Don't Forget to Vote!

The election is underway for the Penn State Board of Trustees. I voted for PS4RS candidates Pope and Lord. Their third candidate is Jubelirer, but I went with Ryan Bagwell.

Beware the Upward State candidates. Joel Myers has "endorsed" that organization, and then I came across this by Tom McAndrew of BWI:

There have been a lot of comments on this board about Upward State being the preferred candidates of the BOT Executive Committee, or that Upward State was a shadow organization for some members of the BOT.  

I have refrained from making any such comments, as there was never anything I could point to as evidence of any type of connection.  

Well, at 9 am this morning, Paul Silvis, Vice Chair of the BOT, sent out the following: "If you have not made up your mind yet, may I take the liberty of suggesting three candidates for Trustees for those PSU Alums who received ballot today 03 Daniel N. Cocco, '08, New York, NY 18 Julie Harris McHugh, '86, Ambler, PA 21 Matthew W. Schuyler, '87, McLean, VA  

The above is the exact text of the e-mail, so don't blame me for the typos.  

What is the relationship between Upward State and the BOT power bloc? I'm still not certain, but you can each draw your own conclusions.

Please vote. A line has been drawn in the sand by Myers. Do you want the TRUTH, or do you want to ignore the truth and MOVE ON regardless of the TRUTH?

Vote 4 Hackenberg

Vote for Christian Hackenberg in the Capital One  Impact Performance . . .

LET'S GO STATE!

So Long, Suhey!

The alumni have spoken.  Both incumbents, Stephanie Deviney and Paul Suhey were ousted from the Board.  All three of the candidates endorsed by PS4RS won. (Note to future hopefuls . . . get on the good side of PS4RS.)

Here are the results of the voting with around 33,000 votes cast:

1.  Barbara L. Doran, '75, New York, NY ? 15,085
2.  William F. Oldsey, '76, Basking Ridge, NJ ? 13,940
3.  Edward "Ted" B. Brown, III, '68, State College, PA ? 11,403
4.  Paul V. Suhey, '79, Boalsburg, PA ? 4,521
5.  Ted J. Sebastianelli, '69, State College, PA ? 3,188
6.  Robert C. Jubelirer, '59, '62 JD, Boalsburg, PA ? 3,030
7.  David K. Mullaly, '69, '72g, Annapolis, MD ? 2,996
8.  Kathleen A. Pavelko, '75, '79g, New Cumberland, PA ? 2,732
9.  Vincent J. Tedesco, Jr., '64, State College, PA ? 2,250
10.  John W. Diercks, '63, '67g, '75g, State College, PA ? 2,133
11.  Stephanie Nolan Deviney, '97 JD, Exton, PA ? 2,026
12.  Amy L. Williams, '80, Wayne, PA ? 1,987
13.  O. Richard Bundy, III, '93, '96g, South Burlington, VT ? 1,976
14.  Pratima Gatehouse, '96, '10g, Short Hills, NJ ? 1,869
15.  Ben J. Novak, '65, '99g, Ave Maria, FL ? 1,863
16.  Thomas A. Conley, '01, Washington, DC ? 1,788
17.  William J. Cluck, '82, Harrisburg, PA ? 1,695
18.  Mark S. Connolly, '84g, West Chester, PA ? 1,375
19.  Eugene J. Bella, '63, Murrysville, PA --  1,362
20.  Ryan M. Bagwell, '02, Middleton, WI ? 1,360
21.  Darlene R. Baker, '80, Warminster, PA ? 1,321
22.  Doreen Ulichney Schivley, '78, State College, PA ? 1,184
23.  J. Andrew Weidman, '78, Reading, PA ? 1,118
24.  Scott T. Kimler, '83, Ladysmith, BC Canada ? 1,084
25.  Gregory "Sandy" S. Sanderson, '00, Pittsburgh, PA ? 1,012
26.  Christopher R. Owens, '06, Mechanicsburg, PA ? 1,003
27.  Christopher J. Bartnik, '91, '96g, Chantilly, VA -- 995
28.  Patrick J. Howley, '12, Baltimore, MD -- 980
29.  Matthew A. Bird, '80, Gettysburg, PA -- 887
30.  Charles R. Mazzitti, '80, Elizabethtown, PA -- 849
31.  Rudolph K. Glocker, '91, '93g, Henderson, NV -- 771
32.  John M. Mason, Jr., '70, '72, Auburn, AL -- 753
33.  Robert J. Hooper, '79, Burlington, VT -- 752
34.  Jeffrey N. Goldsmith, '82, Harrisburg, PA -- 675
35.  Robert P. McKinnon, '90, Hastings on Hudson, NY -- 509
36.  Robert J. Bowsher, '86, San Diego, CA -- 495
37.  Robert N. Grimes, '80, Potomac, MD -- 460
38.  Gregory A. Slachta, '66, Ridgeland, SC -- 444
39.  Frederik O. Riefkohl, '87, Annapolis, MD -- 414

