Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara announced their hosted County Superintendent forum has been cancelled the day before it was scheduled to take place due to a candidate refusing to sign their release form.
On Wednesday afternoon, the League of Women Voters released a press statement explaining that candidate Christy Lozano would not agree to sign the required Release Form, which spells out the protocols to “ensure a fair and civil discussion.” The forum for the office of the Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools was to include a conversation with incumbent Susan Salcido and Lozano.
“Unless both candidates agree to these terms, the League cannot hold the forum, according to the League’s policies. The Forum was to have been held on Thursday, May 12 at 6 pm on Zoom,” the League stated.
According to the League, Lozano was told, “Our policies and procedures for our Candidate Forum, such as not providing the questions to be asked of each candidate in advance, and not allowing candidates to use excerpts of the recording of the Forum rather than using it in its entirety, are in accordance with national and state League of Women Voters policies and procedures. Please be assured that all candidates who participate in our Forums are required to abide by the same policies and procedures.”
Susan Salcido, incumbent Superintendent of Schools and Lozano’s opponent, did sign the Release Forum and agreed to the League’s Forum rules.
In an updated report by journalist Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers, Lozano apparently is blaming the League for the cancellation.
“I did not drop out of the…forum,” she said to Newsmakers. “I was surprised that the (League) cancelled the event and was unwilling to address my concerns with any sort of healthy discussion.”
According to Newsmakers, Lozano stated she was not provided with a copy of the release form “until after they publicized the event.” She said she strongly objects to the League’s prohibition on direct criticism and confrontations between the candidates, a long-standing rule for League events.
“They were requiring restrictions on my ability to fully explain the problems in our county board of education, and my solutions,” Lozano stated to Newsmakers.
In a separate statement to edhat, Lozano said is disappointed by the cancellation of the event. “I believe that the voters of Santa Barbara deserve a free, fair and open discussion on all critical issues involving our county schools. After 40 years without a choice of Superintendents of Schools, the voters deserve a fair and substantive debate, not just “happy talk” and artificial limitations regarding valid concerns and important issues. I hope another well-intentioned organization will fill the void created by the LWV’s unilateral cancellation and offer to host a fair, open and substantive debate or forum on the critical issues in our county education system,” said Lozano.
The League of Women Voters asserts their forum is not a debate to challenge an opponent’s qualifications or experience, but rather a platform for each candidate to discuss their own qualifications and experience related to the position. (An updated statement from the League has been published here.)
Related Articles
May 13, 2022: League of Women Voters Releases Statement on Superintendent Forum, Claims Lozano Didn’t Sign Form
May 2, 2022: WHY COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPE CHALLENGER LOZANO WANTS RACE, LGBTQ AND TRANSGENDER ISSUES OUT OF CLASSROOMS
April 25, 2022: SEEKING NEW TERM, COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPE DECRIES “NATIONAL PLAYBOOK” FUELING “EDUCATIONAL DIVISIVENESS”
[Ed Note: This article has been edited to include an update from Lozano by Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers, to change the word “debate” to “forum,” and a statement from Lozano to edhat.]
No surprise there. Even she knows she’s incompetent.
I agree with 05:44. I bet she’ll complain that the rules were unfair or some other (Trumpian) excuse.
The GOP has set the pattern. They have announced that they will not participate in the Presidential Debates in 2024 already. They are banking on being able to appeal to the already indoctrinated and not to those who want to know. We are living in dangerous times, our democracy is in peril.
While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. Just saying;)
“While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. ”
RW talking point … it’s a democratic republic. And this is irrelevant here since this is a local race.
Coward!!
So just 2 rules? Or those are the 2 she opposed? Clarity would be nice, but that might go against the agenda. Either way, there’s no good candidate.
Yeah, her biggest problem was probably with the request to remain truthful.
I only know the few things I’ve read recently, but she may be TOO truthful for her own good. It’s politics after all
Wow, I did not know that. I feel that needs to be added to the legal requirements of running for president, participation in debate. That is terrifying.
