Rolf Maurer
Rolf Maurer was a Green Party candidate for at-large representative on the Stamford Board of Education in Connecticut. The general election was held on November 3, 2015.[1] Rolf Maurer lost the general election on November 3, 2015.
Mauer previously ran for Connecticut Comptroller in the 2014 elections, but was defeated.[2] He also ran unsucessfully in a 2011 special election for the Connecticut House of Representatives District 64 seat. Maurer ran to fill the vacancy created when Carlo Leone (D) won election to the Connecticut State Senate District 27 seat in an earlier 2011 special election.
Maurer is also a former 2012 Green Party candidate for District 148 of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
Biography
Maurer is a former associate editor for Folio magazine. He spent eight years in the trade and directory publishing industry. He also served as former co-chair of the Unitarian Universalist Society in Stamford's Civil Liberties Action Committee.
Elections
2015
- See also: Stamford Public Schools elections (2015)
Five seats on the Stamford Public Schools Board of Education were up for election on November 3, 2015. The following three at-large incumbents' seats were up for regular general election in 2015: Lorraine Olson (R), Jerry Pia (R) and Polly Rauh (D). Additionally, two unexpired terms were also up for special election following resignations from the board. Rauh was the only incumbent to seek re-election; her defeat saw all five seats go to newcomers. The election did not change the board's Democratic majority; post-election, the board had six Democrats and three Republicans. This is the highest single-party majority allowed by law.
Republicans Mike Altamura and Andy George won two of the three full-term seats up for election while fellow party member Gerald Bosak won one of the unexpired terms. The Stamford Republican Town Committee initially endorsed Gerald Bosak and Prasad Tungaturthy for the one-year terms and Mike Altamura, Andy George and former board member Nicola Tarzia for the three-year terms. Tungaturthy, however, withdrew from the race on August 31, 2015. John Ciuffo was selected as the new Republican in Tugnaturthy's place.[3] Republicans Altamura, George and Tarzia ran as a slate called 2015BOE Team.
Democrats David Mannis and Jennienne Burke won a three-year and one-year term, respectively. The Stamford Democratic City Committee did not endorse any of its incumbents for re-election.[4] Instead, the party endorsed Angelica Gorrio, David Mannis and Ligia Marroquin for the three-year terms and Jennienne Burke and Monica DiCostanzo for the one-year terms.[5] Democrats Gorrio, Mannis and Marroquin also formed a slate for the election.
Incumbent Rauh still sought to retain her seat on the board despite lacking her party's nomination. The Democratic board member chose to run as an unaffiliated candidate instead of forcing a primary election within her party. Rauh's party registration as a Democrat, however, meant the state law requiring a minimum of one-third of the board's seats to be held by minority parties following each election still applied to her in this election.[6] John Zito also ran as an independent petitioning candidate in the regular-term race. Rauh placed seventh and Zito eighth out of the nine candidates running in the election for three-year terms.
Rolf Maurer was the sole Green Party candidate for the election. He sought a three-year term, but he placed last in the nine-candidate race.[7]
Results
| Stamford Public Schools, At-Large (3-year terms), General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mike Altamura |
17.4% | 5,445 | |
| Republican | Andy George |
15.9% | 4,997 | |
| Democratic | David Mannis |
14.9% | 4,656 | |
| Democratic | Angelica Gorrio | 14.1% | 4,431 | |
| Republican | Nicola Tarzia | 14.1% | 4,428 | |
| Democratic | Ligia Marroquin | 14.1% | 4,405 | |
| Petitioning | Polly Rauh Incumbent | 5.2% | 1,624 | |
| Petitioning | John Zito | 2.8% | 882 | |
| Green | Rolf Maurer | 1.5% | 472 | |
| Total Votes | 31,340 | |||
| Source: Connecticut Secretary of State, "Prescribed Form for Return of Votes Cast At A Municipal Election," accessed November 5, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
Maurer received no official endorsements in this election.
2014
Maurer ran as a Green Party candidate for election to the office of Connecticut Comptroller in 2014. He faced Democratic incumbent Kevin Lembo and Republican Sharon McLaughlin in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
| Connecticut Controller, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kevin Lembo Incumbent |
52.3% | 538,280 | |
| Republican | Sharon McLaughlin | 46% | 473,752 | |
| Green | Rolf Maurer | 1.7% | 17,458 | |
| Total Votes | 1,029,490 | |||
| Election results via Connecticut Secretary of State | ||||
Funding
Comprehensive donor information for Maurer is available dating back to 2014. Based on available campaign finance records, Maurer raised a total of $0 during that time period. This information was last updated on June 1, 2015.[8]
2012
Maurer ran in the 2012 election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 148. Maurer faced Dan Fox (D) and Phillip Balestriere (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[9] Maurer was defeated in the general election.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Daniel Fox Incumbent |
69.5% | 4,870 | |
| Republican | Phillip Balestriere | 28.9% | 2,027 | |
| Green | Rolf W. Maurer | 1.6% | 109 | |
| Total Votes | 7,006 | |||
2011
District 27 special election
Maurer was defeated by Dan Fox (D) in the April 12, 2011, special election. John Mallozi (D), Charles Pia Jr. (R) and Monique Thomas (I) also ran for the seat.[11][12]
District 64 special election
Maurer was defeated by Carlo Leone (D) in the special election on February 22, 2011.[13]
2010
Maurer was a Green Party candidate for District 148 of the Connecticut House of Representatives. The primary election was on August 10, 2010 and the general election was on November 2. Maurer lost in the November 2 general election.
