Carroll Commencement
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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > November > 09
Monday, November 9, 2009
Editorial: Literary peace prize good for Dayton, the cause
Ever since the Dayton peace talks of 1995, civic-minded and outward-looking Daytonians have struggled to sustain the connection between the word “Dayton” and the word “peace.”
That connection was in much of the world in the decade after the talks. Those talks ended the Bosnian war and brought a troubled peace to the Balkans.
The Daytonians have not approached the task through gimmickry and marketing. Instead, they have looked for ways to make a continuing contribution peace.
They understand that the presence of the talks here was something that just happened to Dayton. Why not actually do something to merit and continue the local connection to the word?
They have put together impressive international conferences where experts and influential people have confronted the continuing problems of the Balkans. They have awarded a peace prize to political and philanthropic figures. They have fostered people-to-people connections between Daytonians and Bosnians and others in the Balkans.
Sustaining these efforts has not been easy. But one project that clearly has legs, that bids to become an ongoing institution, is the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
Over the weekend, the fourth annual prizes were awarded. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn. Readers of this newspaper are familiar with the kind of selfless work they do that won the judges’ attention.
The award for a 2008 non-fiction book went to E. Benjamin Skinner, for “A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery.” It’s an eye-opening piece of journalism that sent the now 33-year-old author to the hellholes of the world. The fiction prize for a 2008 work went to Richard Bausch for “Peace,” a book about war. This story of three Americans in World War II explores the relationships of mortal enemies in prolonged horror.
Also present for a series of events over the weekend were past winners, including Taylor Branch, last year’s winner of the lifetime award for his trilogy about Martin Luther King Jr. He presented this year’s lifetime award. (His current book, “The Clinton Tapes,” is his report on years of private conversations, meant for the historical record, with President Bill Clinton.)
Like many of the winning authors during these last few years, Mr. Branch has clearly connected to Dayton. He talked publicly about his mother’s presence last year and how she had wanted to come back this year.
Mr. Skinner said the award has been a “game changer” for his book (if not necessarily for the cause of abolishing slavery, which is germinating, at best). He meant the prize had won him the kind of attention a book needs to make an impact.
When making his acceptance speech on the stage of the Schuster Center for the Performing Arts, Mr. Skinner put his phone behind him, turning on its speaker, so that his elderly parents at home could hear the event.
Novelist Bausch spoke movingly about the role of the written word in pursuit of peace and movingly about the event, saying he, too, would be back to Dayton.
More than one speaker jokingly referred to the assembled audience as “radicals” for their pursuit of such an unlikely goal as world peace. But there was little of political bias about the event. It was, indeed, an effort to recognize those who rise above combat with fellow Americans to find what they can do that really matters.
The effort — led by volunteers Sharon Rab, Mark Meister and Doris Ponitz, among so many others — graces Dayton.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Dayton Peace Accords and Other Peace Initiatives, Editorials, Martin Gottlieb
Paul Leonard: 3 obstacles Rhine McLin couldn’t overcome
This commentary is written by Paul R. Leonard, a former mayor of Dayton who teaches in the political science department at the University of Dayton.
Rhine McLin now knows what it feels like to be blind-sided by a 260-pound linebacker in football.
She couldn’t have seen her mayoral re-election defeat coming. No one did. After all, she had the name recognition and the political pedigree; she was the incumbent with plenty of money. Her opponent was a political novice, not well-funded, with few endorsements and no government experience.
So much for conventional wisdom in politics.
But if we take a closer look, there were signs of trouble for McLin on the campaign trail. From the outset, she was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”
She was mayor when NCR left town. It makes little difference that the mayor could have done nothing to keep NCR. She’s the face and voice of Dayton.
The mayor’s job is called the “hot seat” for a reason. When voters look for someone to blame, the mayor is an easy target. At least she’s in Dayton. The CEO of NCR lives in New York.
If 25 years ago someone would have asked me what would happen to the mayor of Dayton when and if NCR decided to put the town in its rear-view mirror, I would have said, “That person’s political career is over.” NCR was not just another Dayton business leaving town. It was part of our soul. That loss would have been hard for any elected official to survive.
Then, there’s the mayor’s friend, former City Manager Rashad Young. Why in the world he gave himself and other Dayton managerial employees a raise just before he left town is hard to figure.
Even if the raises were deserved, the timing stunk. Obviously they don’t teach political sensitivity in city manager’s school. Or, if they do, Young was absent that day.
