace Dowson Denounces Outgoing EMSB
Chairman Angela Mancinis sand box politics
Montreal - October 20, 2014 Outgoing Chairman Angela Mancini prefers personal attacks on her opponents rather than defending her record of governance, which is a dismal failure. Her anti-democratic management of Council of Comissioners meetings is the root of the newest petty attack on incumbent Commissioner Julien Feldman. What Mancini doesn't mention is that a majority of Commissioners passed a motion of censure against her and her lieutenant Sylvia Lo Bianco, calling on them to apologize (for excluding a sitting Commissioner from voting), or resign. Mancini and Lo Bianco did neither. Their lack of respect for critics, both at the level of commissioners and among parents, has led to divisiveness that does a great disservice to the EMSB. Julien Feldman began his mandate on Council in 2007 by fending off attacks from Mancini and her allies, who contested the legitimacy of his election. Attempts to unseat Feldman eventually led to a court decision in his favour which cost the EMSB and taxpayers thousands of dollars in legal fees. These unnecessary costs were incurred because of the intransigence of Mme Mancini and her allies on the Council of School Board Commissioners, most notably Sylvia Lo Bianco. Mancini also fails to mention these bogus ethics complaints were made mainly by members of her group and allies. The ethics commissioner exonerated Feldman on almost all of them.
None of the complaints actually deal with ethics in a substantive way, in particular, conflicts of interest, nepotism or abuse of power by a member of the school board, all of which have been problems in the board in recent years. Anne Lagace Dowson is proud to have Feldman as a candidate on her team. Feldman has tried to bring openness and transparency to the EMSB. TeamLagaceDowson candidates include a procurement officer for a Crown Corporation, a sitting city councillor, journalists, a parent Commissioner, and several respected veteran Commissioners. Says Anne Lagace Dowson >Outgoing Chairman Mancini should stop wasting time with this kind of sand box politics. Members of our team are all eminently qualified to sit on the Council of School Board Commissioners at the EMSB, and will do a great job when they win. We need rational policy discussions and fair minded leadership at the EMSB to build a successful future for this critical english community institution. Voters deserve to hear about plans for the future rather than rehash the squabbles of the past.> Mancini also used her power over the EMSBs legal services to block Feldmans right to defend himself against frivolous ethics complaints. After Feldman was granted a court order against Mancini in Superior Court, the chairman appealed and lost in Quebec Court of Appeal. Almost seven years later, the matter is now still before the courts.
Further Background: The nonsense ethics complaints of Mancini and her team include: Mancini associate on Council, Commissioner James Kromida, (running) filed an ethics complaint after Feldman invited a Gazette journalist, Henry Aubin, to attend a regular meeting of the Finance and Legislation Committee. Aubin was kicked out of the building.
Kromida filed an ethics complaint against Feldman after Aubin wrote an article criticizing the board, entitled School Board Secrecy cuts it off from the Public. (Feb. 2008)
Kromida filed an ethics complaint against Feldman when the Gazette wrote a favourable article about Feldman.
Kromida filed a complaint after Feldman wrote a Gazette editorial entitled Some Kindergarten lessons apply to EMSB: School board commissioners should learn to share and play well with others. (Nov. 2009)
Kromida falsely accused Feldman of being absent at a meeting and filed a complaint after Feldman called him empty-headed.
Feldman led an investigation into the sale of the 1.8-million dollar sale of the EMSB art collection. He was rewarded with yet another ethics complaint. Feldman was reprimanded for being unable to prove that public documents in his possession were public. The decision to suspend Feldman for one month was issued one hour before a judge with the Access to Information Commission declared the documents public.
Chairman Mancini filed a complaint concerning Feldmans successful effort to force the school board to accept a bilingual programme at Sinclair Laird School, in inner-city Park Extension.
Mancini associate on Council Commissioner Bernard Praw (Not running) filed an ethics complaint over Feldmans quoting of Judge Pierre-Charles Gagnon who condemned EMSB commissioners for abuse of power in the St. Patricks School closure fiasco.
Praw also filed a complaint when Feldman exposed Praws role in the attempt to overturn a council vote to examine the legality of secret meetings.
Team Lagac Dowson http://www.teamlagacedowson.org/