Esmonde Goes For Disclosure
Mea culpa: I wrote three columns in the last two years concerning or mentioning the efforts of charter school advocate Steven Polowitz. In them, I failed to note that Polowitz – whom I have known for more than 20 years – and I became partners in 2010 in a Florida investment property. The business relationship did not influence my stance on charter schools, which I have supported for more than a decade, nor did it affect my view of Polowitz’s charter school activism, which I had previously written about. Nonetheless, I should have disclosed the association.
To anyone wondering why I keep writing horrible and mean things about Donn Esmonde, consider this piece he wrote in late May about the Clarence school budget fight, and this quote in particular:
“Make no mistake: Come budget-approval time, officials in every school district are masters at pushing parents’ emotional buttons and propping up false choices. It goes like this: Vote for the budget, or you will force us to cut (choose your poison) sports/music/field trips/foreign language.”
Guess what? Turns out, it wasn’t false. They got cut. 33 clubs, 13 teams, and these courses:
So Donn Esmonde can take his self-righteous bucket of hypocritical geographic animus and shove it up his ass. He hates Clarence because it’s just like his neighborhood, only not in his neighborhood. He hates kids in Clarence because they’re just like his kids, only not in Buffalo.
When an influential columnist comes by your house and intentionally propagandizes to do palpable, real harm to your kid’s education, you get back to me on that.
Do you have information about Donn Esmonde that you think I should know about? I figure non-disclosure of a business relationship with a longtime source is just the tip of the iceberg – smoke from a larger fire. Let me know what you know. buffalopundit[at]gmail.com.
And as professed last week….nothing happens to Don…….
No Buck you said it didn’t matter which is a far cry from predicting nothing would happen, We all knew that patrician fishwrap Donny scribbles for wasn’t going to censure his prevaricating ass but to say it doesn’t matter is as misleading as Donny Boy himself.
I’m with you dude. What I said was there is no accountability for Esmonds ilk, therefore “nothing will happen”……doesn’t mean I approve of it……
He’s like the weatherman—-he can be wrong better than 50% of the time, but still gets to keep his job.
Let me put it this way Alan: I just posted on Esmonde’s “mea culpa” article asking if his Florida property had room in the driveway for a 30 foot motorhome and a place for me to plug in…and when he was going to invite me down.
I asked you when I was going to be invited over for some backyard bar-b-q pizza.
Now it’s kind of a contest.
I’ll keep your readers posted. Thanks
(Food for thought: You and me Alan sitting under the awning of my motorhome making pizza…in Donn’s driveway in Florida! Sweet!)
Something is very wrong.The News should not leave it up to Esmonde to make a half-a apology for what really was a major major ethical lapse.Unacceptable conduct at major newspaper.
“About the only thing charters do well is limit the influence of teachers’ unions. And fatten their investors’ portfolios.” That’s taken from an article in Forbes magazine last week folks, not the NEA or BTF monthies. And as much as the News hates unions and likes to see big money get its way you know they had an attaboy for Esmonde not the kick in the ass a real journalistic outlet would’ve put on him. Check out the rest of the article, it’s the stuff anyone doing their homework on Donn’s precious charters all ready knows and a great primer for anyone still believing charters are the magic bullet that will save us all. It’s bullshit. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/09/10/charter-school-gravy-train-runs-express-to-fat-city/
About as douchey an apology as you’re likely to hear from someone who is regretful he got busted and nothing else. The fact that he uses the phrase “mea culpa” with an implied eyeroll (as if his critics want to turn this tiny oversight into some Grand Inquisition of Vatican scope) shows what an hubristic asshole he remains. Am sooo looking forward to watching him try to dance out of whatever other unholy alliances he’s embroiled himself in yet,Oh Snap, forgot to clue the proles into as he was chumming them with shite from the stern of his news sloop.
Take a look at how “factually challenged” he is: http://www.speakupwny.com/article_4837.shtml
I have never read your blog before (or, honestly, even heard of it)…
Not much of an art guy but I am a big sports fan…
However, Donn Esmonde once wrote a big column about how he was happy that the Verizon Data Center project was scuttled in Niagara County because of one person (who lives in Williamsville) suing over something…
http://www.wivb.com/news/niaga…
Since the State was going to kick in a bunch of money to help build the data center in Somerset (a place where no one lives or does anything… basically just an empty field)… He was against it…
However, most of those 200 people who got jobs there would have probably moved into Lockport (my small city) because that’s the closest grocery store, movie theatre, restaurant and other stuff to that empty field named Somerset.
At that time, The Lockport School District had just laid of more than 40 teachers, cancelled all sorts of extra activities, clubs and sports for the kids, voted down a new athletic facility and closed 2 of our 8 elementary schools…
Those 200 people, had they indeed gotten jobs in Somerset and moved to Lockport, might have helped with our School Budget problems and given our tax base a bit of a boost…
I sent Donn an email saying just this and never even got an acknowledgement of my taking the time to write to him (which I did respectfully)…
Donn Esmonde, is indeed, an ass… Now that I know he is an unethical, lying ass as well, I will make it a point to read your blog (DEIAA) every chance I get…
I will also try and email links to it and post on Facebook until the Buffalo News does the right thing by firing Esmonde and cutting off his pension…