I am actually surprised Suhey managed to come in fourth, but at least the margin of victory was overwhelming.  I am saddened that David Mullaly didn't win--and disappointed he didn't get more support.

But the message is pretty clear:  the alumni are NOT happy with the way the current Board--or at least those that were present in November of 2011--handled the scandal and the after-math.  The vast majority don't want to return to the status quo and "move on."  We want the cowardly bastards that fired Paterno by phone without ever getting his side of the story first OUT.  And if we have to do it 3 per year because the egomaniacs can't do the right thing and step down themselves, then so be it.

Mission accomplished this year.

Election Update

As of this evening, 21,930 alumni have voted in the BOT election.

Vote For David Mullaly

I Voted!

Have you?

Lettermen Seek to Oust Suhey

A letter has been sent out to former PSU Lettermen urging them NOT to vote for Paul Suhey.

According to Onward State:

It’s likely that no candidate has been criticized more than Suhey, especially after his infamous line — The Board of Trustees didn’t fire Joe Paterno, it just “retired him three weeks early.” But today’s criticism hits especially close to home.

A letter released today signed by 11 former Penn State football lettermen — including Franco Harris, Todd Blackledge, Michael Robinson, and Lydell Mitchell — calls out Suhey specifically, and urges fellow lettermen to not vote for him in the upcoming Board of Trustees election.

“Actions speak louder than words and if Suhey disagreed with the actions the board was taking he had both an obligation and a duty to speak up and cast his vote accordingly. The fact that he failed to do so only underscores the point that he is not fit to serve on the board a day longer,” the letter states.

These past two elections have been hotly contested.  I can remember years when there was no advertising (probably most of them.)  If you didn't look at the ballot, you didn't even know who was running.  Even if you looked at the ballot, you probably didn't recognize any of the names.  Many years, I didn't even vote because I didn't know who to vote for (or against!)  I realize now that perhaps this is why we ended up with a Board full of corruption and ineptitude.  I'm sure there are many other alumni who have voted for the first time in these past two elections and perhaps only sporadically, if ever, prior to that.

On the Campaign Trail

The Penn State Board of Trustee Election is nearing.  I believe balloting will occur between April 10 and May 2, 2013. 

So who are you going to vote for?

PS4RS has made suggestions of who NOT to vote for . . .

Bill Schackner calls this ad an "attack ad" and Suhey and Deviney responded thusly:

"As someone who played for Joe Paterno and was a captain, I know full well that he did a lot of tremendous things for the university and inspired generations of students and alumni," he said. "But as a trustee, I have a responsibility to focus on the entire university and its many challenges in helping to educate our more than 96,000 students. That's where my focus is."

Ms. Deviney, an Exton, Pa., attorney who is the board's vice chairwoman, said: "Negative campaigning doesn't achieve a single thing for the students who look to Penn State for a world-class education. ... I'm not going to engage it."

Call it an attack, call it negative, but the bottom line is this:  IT IS THE TRUTH.

The current BOT simply does not get this.  Penn Staters will NOT be able to MOVE ON until truth is established (not some high-priced opinion that has little to no truth in it) and not until the wrong against Joe Paterno is righted.

The Board of Trustees did not handle this well.  And unfortunately, apparently, none of them have the BALLS to resign.  AND EVERYONE WHO VOTED TO FIRE PATERNO MUST GO.

