I am writing to share my concerns with the recent actions of BUSD School Board candidate Steve Ferguson. In mid February it was reported by on-line social media that a member of Mr. Ferguson’s election campaign was caught on video stealing an opponent’s election signs. Apparently, the culprit was readily known to Mr. Ferguson as he ruefully admitted that this childish and illegal act was, in fact, tied to his campaign.
It was also reported that Mr. Ferguson would relegate the sign thief to a ‘greatly diminished role” in his campaign. Stealing of signs is illegal and accordingly, a report was filed with the Burbank Police Department. The obvious question here is this: why wasn’t this individual, immediately known by Mr. Ferguson, fired? Surely someone who is seeking public office would want to distance themselves from the perpetrator once they had knowledge that illegal acts were being committed on their behalf. This failure to act and do the right thing is even more egregious when one considers that the position he is seeking creates local policy and has influence over our children. What is the message being sent to our kids?
Well it now appears that Mr. Ferguson may have been less than sincere in his original statement. As can be seen in the attached video frames one individual appears to be in both images. The problem is, the color image was taken last Friday. Based these images it is apparent that Mr. Ferguson has not re-assigned the individual responsible for the theft. Rather, this person is actively engaged in campaign planning efforts.
So, was Mr. Ferguson’s statement on how he was going to deal with the thief within his campaign a lie? Or, is this an example of an immature action that one might expect of someone just four years out of high school? Either way, Steve Ferguson is not ready for a seat on the Burbank School Board. We deserve and can do better.
Helen Martinez
Burbank
(Editor’s Note: Picture sent in can not be verified and has not been published)
