Editor’s Note: This letter was written before Patricia Belenski withdrew from the race.
Dear Editor:
As of writing to this column seven candidates have filed to run for the three seats that are available in this Secaucus Board of Education election. My plan is to allow pieces of the strategy that some candidates might employ in their campaign fall into place before exposing the political game some plan to play in the election. I will just sit back, allowing things to happen. Most assuredly, politics will raise its ugly head in the Election, it is just a matter of time.
Last year some supporters of the Ms. Patricia Belenski, one of the candidates running again last year, used one of the characters in the book ‘The Wizard of Oz’. In targeting our Superintendent of School Ms. Cynthia Randina. The character they identified her as being was “The Wicked Witch of the West” Labeling her “The Witch from Wayne,” “Liar from Wayne,” Most hurtful and uncomplimentary to say the least.
This year there are seven candidates running in the B of Ed election. I thought I would place a different spin on last years “Wizard of Oz” misrepresentation of Ms. Randina with a kind and gentle one using the character from another children’s book, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. I view Superintendent of School Ms. Cynthia Randina as Snow White and the seven candidates running in the election as the dwarfs. Let’s start at the part in the story where Snow White learns that her jealous stepmother the Queen wants her killed. She runs away, gets lost in the forest, and discovers a little cottage in the woods. Finding nobody home, and the cottage in disarray, (similar to the shape Ms. Randina found our school system in upon her arrival) she believes the cottage to be abandon. She cleans up the cottage, becomes exhausted and falls asleep. When the seven dwarfs arrive home that night they notice the change and become suspicious. They were at first afraid, “who was the monster that cleaned up our house,” the 7 collectively said. However, when the seven dwarfs get to know her they loved her.
The perception of the seven candidates in this years election of our Superintendents, has yet to surface. Will their perception be one of suspicion? Will she once again be a target? Hopefully they will get to like her. Time will tell.
Tom Troyer