That decision, at a time when many Daytonians are out-of-work and without an income, was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. If the mayor knew about it and gave him the go-ahead, shame on her. If she didn’t know about it and Young did it as his going-away gift to Dayton, shame on him.
Mayors need to know that the city manager form of government is not necessarily a friend. Managers are immune from direct accountability to the electorate. The mayor isn’t.
Finally, the decision of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, a group of Dayton African-American ministers, chose not to endorse McLin. That was hard to understand.
Some of their members cited her support for municipal legislation preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians. It’s as if they were saying: We’ve got our protection now, so no one else should be entitled.
There’s a disconnect in their logic.
Anyway, the ministers once were part of her base. Their decision gave license to McLin’s base-voters to stay home. In an election where turning around about 450 votes would have made a difference, the IMA’s silence was deafening.
McLin should hold her head high. She gave eight good years to the City of Dayton. She walked the neighborhoods, talked to average Daytonians, and felt the honor of growing up and becoming mayor of her home town. The McLin family has been in public service in the Dayton community for more than 40 years.
That’s something to be proud of.
On the other end of town, Gary Leitzell had better fasten his seat belt. He doesn’t have a clue how rough it’s going to get.
Finally, for Rhine McLin, a little unsolicited advice: There’s life after elective service. Lots of it.
Paul R. Leonard is a former mayor of Dayton and teaches in the political science department at the University of Dayton. Also a former lieutenant governor and state representative, he was defeated in the 1992 Democratic primary for Montgomery County prosecutor.
Permalink | Comments (97) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Elections, Guest Columns, Miami Valley Politics
Editorial: Incumbents struggled; levies didn’t
Tuesday’s election generally went well for schools, but not for every incumbent school board member.
The majority of the school levies on the ballot passed, including some that supporters were worried about.
Xenia passed a slimmed down bond issue to build new schools after two failed tries, while a bond issue for a new school in Cedar Cliff passed on the first try. Financially embattled Jefferson Twp. schools renewed a hefty 9.5-mill levy. In Beavercreek, where no levy is a guarantee, a renewal for permanent improvements passed easily. A notable exception is Trotwood, where a 7.5-mill levy for operations was soundly defeated.
So were voters just happy with their schools? If they were, a handful of incumbents learned the people could still demonstrate their displeasure with policies they don’t like.
Exhibit A is Springboro schools. The district has been squeezed for years by a peculiar set of circumstances. Its growth and wealth work against it in the formula that decides how much state aid it receives. The pressure really ratcheted up last school year as state auditors recommended aggressive cost-cutting, which included closing an elementary school (despite steadily increasing enrollment).
The school board has long taken much criticism for what some feel is overspending, even after making lots of tough cuts.
Among those hard cuts last year was the elimination of bus service for students within two miles of a school, which saved $371,000. The new rule, however, caused traffic bottlenecks and put a lot of kids on the streets.
Kelly Kohls and Scott Anderson ran for school board citing busing as a primary complaint. They were the top vote-getters.
School board member Don Miller survived, while board President Ira Thomsen was ousted. All this, despite the board’s decision to restore busing just before the election. To voters, apparently, that move came too late.
In other districts, teacher support was a big key. Some Kettering teachers were angry when school board member Frank Maus voted last spring against a contract that called for a 1.5 percent raise for teachers. It was approved 3-2.
The two incumbents who voted for the contract — Julie Gilmore and George Bayless — were re-elected, while Mr. Maus narrowly lost to challenger James Brown.
Oftentimes teachers know a lot about how a school board is operating, but they also are an interest group. Their interests don’t necessarily always line up with what administrators or taxpayers think is right.
Even where there is no apparent anger, teacher support — or lack of it — appeared to make a difference. Beavercreek’s teachers’ union passed over incumbent Joyce Carter’s election bid, but did so nicely. The union’s press release announced teachers were backing Peg Arnold, Rob Dotson and Kim Grant, including an unusual statement of “appreciation for the service of Joyce Carter, who admirably served the district in her appointed role on the board.”
The union’s endorsed slate of candidates won, and Ms. Carter, vice president for human resources at the University of Dayton, was out.
Managing schools is a tough business, especially in today’s environment. The skills required to be a good board member are underrated. Board members must make prudent decisions and know how to manage money well. In the end, they should always do what’s right for the kids, even if that requires taking heat.
But part of the job also is to persuasively explain why certain decisions were made. That’s the only way to stay in the job.
Permalink | Comments (28) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Scott Elliott, Suburban Communities
