OpEd: Crawford Accuses Stewart of lack of Leadership, regarding Ferlazzo School

Opinion Piece: written by Chris Crawford, Republican Primary Candidate for Chairman of the Board of County Supervisors.  

Another Outrageous Display of Poor Leadership by Mr. Stewart

Last night I was reminded why I am running to replace Corey as Chairman of the Board of County Supervisors. At their weekly BOCS meeting Tuesday night, a hot topic during Citizen’s Time was the decision by the school board to designate the Ferlazzo Elementary school as a new building for the Porter School and not a "community school" as originally planned. Parents and concerned citizens from the mid-county area, waited patiently until shortly after 10 p.m. to voice their extreme displeasure over this decision. Many spoke passionately about promises that were made and demanded they be kept. The school site was proffered as a new elementary school and by changing the designation, the new plan limits the impact it will have on overcrowding in the surrounding schools. As bad as this decision is, it was the chairman’s response to these citizens that I found unacceptable. After everyone spoke, Corey Stewart's only comment (coming at the 3:12:36 mark) was "We just want to make sure that you all understand, this is primarily a decision to be made by the School Board, not this board." In other words, “Sorry, not my fault and not my job.” ​The silence was deafening. Friends, this is exactly the problem with Mr. Stewart's leadership. The people there last night were not concerned with placing blame; they were looking for someone to take up the fight for them and to represent them on this issue. The Chairman, who is supposed to represent all people of the county, seemed more interested in "passing the buck" than solving problem. The people of the county deserve better leadership and I will provide that leadership. While Mr. Stewart is correct, that was a school board decision, but what he fails to understand is that leadership is about much more than what you directly control, it's about influencing the things outside of your control. The people wanted that board to stand for them, and the Chairman told them it wasn’t his job. Every person in this county, not just our mid-county neighbors who are directly affected by this, should be outraged at this because if Corey will not stand up for the people on this issue, will he stand up for us when we need him? Crawford will be challenging incumbent Corey Stewart in the "Firehouse Primaries" scheduled for Saturday, April 25, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.  This article is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Bristow Beat, its staff or sponsors.