Candidate Rebuttals
Rambo Running for Good of Russell
I take this last opportunity before the Nov. 2, 2021, general election to make my case as a candidate for Russell Township Trustee.
Recently, several writers have seen fit to falsely attack me on behalf of their preferred candidate on a myriad of issues. One even asks, “Who is Mr. Rambo?” apparently not taking the time to read the various widely available voter guides, visit my Facebook page or ask me questions at candidates’ night. I urge the voters to avail themselves of those resources.
To answer the question briefly, I spend my time between working as a board member of the Red Tulip Project of Geauga, engaging in community activities as a member of the Burton Middlefield Rotary Club and reviewing Russell Township residents’ zoning issues as a member of the Russell Township Board of Zoning Appeals. In the past, I have been a member of the Geauga County Township Association, and even a t-ball and baseball coach for the West Geauga Recreation Council. I practice law full time and work hard with my wife to raise our two sons to be upstanding Geauga citizens, attending many events around the county and enjoying the parks and other resources on offer.
There have even been comments about my “signage” suggesting that my signs are only visible on the public right-of-way and not on resident’s property. Of course, an utterly false statement. While you can find some of my signs clustered at such places, with both of my opponents’ signs and many others, the great majority of my signs are placed on private property. Regardless, I am reminded of the old political adage, still true today, that “signs don’t vote.”
People live to Russell to take advantage of our township’s unique “bedroom community” feel. People enjoy our large-lot zoning, low commercial development and wealth of green space.
We in Russell enjoy top-notch police and fire services, something that must be preserved, including the implementation of full-time fire/EMS positions. Interestingly, one of my opponents seems to have shifted to those very ideals late in his campaign.
My pledge from the beginning is to ensure that Russell maintains its unique place on the 306 corridor and to do so in a fiscally responsible manner.
Many voters may be familiar with me from past elections. Why do I run? I run because I want to work for the good of the community in which I choose to raise my family, whether on the county or township level.
Condoleezza Rice stated that, “There’s no greater challenge and there is no greater honor than to be in public service.” I run to embrace that challenge and offer all of myself for the benefit of the residents of Russell Township. I humbly ask for your vote on Nov. 2, 2021.
Matthew Rambo
Russell Township
Zock will Fight for Newbury
Last week I received phone calls from upset residents reporting “Vote No for Zock and Skomrock, They Helped Close our School” signage around town. The ads were flanked by Phil Paradise and Greg Tropf signs.
In addition, Phil Paradise has submitted numerous misleading and grossly inaccurate letters to the editor. This is not surprising, as neither of these candidates have actively attended task force meetings and have refused to discuss this issue with people at the table.
Phil writes, “We were told repeatedly by the Newbury school board (now, your task force) that the school was in decay and it made no sense to put money into the structure. Now we are told that only parts of it are bad and may need to be removed.” Unfortunately, he is missing that the parts in decay were the classrooms.
Additionally, 60% of eligible students in Newbury were not choosing Newbury Schools. The facility, as a school, was too large for the dwindling student population. We were spending a disproportionate amount of our annual budget on outsourcing educational services without producing results aligned with our educational values.
The people of Newbury are tired of the misleading and negative political landscape and want it to end. I’ve committed to a positive campaign. People know what I stand for. If a candidate engages in negative tactics against their opponent, their platform isn’t strong enough to be supported by the majority.
Bill and I choose “Community First,” that’s what we stand for. We were born and raised in Newbury, and we are raising our families here. We’ve been elected by Newbury voters in previous and current public offices because we share similar values. We care about preserving and celebrating our history, improving the quality of life for residents today, securing a better future for generations to come and bringing this community together.
Retaining all 39 acres without taking on the burden of operating the entire main building gives us an affordable opportunity to retain this property, and a means to drive foot traffic to our businesses that will stimulate our local economy. Phill’s misconceptions on public financing, and sustainable growth highlight why it was important for those with institutional knowledge of the subject to serve on the Task Force. For additional accurate information regarding this issue, please visit SkomrockAndZockForNewburyTrustees.com.
