"Hard to have" conversations hard to come by.

Let's begin with definition.

Hard to have conversations are characterized by open and honest two-way communication about the truth that (almost) nobody wants to talk about.

They are about the truth;  however embarrassing, however shaming, however incriminating.

They are about that part of the truth that enjoys no exception under the law, but that can be easily hidden under nearly feckless law; the Caswell Report for example; findings from an independent investigation of felony criminal misconduct in APS' police force.

The law provides them no exception.  The people have a right to inspect an ethically redacted copy of the Caswell Report.  They are spending operational dollars in litigation, dollars which could and should be used educating children, to delay the production of records of their cover up of felony criminal misconduct by senior APS administrators.

The open and honest public conversation about the truth about
public corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS
is hard to have.

Lorenzo Garcia is an APS School Board Member, District and Community Relations Committee Chair, and candidate for re-election in a few weeks.

Garcia coined the term
hard to have conversations.

Garcia can, whenever he wants, add an item to the agenda for his committee meetings.  Anytime he wants to, he can add;

Action item; begin the hard to have conversation about having hard to have conversations, and create a venue for open and honest public conversations about the public interests and our public service; grant standing to the Citizens Advisory Council on Communication.

So far, he hasn't wanted to.  The record speaks for itself, link.

There are at least two reasons that might apply; lack of courage and/or lack of character.  A lack of courage simply means, afraid to have open and honest discussion of the truth.  A lack of character means deliberately hiding embarrassing, shaming, or incriminating truth.

If there is a third reason, I cannot imagine it, and nobody on the school board has articulated it.  I welcome your suggestions.

Lest I ride Garcia too hard, he is not the only board member doing nothing about beginning two-way communication with the community members they serve.
School Board enforcer Marty Esquivel has gone so far as to create an unlawful restraining order and unlawfully deployed a publicly funded private police force, in his effort to forestall a hard to have conversation about his part in the covering up the cover up of felony criminal misconduct in the APS police force.

In truth, any board member could stand on the record at any board meeting and begin the discussion about having hard to have conversations.  Their record speaks for itself.

Silence gives consent.

Provided it is in time for the election, ideally before the candidate
forum next Wednesday,

I welcome the Journal Editors to lay out their position on the need for a venue for hard to have conversations and the reticence in the leadership of the APS to make any effort at all to provide it.

cc letters to the editor, upon posting




photo Mark Bralley