Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A blast from the past

Earlier today I published an anonymous comment that claimed Liz Brown had been prosecuted for removing the campaign signs of another candidate during her 2004 run for the Board of Education. This was the first time I delayed posting a comment until I could do more research.

As it turns out, a simple Google search showed that the poster was correct. According to the June 9, 2004 issue of the News of Orange County, while running for her seat on the Board, Liz was tried in Orange County District Court on a charge of maliciously removing the campaign signs of Hillsborough Town Board candidate Paul Newton in the days leading up to the 2003 general election.

Although she admitted removing the campaign signs from the road in front of Grady Brown Elementary School, she said it was because the signs posed a "safety hazard" by blocking drivers' views

"Judge Buckner said Brown did not act 'maliciously or wantonly' when she removed the sign," and, thus, found her not guilty.

During my search, I came across a number of postings from about the same time relating to the Board of Education campaign and the push to merge the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County school systems that foreshadowed the situation we face today. From a June 14, 2004 posting on OrangePolitics.org:

"We need to take a real close look at all of the candidates that are running for the Orange County School Board and we would quickly find out that we have a major liar amongst them in the person of Liz Brown. Brown has now gone on record saying that she is not in favor of School merger and that is certainly the biggest lie I have heard in a long time. The records clearly show that Liz Brown is one of the foremost advocates of School merger in the entire county. Brown was very vocal at all of the public hearings on Merger and participated in many Pro merger activites.

How can we possibly vote for a woman who now claims that she is not in favor of School merger yet the truth is that her sole purpose is to dismantle the very school system that she’s running for a seat on."

I guess three years has not tempered Liz's divisive personality one little bit.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just to eliminate confusion: the other merger was the attempt to combine the Orange School District with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro District. This was a very contentious, political battle.

Anonymous said...

Did everyone see the News of Orange this week? Triebel states "It seems to me that from what we heard, there's a body of thought out there that what we've got on the table right now is not what people want." DUH, Ted- HES parents have been telling the board that all along.

It wasn't until CES bucked the idea, that it sent a light off into your shallow little heads. You all knew you would be met with resistance from the parents of HES.. but never in a million years from CES.

It is because of you that HES parents have the reputation of elitist and racists, when it is you all who have created the racial tension. It is you who did not think the CES parents had the initiative to stand up for their rights as well as the rights of their children. Now it is you all who must fix the mess you have created. Face it... you have no support from the community because you all have hidden agendas! Furthermore, you won't have community support until you can fix the crisis of education in this county.

I hope none of you wish to run for re-election, because you won't get voted back in. That's the whole reason for pushing to have something in place by the 2008 school year.

Be forewarned though- if your plans A, B, or C are not in the best interest of the county- plan to be met with much resistance again! We will not set back and watch you destroy our school system with YOUR hidden agendas.

Anonymous said...

I won't allow the News of Orange in my house. It's a worthless paper with an idiot editor. Casey is part of the problem. After he described HES as the "whitest school" he made a statement that we were wrong and an elitist school. I guess he bumped into Liz's head and somehow some of her idiocy spilled into him.

Anonymous said...

I am confused. Why would Liz target Paul Newton? He was running for Hollsborough Town Board, not the BoE. She could not even vote in that election since she lives in the county with a Chapel Hill address.

Anonymous said...

Someone wrote "I am confused"

Let me help lift the scales from your eyes a little.

a-In a public forum just before she pulled up his signs Paul Newton had openly stated his opposition to the merger she so badly wanted.

b-Paul is best buds with Al Hartkopf who was running against Liz and who, along with Kathy, Al's wife had recently crushed her merger plans, exposed her network for the elitists they are, exposed her buddy Kellie Monro Porco for her lies she put in the News of Orange, exposed her twisting the system to have her FFICS propaganda distributed through the schools, busted her all up over the ROB-Chapel Hill excapade, and the list goes on. Paul also took her buddy Libbie Hough to task on illegal campaign practices back in 2002. Back then, every time this bunch did something like the stuff they are doing now Paul called them on it.

Why did Liz go after Paul? Oldest reason in the world. Hate.

So the question back to all of you, and me too, Who is going to call them on it now?