Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Joyce Husseini and Carol Brown each won a three-year term on the Stoughton School Committee. T.J. Recupero was the lone candidate for a three-year seat on the Stoughton Board of Selectmen.
In the only contested race this election cycle for the annual Stoughton Town Election, Joyce Husseini and Dr. Carol Brown each won three-year terms on the Stoughton School Committee. There were four candidates vying for two seats on the committee in the April 30 Town Election. Husseini, the incumbent, came in first with 1,783 votes, and Brown came in second with 1,377 votes. Brown edged Patricia MacNeil, who came in third with 1,317 votes. Debra Cote came in fourth with 1,191 votes. Overall, 3,750 voters cast a ballot in the town election, or 20.9 percent of the 17,964 total registered voters in town. Husseini's seat represented one of the two seats up this election. She was first reelected to the school committee in the 2010 Town …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Stoughton will select two of the four candidates for the school committee in the April 30 town election.
At the end of last Wednesday night's "Definitive Debate" each candidate gave a closing statement on why the voters of Stoughton should give them their vote for one of the two School Committee positions up this election cycle. Participating in the debate were incumbent School Committee member Joyce Husseini and challengers Dr. Carol Brown, Debra Cote and Patricia MacNeil. Click on each of the videos posted in the media gallery to view the candidates' closing statements. The four candidates are vying for two spots on the Committee. Election Day is Tuesday, April 30. *** The full debate was taped by SMAC and will air on Verizon Channel 28 and Comcast Channel 9 at the following times:
Following last Wednesday's debate, the four School Committee candidates stayed for a "web exclusive" question to talk about safety in the Stoughton schools.
After last Wednesday's "Definitive Debate" had ended, the four candidates for School Committee stuck around to answer one last question in a web exclusive video for Stoughton Patch. The question: "In general, what is the importance of school safety and what can the school committee do to keep schools safe?" Candidate Patricia MacNeil answered first saying she believes that the district is being proactive and that schools are safe. She said diligence is a key to keeping students and faculty safe. Incumbent School Committee member Joyce Husseini said she is happy about the recent addition of safety resource officers. Debra Cote said she agreed that the Stoughton schools are safe. Cote said she is in favor of the ALICE active shooter …
Friday, April 26, 2013
The four candidates agree that better communication is needed by the school department.
The four women vying for two positions on the Stoughton School Committee came together to debate Wednesday night. Incumbent School Committee member Joyce Husseini joined challengers Carol Brown, Debra Cote and Patricia MacNeil in the community room of the Stoughton Police Station to answer questions relating to the position and the state of Stoughton Public Schools, less than a week before the town's April 30 election. This is the only contested town-wide race this election cycle. The forum, dubbed the 'Definitive Debate,' was moderated by columnist Mark Snyder, with questions asked by Stoughton Patch editor Jeffrey Pickette. While the candidates disagreed at times one question they all found common ground on was that they would like to …
Monday, April 22, 2013
The four candidates for two seats on the Stoughton School Committee - Joyce Husseini (incumbent), Carol Brown, Debra Cote and Patricia MacNeil - will be participating in a live debate Wednesday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at the Stoughton Police Station.
BE AN EDUCATED VOTER! On April 30th, you'll be able to get two separate ballots in the venue where your precinct votes. One of those ballots is the party primary for U.S. Senate. The other, a local ballot, will enable you to most importantly elect two members of the School Committee. The other races on the local ballot are all uncontested. Incumbent School Committee member Joyce Husseini will be seeking reelection. She will be joined on the ballot by Carol Brown, Debra Cote and Patricia MacNeil. Former School Committee Chairman, and current member, Tom Colburn is not running for reelection. Colburn has served three terms on the School Committee. Husseini, a former Chair, and the current Vice Chair of the School Committee, is the former…
Friday, March 22, 2013
School Committee Member Dr. Erdem Ural was censured by his fellow members on the Stoughton School Committee March 14.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
School Committee Member Dr. Erdem Ural was censured by his fellow members on the Stoughton School Committee March 14.
The following article was originally published March 19 and was updated March 22: The Stoughton School Committee voted 3-1 last Thursday to censure one of its members, Dr. Erdem Ural, for exceeding authority and insulting staff and opening the School Committee to legal liability; creating dysfunction within the School Committee and wasting taxpayer money; and submitting a rogue evaluation of the Superintendent. Included in a lengthy list of concerns and issues spelled out in a case for censure, read during the meeting by School Committee Chair Deborah Sovinee, was the fact that Dr. Ural was "removed...from a union bargaining team because he spoke publicly and gave away the School Committee strategy." This was during the negotiations …
Friday, March 15, 2013
Dr. Ural, who maintains he is seeking "transparency, accountability and honesty from the school administration," was censured for exceeding authority, creating dysfunction and being a rogue member of the Committee.
Accused of exceeding authority and insulting staff and opening the School Committee to legal liability; creating dysfunction within the School Committee and wasting taxpayer money; and submitting a rogue evaluation of the Superintendent, the Stoughton School Committee voted at a special meeting Thursday night to censure member Dr. Erdem Ural. The 3-1 decision, with Dr. Ural casting the lone dissenting vote, came after 57 minutes of contentious back and forth discussion between Dr. Ural and the other members. Dr. Ural, who questioned the legality of the censure proceedings itself, maintained he is doing the job Stoughton voters elected him to do - seeking "transparency, accountability and honesty from the school administration." Multiple …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Welcome to "About Town with Mark Snyder," a column that will keep you up to the minute with what's what, who's who and what's going on around town. If you see or hear something we could use here, let us know by sending an e-mail to pmpco@aol.com.
CANDIDATES FORUM: You can be an educated voter! The date of the election may have been changed, but the date for the annual Candidates Night for our local town election remains the same. The Sharon/Stoughton League of Women Voters and the Stoughton Chamber of Commerce will host a Candidate's Night on Monday, March 18, starting at 6:30 p.m. The forum will be held in the Great Hall on the third floor of Town Hall. Refreshments will be served. There is no charge to attend. All town-wide candidates have been invited to give a statement. The only contested race, for two seats on the School Committee, will feature a debate, moderated by Steve Fradkin. He'll be stepping in for me, as I recover from back surgery. Those invited to …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dr. Erdem Ural has been accused of being "a rogue member of the School Committee who continues to do great damage..." Dr. Ural says "this is another bullying attempt to silence me from doing my job as an elected public official."
Originally put forth as an agenda item for Tuesday's Stoughton School Committee meeting, the Committee will now consider censuring one of its own members, Dr. Erdem Ural, at a special meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 14. Towards the end of Tuesday's meeting, School Committee chair Deborah Sovinee in explaining the reason she was delaying the discussion of a possible censure until the 14th, said that she wanted "to be completely transparent in this manner," and "extend the courtesy [Ural] has never extended us" so he could go over materials related to the possible censure. These materials were made available to the media. In detailing why the Committee is considering a censure - a public condemnation - Dr. Ural is accused of: "Dr. …
Debra Smith Cote
10:04 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
I'm pretty proud to say that I was one of about 25 -30 parents who stood up for the safety of our children at the West School. I would do it again in a heartbeat. more ›