031 Voters Ed (2)
The memo in question was a sight to behold. And there is much to be said about a schools division superintendent who had enough vision and temerity to connect responsible voting to patriotism, through this memo.
Admittedly, the way it was written justifies the vitriol from some sectors, even though I totally agreed with the premise that popularity isn’t a measure of competence (and therefore shouldn’t be a basis for voting). The problem was that the memo explicitly cited “entertainers”, which angered the senator from the entertainment industry.
Mentioning entertainers was an overstep, for sure (even though the logic was not in error).
So it had come to this. It’s the budget hearing for the Department of Education and the senator wants to make an issue out of this by castigating the superintendent—and in effect, the department—for the memo, on the Senate floor.
It was my task to prepare the embattled superintendent, whom I’ve never met, to make sure she does not make matters worse (As it is often done in these budget hearings, it would be safe to assume that some other department officials were making their rounds at the Senate, including Secretary Fe Hidalgo herself, to solve the problem, perhaps speaking to the concerned senator/entertainer himself).
I did my part—met her, briefed her, told her not to be combative (please, no), and instead, just listen and apologize for whatever trouble she had cost. It was, of course, her call. I had no right to order her one way or another. I just had to explain what the consequences could be, for the department—and for her!
She did well, thank God! Yes, the senator made a big deal out of it. Yes, she was forced to apologize. And other than the media frenzy that followed, as was expected since the media camps out at these boring budget hearings, it was over and done with as far as I was concerned (As far as the superintendent is concerned, it was over and done with for sure after she was invited for lunch by the media-savvy senator… certainly a nice touch).
As far as Voters Education is concerned, well, that was the end of that bold attempt to bring responsible voting into the classroom. It may also have had a chilling effect on other government officials that would prevent them from innovating and from going beyond the call of duty for the benefit of the greater good.