Pearson's Priorities

I'm helping a candidate in the Hanks area, Cruz Ochoa, try to get elected as the trustee in the area so in full disclosure, I'm totally biased in this one.

He's running against Trustee Paul Pearson who has wasted a lot of tax payer money on dumb stuff like paying lawyers to fight efforts to make the school boards more transparent about their finances and paying for frivolous law suits to prevent some retired teachers from getting pay that was owed them.

But as much as that stuff bothers me from a policy stand point, I'm most annoyed at something that is a pretty stupid self-inflicted wound.

Its Pearson's misplaced priorities. The guy seems more preoccupied with Eastwood than he does his own area. But if the guy wants to represent Hanks and coach at Eastwood and his constituents don't have a problem with it, so be it.

But here's what I do have a problem with - taking off early in a school board meeting so that he can go see Phantom of the Opera.

I'm not making that up. The guy is in a run-off race and thinks its a good idea to leave a meeting EXTREMELY early so that he can go catch a show.

Don't believe me?

Okay, well here's a selfie he posted on his own Facebook page. Take note of the date and time.

Another example of an elected official and a self-inflicted political wound.

But more importantly, its an example of misplaced priorities.

There was a budget vote on the agenda, which he stayed long enough for, but the message he is sending the Hanks community is that whatever else was discussed was apparently not as important to him as catching a play downtown.