Just another partisan trick to undermine anyone challenging the failing status quo. Interesting that the Edhat authors didn’t reach out to Christy herself for comment…..https://youtu.be/DLnDnJ5xUaM
You a political belief system is pathetic and intellectually bankrupt when it’s followers resort to arguing against democracy. If you want to be governed by an unchanging piece of paper interpreted by dusty old hacks, go to China.
It’s an interesting social experiment to ask a Trumpy what CRT even is. Invariably, they don’t know and just get worked up and give you their odd collection of PC woke stuff they hate. Agreed, sure extremes can shut down open discourse. But when the school board comment warriors need to pull out a relatively obscure graduate school-level “theory” and make it a strawman for everything they hate about inclusion and public education, it strays into fantasy. Running for office takes two steps: stand against your opponent’s views and present an alternative. Now, the Trumpies are just screeching logical fallacies and hatred without presenting any sort of alternative.
And the notsoFairEducation folks descend upon the comment board…
Reach out for what? A pre-written nonsensical answer written by someone else? No thanks.
Perhaps you have to questions the policies many agreements have terms that are known to be exculpatory clauses. When an organization has to use those in their terms no smart business woman would sign under such conditions it undermines their intregity, honesty, and transparency as an Organization.
Do you always believe a story with only one side?
Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is a respected non partisan group of over 20 years in this community. https://www.coalitionforneighborhoodschools.com/
I’ts admirable that the Coalition for Neighborhood Schools has volunteered to host the forum .
It will be nice to move on and give both candidates a chance to respond to the questions that have been sumbitted and let the voters decide. CNS is waiting for an updated link to host the forum . Please rsvp or direct questons to cns4schools@aol.com
Interesting that you claim that Salcido has allowed corruption to “remain for decades”, and the previous superintendent retired in 2017. As far as the emotional health of the kids go, I think the blame goes to the pandemic itself. At least she helped keep the death rate down. I think that would have had some sort of emotional toll, too. I think the real reason Lozano wouldn’t sign the agreement is that she doesn’t want to abide by rules and wants to launch personal attacks instead of dispensing facts.
The pandemic isn’t to blame, it is our response to the pandemic that damages our kids.
coalition for neighborhood schools does not appear to be non partisan. Lanny Ebenstein is very partisan…just review his participation in county redistricting. This group is Santa Barbara City only. Their website has some ‘loaded’ wording. Only 100 parents are part of this? Hmm, Eastside? Westside? Are these families represented? I don’t think so. This is a county wide race. This would probably devolve into a right wing anti-vax free for all, just like some of their appearances at SBUSD school board meetings. Keep the Trumpian culture wars out of our local schools.
The con definition of “non-partisan” is “willing to ignore facts”.
If I go to Christy’s Facebook page I see conspiracy theories and home made videos with the obvious intent of trying to be a far-right darling in hopes of maybe another Fox interview. From what I understand, Christy didn’t comply with the required Covid vaccination policy for staff at Dos Pueblos and was let go. One of the interviews on her page is with Fenkner from Fair Education Santa Barbara – Yes this radical extremist group is backing her. There is righty-rhetoric about kindergartners being taught sex education as well as multiple articles about the CRT boogeyman.
Thank you EdHat for updating the story to get closer to unbiased reporting.
There’s always a tricky editorial question about when/how to reprint press releases or stories that are minimally re-written/edited press releases. [For example, whose do you take? How much do you check for partial info or bias?]. Yet passing along press releases has clear public value, especially when coming from known public sources like the county, the city, or established non-profits.
In this case, the press release is/was from a known entity (the League of Women Voters) but with clear, strong bias… and released not so subtly the day after folks get mail-in ballots. Ask yourself, would you have printed a press release on your ticker if it came from a source with a political slant not your own? For example, the Fair Ed folks. I’d say “no,” and you’d be right to say no!
A modest proposal might be a “Press Releases” page that doesn’t show in your main ticker. Reprint the press release as-is, clearly not quite news, but well-labelled as the info (slant assumed and included) that the organization wants the public to know. But don’t dilute the wonderful, independent EdHat brand by sloppy reprinting of “City Solves Problem!” every time the City (or whoever) gives you some fodder.
