Appoint Haap to board vacancy!

2009 Green Party School Board Candidate Says “Choose Haap” for Board Vacancy

(Cincinnati)—With the recent announcement that Michael Flannery has resigned from Cincinnati School Board for health reasons, 2009 Green Party candidate Jason Haap says he’s the best person for the job.

“I have spoken with Mr. Flannery in the past about school board related matters, and I found him a thoughtful and dedicated person,” said Haap.  “I wish the best for him and his family.”

The school board has recently come under fire from the Cincinnati NAACP.  “As a citizen activist, I have a record of monitoring the grandstanding behavior from the likes of Christopher Smitherman,” explained Haap.  “While he has made some good points regarding minority inclusion in construction projects, he has totally obfuscated himself with headline-grabbing gimmicks and histrionics.”

Haap describes information he received via public records as proof of Smitherman’s inappropriate behavior.  “He actually demanded CPS give immediate jobs to people like ‘Tim P.,’ whose handwritten partial name and phone number was provided to Superintendent Ronan by Smitherman,” said Haap.

“Smitherman has taken a good issue, then conflated it with what sounds like an anti-tax agenda from right-winged activists and his cronies at COAST.  What does opposing an operational levy have to do with construction contracts?”

Haap also points to a records request he filed Monday—before hearing about Mr. Flannery’s resignation—as more proof of his dedication to the district.  “African Americans aren’t the only minority underrepresented in terms of construction contracts,” said Haap.  “What are the details on women-owned businesses, for example?”

The district’s goal for women-owned businesses was only 4-9%, compared to a goal of 20-25% for minority businesses.  “If we really want to talk about social justice and economic justice, we can’t just explore one minority profile,” explained Haap.  “As a school board member, I would challenge people like Christopher Smitherman to provide more sensible information to the district instead of grandstanding, and I would seek to improve access to contracts for all disadvantaged profiles, which also include women, Hispanics, and others.”

Haap says he proved himself as an idea-driven candidate during the campaign, not beholden to special interests—and he would bring these experiences to bear in serving on the board.  He says there is still work to be done on revising the district’s harassment policy regarding sexual orientation, exploring partnerships with the Cincinnati Health Department for a sensible sex ed curriculum, and he would still be interested in pursuing other ideas from his well-received platform discussed during the campaign.