A Wave 3 investigative report uncovered that Jefferson County School Board candidate David Toborowsky moved in with former Louisville mayoral candidate Chris Thienamen just hours before the filing deadline in order to run for the board's District 3 seat.
While Kentucky law does not require candidates to live in a district for a certain amount of time before running for office, they can be disqualified for not living at the address when filing to run.
Toborowsky admits that he moved in with Thienamen solely for the purpose of vying for the seat, but that he only stays there four nights a week. He said the rest of the time he stays at a friend's house, but would not specify where that residence is located, other than saying it's somewhere in the district. Further confusing the situation is the fact that Toborowsky also admitted to staying 10 percent of his time with a friend in Jeffersontown, which is not located in District 3.
So where is Toborowsky living? Wave 3 found several addresses for Toborowsky and -- surprise, surprise -- none were in District 3.
Yet concerns about Toborowsky's residency did not scare away the Jefferson County Teachers Association -- at least not at first. The union originally endorsed Toborowsky, although it has since then pulled its support. Still, the union has already paid for yard signs, TV ads and a billboard on Interstate 71.
“Our endorsements are used as recommendations by voters,” Brent McKim, president of the teachers association, said. “Therefore, we encourage voters to seek more information on this particular race.”
But why is location so important? Isn't the most important thing the fact that he is concerned about the district and its children? Toborowsky's opponents say he just wants to be elected and doesn't know enough about the district.
Wave 3 asked him to name the elementary schools in the district.
"Well you have Norton, you have Schaffner," said Toborowsky. "I'm going to continue and stick with what the issues are."
Not only does he not know the names of District 3 schools, he said he's not planning on learning them, either.
For the record, the other elementary schools are Bowen, Chancey, Dunn, Hite, Lowe, Middletown, Wilder and Zachary Taylor. Schaffner Elementary is actually part of District 4.
Both Toborowsky AND the teachers union need to do their homework.
While Kentucky law does not require candidates to live in a district for a certain amount of time before running for office, they can be disqualified for not living at the address when filing to run.
Toborowsky admits that he moved in with Thienamen solely for the purpose of vying for the seat, but that he only stays there four nights a week. He said the rest of the time he stays at a friend's house, but would not specify where that residence is located, other than saying it's somewhere in the district. Further confusing the situation is the fact that Toborowsky also admitted to staying 10 percent of his time with a friend in Jeffersontown, which is not located in District 3.
So where is Toborowsky living? Wave 3 found several addresses for Toborowsky and -- surprise, surprise -- none were in District 3.
Yet concerns about Toborowsky's residency did not scare away the Jefferson County Teachers Association -- at least not at first. The union originally endorsed Toborowsky, although it has since then pulled its support. Still, the union has already paid for yard signs, TV ads and a billboard on Interstate 71.
“Our endorsements are used as recommendations by voters,” Brent McKim, president of the teachers association, said. “Therefore, we encourage voters to seek more information on this particular race.”
But why is location so important? Isn't the most important thing the fact that he is concerned about the district and its children? Toborowsky's opponents say he just wants to be elected and doesn't know enough about the district.
Wave 3 asked him to name the elementary schools in the district.
"Well you have Norton, you have Schaffner," said Toborowsky. "I'm going to continue and stick with what the issues are."
Not only does he not know the names of District 3 schools, he said he's not planning on learning them, either.
For the record, the other elementary schools are Bowen, Chancey, Dunn, Hite, Lowe, Middletown, Wilder and Zachary Taylor. Schaffner Elementary is actually part of District 4.
Both Toborowsky AND the teachers union need to do their homework.
1 comment:
Good post on a subject of significant importance -- how much impact should teachers have in political races that select individuals who oversee their schools AND NEGOTIATE UNION CONTRACTS ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC?
There is also an interesting internal problem with the JCTA. Did Brent McKim do due diligence before he committed thousands of union members' dollars to support a questionably qualified candidate? It certainly sounds like the union's former executive director, Steve Neal, might have more to say on that important issue.
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