Again, thanks for amending the story. I actually don’t like either candidate, nor their backers. But our cancers are bias and tribalism, and it’s sad to see it infect even local affairs.
Well done Jerry and Edhat! Thank you for the clarification and update
It is very refreshing. I can only hope many here could use this example for some self-reflection on their own potential biases they may not be aware of.
@413, coming from a very biased voice of “reason”
Hi 4:20! A healthy distrust of the MSM and politicians across the board isn’t bias. It leads to further investigation into the issue at hand and a better understanding what actually happened versus what someone on TV said happened. You should try it!
Perhaps she can rent out the SBCC stadium for a good old fashion Trump style rally by enticing them with Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
Edhat is reporting the League’s press release, and was careful to use language like “according to the League”. Of course the press release is “biased” towards the League – it’s their press release. It’s not up to Edhat to “investigate” “the other side” or internal emails. Lorenzo is free to write an Op-Ed or press release and send it to Edhat. Please reset your understanding.
Yacht Rocked, I have to agree to disagree with your comment, Please, your understanding is yours, I will not “reset my understanding to yours or accept slop or bias. Unfortunately this staff article that referenced a biased ” press release” puts a quesionable shadow over both LWV’s and Ed Hat . Well I guess all press is good press. Sadley however eveyone partucularly both candidates for County Board of Education lost out on the opportunity for a good Zoom forum this evening
Disclosure — I no very few details of what’s going on here. But I can guarantee you that there is 0% chance that Lazano would agree with the assertion that this fell apart because she refused to a “fair and civil discussion.” The article doesn’t even assert that… it just implies by context, has weasel words all over it… After reading it, I have learned nothing about what actually happened here.
I love you EdHat, so I must say that it’s hard not to read this as anything other than quite severe political bias. For a tone this accusatory, with ballots on kitchen tables, you are irresponsible to not do some actual reporting and present an agreed upon set of facts. Anything else is part of our very serious problem with facts and media, no matter which side of the aisle you tend to support.
It was not that at all this is the truth of what happened they never sent her the agreement till the day before the event they delibertly tried to smear her. Edhat need to do a better job of verifying information.
Of course she backed out. She’s a PE teacher. I bet she has very little skill in debate – and is afraid her tremendous lack of experience will immediately sink her.
She should be ashamed. Straight out of the orange moron’s playbook. These Trumpian tactics are so familiar. During the debates for the 2016 election, the drumph campaign somehow was able to force CNN’s Donna Brazile to give them the questions before the debate!!!
Fair Education Santa Barbara is a conservative extremist organization and are in bed with Christy. She’ll get 5-10% of the vote and this group will say the election and coverage was rigged.
You need to go look through the Grand Jury Report for 12 November 2021 and you will probably Learn how salcido managed the social-emotional health of our children enrolled in K thru 5 fir remote learning for covid19 in all schools in the entire county failed and she did nothing to correct it. She has allowed corruption to remain in the system for decades without anyone running against her to. Fix the broken system.
@10:14. Yes, reach out for a statement, comment, or information from the person you are writing a story about. I would say it’s Journalism 101, but it wouldn’t be in 101. It’s before that. You’d expect a third grader to know.
On the other hand, you can already assume that you know everything, the person is bad and dumb and whatever, and then no journalism is needed. I think you just described how you are creating your own little bubble.
Sheridan is that you? Your extremist conspiracy-laden rhetoric sounds insufferable.
1MUSTANG, and this wacko Fox News guest Christy Lozano is the answer to those problems? LOL!
I personally do not like debates. They basically lie. They tell you what you want to hear they call each other names and instead of telling us what they plan to do o they focus on how bad the other is. This is both sides. Negative campaigns have no place in a country that needs to heal and move on.most of us have received or will receive enough mail for these elections to hear enough to make our decisions.