Transferring Newbury to West Geauga was easy in principle, but challenging in many ways. This month it was announced that our new district was ranked 16th in the state of Ohio. It’s in the Top 5 of Northeast Ohio schools alongside Chagrin Falls, Solon and Beachwood. Our children are thriving, and I could not be happier for the opportunities that they’ll experience as a result.
We’re enjoying a 28% property tax reduction and, collectively, Newbury property owners saved over $2.5 million in 2021 alone. I will continue to fight for Newburians with the same passion, common sense and commitment to conservative fiscal management of Newbury Township.
Maggie Zock
Newbury Township
Sherwood Has Best Perspective of Classroom
I would like to address the statements that Rachel Hazelwood has made against me. To frame this response, it should be noted that Hazelwood has spent countless hours over several weeks devoted to an attempt to impugn my morals, my intelligence and my commitment to West Geauga Schools. I only wish I had that kind of free time myself.
To begin, I did not graduate from college until I was 37; I had four small daughters and I worked my way through college pursuing this calling to be an educator.
I earned my Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from Tiffin University while I was a full-time teacher. I graduated at the top of my class for both of my degrees, and am currently more than half way through a second Master’s in Literature, maintaining a 4.0 average.
Hazelwood accuses me of not understanding and opposing diversity, equity and inclusion in education when, in fact, I am only against unchecked diversity initiatives whose results are incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. These initiatives tend to focus on separating students into groups or categories; this defies the very principles of unity and inclusion.
If Hazelwood is asserting that diversity and inclusion are legitimate and pressing problems within the district right now (and for the last few years, for that matter), she should be asking the incumbent seeking reelection what he has done to specifically combat the issue, along with a follow-up asking why it’s still problematic if he has been so efficient as a member of the board.
Additionally, I have been accused of scoffing at West Geauga’s mask policy. She chooses this word, I assume, because I remove my mask when I am sitting an appropriate distance away from people who do not share my home with me.
I will assert that I absolutely believe in an individual’s right to choose whether they feel a mask is appropriate for them or their child.
I would also venture to say that most people agree that masking is not the answer Hazelwood wants it to be. I can provide one anecdotal piece of evidence: Friday night football games. When one looks around and notices the Wolverine fans in the packed stands, it is quite noticeable that the vast majority of people are not wearing masks and there is certainly no social distancing either. Those not wearing masks include one of her own candidates whose spouse and children are also in close contact with others in the stands and are all unmasked.
The other candidate doesn’t come to the football games, so I am unsure what their protocol would be.
If masking was the answer Hazelwood wants it to be, there would be a mask mandate outside as well. If the majority felt like Hazelwood does, even without an outdoor mask mandate, the community would be wearing masks.
Finally, she accuses me of pandering to a political base. All I can say is that is absolute proof that she doesn’t know me at all. I do not pander. I do not sell out my beliefs because one side or the other tells me I need to.
Her evidence is that I spoke at a candidate forum hosted by a political group she doesn’t agree with and the other two candidates did not show up even though they were invited.
I also spoke at another candidate forum that tends to have opposing views to the first group — this is the group Hazelwood aligns with (who clearly do not support my views). I spoke at both forums because I want to represent everyone to the best of my ability, and I can only do that if I listen to all people. If I only focus my attention on those who agree with me, I could never fairly say that I was working for the benefit of my entire community, and that is exactly what I plan to do.
I have taught well over a thousand students in my time as an educator at both the high school and college level. I know how to deal with myriad issues affecting teachers, students and parents, and I see the effects firsthand of policies passed down to the schools. I am the best candidate for the position due to the real experience I have teaching students of all ages and my tenure within a public school setting.
As a member of this community and alumna of West Geauga Schools, I have our community’s best interest in mind. I am a candidate that offers the best perspective of what is really going on in the classroom in the K-12 environment and will represent all of our residents, not just the ones that agree with me.
Please remember to vote on Nov. 2, and your support for me would be much appreciated.
Christina Sherwood
Chester Township