So it is up to us--the ALUMNI--the strength of this fine University--to do what those trustees won't do.  Three by three, we will OUST the people that fiddled while Beaver Stadium burned.

Anthony Lubrano has posted the three candidates he supports this year--three people he thinks will work with him to effect change.  His choices are Bob Jubelirer, Bill Oldsey and Barb Doran.  The latter two are also endorsed by PS4RS along with Edward "Ted" Brown III.

I personally, am rather leery of Bob Jubelirer by virtue of the fact that he was a career politician who ultimately got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and lost after voting legislators a controversial pay raise.

So I will probably go with Doran and Oldsey because I believe in Anthony Lubrano and support his position.  For my last vote, I will be casting ballot for DavidM.

You can follow David Mullaly on Facebook.

Here is some information about David:

David Mullaly ’69, ’72: Alumni Trustee Candidate
An Alumni Trustee Needs to Represent The Alumni!
*I have been active in defending Penn State’s interests.

• I organized two rallies on Penn State’s main campus asking for resignations from the current Board of Trustees; featured speakers included Franco Harris, Anthony Lubrano, Eileen Morgan, and others.

• I enlisted the help of twenty alumni volunteers to visit with thousands of tailgaters before the OSU game to encourage them to keep demanding changes in the leadership at Penn State.

• I helped to create, fund, and promote the distribution of thousands of free“I am Penn State, and I VOTE!” bumper stickers before the PA Attorney Generalelection, and continue to offer them to alumni to encourage PA legislators tosupport BOT structural reform.

*I have the time to devote to the trustee position that most candidates don’t.
*I am eager to work with reform trustees Lubrano and McCombie to challenge the current “leadership” on the Board.
*I have no other significant loyalties or agendas which could challenge my devotion to Penn State.
*I am willing to “go public” whenever necessary to protect Penn State’s best interests, and I’m willing to speak to groups of all sizes.
* I believe that the alumni need to be fairly and genuinely represented by the trustees they’ve chosen. I plan an alumni “listening tour” if I am fortunate enough to be elected.

Personal Background:
*BA (1969) and MA (1972) from Penn State
*Two years of doctoral course work at Northwestern
*Thirty years teaching experience at both Northwestern and at a suburban Chicago high school
*Taught on all high school grade and ability levels, including AP English
*Two dozen of my best students ultimately graduated from Penn State
*Served on multiple curriculum committees and was involved in hiring interviews
*Coached high school soccer team for ten years
*Organized a Chicago-area banquet for Joe Paterno and then-coach Dick Harter
*My wife is a 1970 Penn State graduate, and our one son graduated from PSU in 1997.

If You Are Not A Member Of The Alumni Association, and Need An Alumni Trustee Ballot:
Alumni can request a ballot by sending an email to BOT@psu.edu<mailto:BOT@psu.edu> and provide
-complete name at time of graduation (maiden name included)
-year of graduation
-college and major
-current email address
-mailing address
For more information:
www.facebook.com/DavidMullaly4PSUTrust
www.stateyou.com

In a personal correspondence with David, he wrote:  (The text in red is my emphasis--what I think is crucial)

Voting for me can provide two things: a strong statement and a vocal advocate. Many alumni believe that the current board members need to hear a strong statement from the alumni. One such statement would accompany the defeat of the two incumbents. Another would be my election by the alumni. I organized two rallies on campus last fall encouraging the resignations of most of the trustees, and Karen Peetz called our demands—without mentioning our names--“anarchy.” Imagine her shock if she saw Suhey and Deviney voted out, and the organizer of those rallies elected to the board.

What do we know for sure?
 

*I am the only public activist candidate on the ballot.

*I am the only candidate discussing the importance of an alumni trustee caucus on the BOT.

*I am the only candidate who has pledged to have a listening tour of every alumni group I can visit between the election and the beginning of the new trustee term.

*I am the only candidate who has proven himself to be willing to speak publicly in defense of Penn State.

*I believe I am the only candidate to contact every PSU chapter with a valid email address in the entire world.
 

Ask yourself this question: "Where has that person been, what has that person done since the scandal broke over a year ago?" Is it simply election time, or has that candidate done anything to be an advocate for Penn State?

 

Who are you voting for???