It would behoove you to read up on WHY they’re not participating in the debates and it becomes much less terrifying to all but the lowest information voters and those easily swayed by 15 second sound clips, social media posts, and 140 character tweets.
Yacht Rocked translation: “You’re not wrong Lorax”.
Edhat does not employ investigative journalists, it’s a community forum and citizen journalism focused website that posts stuff sent to them. This was a press release sent to them by the League of Women Voters and they posted it.
@ Lorax, how is it a biased press release? A group is hosting a forum between 2 candidates, one candidate didn’t agree to the terms. Forum cancelled. That’s what is reported here. The bias is your own.
Incorrect @9:00am, EdHat added their own commentary “Christy Lozano has BACKED out of their hosted County Superintendent DEBATE” which is their biased spin on what the League stated, that they could hold the FORUM because Lozano didn’t sign the release form. Regardless of your feelings about either candidate, the failure for people to recognize the “spin” and “opinion” added beyond what actually occurred or was actually said, (i.e. drink bleach) results in an inaccurate view of realty and negatively impacts decision making.
They added commentary beyond what was included in the press release and went beyond simply posting what was sent to them. https://www.lwvsantabarbara.org/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=741083
The idea that doing more beyond this would be “investigative journalism” is a strange mixture of weak thinking and/or weak rhetoric.
8:43, the GOP says they are not participating because they don’t like the moderators and they don’t like the press that participates. This is classic Trump stuff. Anyone who offers facts against his position or disagrees with his “politics” is the Fake News. So having this exposed on national stage is embarrassing to him. In fact it is the GOP and Trump in particular who wants sound bites and short social media postings and the distribution of videos and such that are not challenged, not the opposition. So in the end it is the MAGA crowd that is protecting itself from rational comment and objective exposure and they just get people like you to twist that as comfort to their “low information” supporters.
My comment on low information and easily swayed voters is absouteltly bipartisan, to deny it would show your bias and go against reality. You’re description of “Trump stuff” by calling anyone who disagrees is “Fake News” is exactly the same as the other sides claims of “misinformation” and biased “fact checks” whenever anyone who offers facts against their position or disagrees with their politics. With all the inflammatory and divisive “sound bites” and tweets put out the past few weeks alone, to say anything than they’re both equally guilty would disengeious and ignore reality. Seriously, everything you just said about the MAGA crowd applies equally to the MSM progressive sheep.
@ Baby :
You just made an ignorant fool of yourself !
During the 2016 campaign it is your (no doubt) hero CLINTON who arrange with completely lack of ethical values , Donna Brazile, to give her the questions before her PRIMARY debate with SANDERS !
Inform yourself before you write FALSEHOODS like you just did !
Lozano has entered the chat ladies and gentleman. More comment board trolling attempting to spin her poor decisions and bigoted statements.
Fondo, unfortuanly many believe Babycakes position and label truthful comments like yours “misinformation”. They are blind to their preferred side doing the exact same thing they chastise and condemn the other side for.
What bigoted statements? Can you please provide an example quote or two?
Sure, I’ll email edhat to make sure they reach out to the avocado theft for his comment before publishing the Sheriff’s Press Release.
Publicizing the event before candidates are lined up is a major fail for the League of Women Voters
@GT, I was wondering the same thing. With a name like 1MUSTANGMOM, could be Monroe, Montecito Union, or Monte Vista…
@MM1970 Sounds like the same type of rhetoric – otherwise maybe Christy jumped on to post.
Wow, just wow. I can’t believe there is anyone defending her or her platform. These are truly crazy times.
Agreed, but it’s similar to the U.S. politics as a whole. It’s a small group of annoying loud mouths that don’t reflect the whole of the population. On edhat it’s the same 3-4 conservative readers that repeat Hannity and Carlson talking points over and over making it seem like it’s a lot of people. The majority of edhat readers don’t agree but are burnt out trying to talk sense to crazy. God forbid their comments are moderated, they scream and yell to edhat about fascism and censorship and blah blah blah blah.
Cheap shot General Tree, Ms Crawford’s letter in the indy was pro “democracy” nice try! here is the statment right out the letter you claim is pro Lozano?? LOL. This was the letter’s focus, must have gone over your head. This was submitted by Rosanne Crawford, look it up if you need to it’s all there. She stated,
“Voters will have choice, for the first time in 35 years there is a challenge to the direction of the Santa Barbara County Schools.
Now I see why no one would run against Laura Capps for second district County Supervisor, they were too afraid. Full disclosure, I’m a democrat, so don’t go there! Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, this has just gone too far.
Sadly, this tampering from Sacramento created undeserved distractions for both Candidates Christy Lozano and Susan Salcido. They are both qualified, hard working and have good intentions.
True democracy is rooted in freedom and people having the choice to change things that are not working. Promoting candidates and voting protects this”
Seems about right. She waited until literally an hour before the filing deadline to submit her candidacy. I thought teachers were more organized than that. NOLozaNO!
Well said A-1652334304 “Do you always believe a story with only one side?”
I am so disapointed that Edhat staff didn’t reach out to candidate Lozano for her side of the story.
If they had it may have been titled Lozano never “backed out of LWV forum, and yes, it was a forum not a ” debate” . In fact it should have been titled Lozano booted from LWV Forum. There are email exchanges between the candidate and LWV that show she never refused to sign the last minute form that they sent her, she had questions about the form and requested answers before signing it.
She missed the LWV’s short deadline they left in a voice mail stating the 10am deadline they gave her which would generate cancelation the forum, their call, not hers that conflicted with a meeting Lozano was having with supporters. Lozano absouletly never backed out of the ” forum, not debate, she was not given an opportunity to have clarification on her answers in a timely way with the heavy handed short deadline after the zoom forum had been advertized over a week with people starting to email questions for both candidates . While the LWV’s Guidelines are standard, The lack of respect however to candidate Lozano in addressing her questions and going as far as to say she” backed out” is unpresedented by this group that prides itself in ethics and non-partisan operations. Ed hat should have used their ” lozano backs out of County Superintendent debate as an Op Ed piece because the other side of the story including internal emails was never invetigated. Weak biased article. This all may have helped Lozano more than hurt her, its a a shame voters were denied the forum for all the “miscommunication” to give the benefit of the doubt. Both candidates Salcedo and Lozano lost opportunity not to mention colateral damage to “democracy” here!
Spot on.
I just saw an email that Coalition for Neighborhood Schools has offered to step in to sponsor and moderate the Candidate Forum. Does that mean they’ll allow Lozano to openly bash Salcido?
Hmm. Feelings aside, the facts that the majority of our kids are way behind grade level standards, which are already an incredibly minimal “lowest bar”… certainly never meant to be a standard of excellence. So if you feel our kids are doing just fine, and in fact beyond where they should be for age-level-appropriateness, I think the facts say that you’re just plain wrong.
FYI, Crawford’s April 8 letter in the Independent:
https://www.independent.com/2022/04/08/promoting-positive-change/
Nice try Lorax. Pro Democracy? Alice is proudly backing Christy’s crackpot YouTube videos. Nothing went over my head – but thanks for the dismissal. I’m guessing you missed this: “In her whistleblower video, found under YouTube Christy Lozano exposed supplemental background materials that teachers used to teach in our schools. Why is it password protected?” Typical far-right extremist tactics. Think of an outcome and invent conspiracies as evidence. You didn’t even quote the entire article (of course). The fact is – Christy couldn’t follow the very basic rules of engagement for the forum. If she had – she could have told us about her extensive experience as a Physical Education teacher – and her time as a principal at a non-existent home school. Sorry – no Democrat I know is promoting Laura Ingraham vids.
I had three kids in the local public school system until the pandemic. After the pandemic, I pulled them all out for my concerns for the curriculum, inefficient manner in which class time is spent, irrational covid policies, and first and foremost, the fact that they were not learning the things that they should have been learning at their respective grade levels. I’m not happy with the way Santa Barbara County schools are being run, and I’m voting for Lozano