2009
Maurer ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Stamford in 2009.
Campaign themes
2015
Maurer provided the following answers to questions from the Stamford Advocate:
Why are running for the Board of Education? What qualifies you for the job?
| “ | I am interested in presenting productive, localized and adaptive alternatives to the regressive and even repressive changes to the character of education, such as Common Core, charter schooling, security, social and mental health policies which emphasize conformity, superficial measures of proficiency and too much influence by the private sector.
As to qualifications, as with many candidates, I am a product of Stamford’s educational system, have an MA in communications from Fairfield University and have worked for many years in consumer and trade publishing, as well as at Weston Woods Studios, producer of film adaptations of Caldicott Award-winning children’s books for the school and library markets. In my freelance capacity, I have also worked on two children’s book projects as editor and writer/illustrator.[14] |
” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[15] | ||
What are the district’s strengths and weaknesses?
| “ | Strengths would include the introduction of 111 new teachers this year into the system, some from lucrative roles in the private sector, many originally from the Stamford area and with advanced educational backgrounds. The drawbacks are a sluggish and even secretive response on the part of the Board of Education in dealing with repeated cases of teacher misconduct since 2011, as well as the poor and costly practices of AFB Management, which should have been dismissed years ago to handle school facilities and staff. Returning this responsibility to the city, itself, would create more jobs, save money and create a more equitable climate between city and its workers.[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[16] | ||
How well has Superintendent Winifred Hamilton performed? Do you agree with her decision to retire?
| “ | Clearly, her response to the (Stamford High School) scandal is inexcusable, as, if anything, there should have been a call for greater vigilance (and timely police reportage), particularly after what happened in 2011 under Starr (which also involved Valentine of Stamford High). That Ms. Hamilton proposed reinstating the administrators who failed to do their jobs in reporting the more recent student/teacher affair is beyond me. Her retirement decision is her concern.[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[17] | ||
Should the search for a new superintendent be delayed until after the election?
No response from Maurer was provided by the paper, but it was also not indicated that he had not answered it.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag|}}
The condition of the district’s facilities has been called into question lately. Should the Board of Education bring its facilities management in-house or should it continue to contract with an outside firm? Why?
| “ | It should be in-house as it used to be 17 years ago. It would save money and provide more job opportunities for city residents. As with our reservoirs (managed by Aquarion - a company owned by an Australian investment bank), the management of the school facilities fall under the responsibility of the municipality, not extractive for-profit companies, otherwise, what is a municipality for?[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[18] | ||
Define what you think the school board’s role should be in the district. Does the superintendent currently have too much power?
| “ | The school board should be fully engaged in oversight of the funding and quality of educational programs, matters related to the physical plant of schools, practices and concerns of their faculties and support staffs and concentrate on upholding the integrity of the district’s role in empowering and preparing students for the fast-changing economic, environmental and socio/political challenges of the years ahead, rather than protecting the image of the educational bureaucracy for its own sake. It seems the superintendent is given too much ability to set the tone for how the district operates and what its priorities should be.[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[19] | ||
How specific should the Board of Education’s goals be for the superintendent?
| “ | They should emphasize areas for improvement based on particular examples, built around what board members articulate what they want done to effect change, rather than allowing the superintendent to formulate his or her own approaches to a solution.[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[20] | ||
Would you make expanding preschool programs a priority?
| “ | Yes.[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[21] | ||
How should the district better support the mental health of its students, given its limited resources?
| “ | I would eschew policy inputs from NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) - which gets most of its funding from drug companies - Yale’s Child Study programs and similar organizations, which puts the interests of psychopharmacology as the centerpiece of any screening or interventions. What schools need are more guidance counselors, access to talk-based therapeutic services and less of a willingness to label for the sake of labeling (the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s go-to manual, the DSM-5, characterizes virtually EVERY human behavior as a potential mental disorder), which is a recipe for disaster, given that most every mass shooting incident in recent years with youthful perpetrators involved their being on psychotropic medications with known violence-inducing side effects.[14] | ” |
| —Rolf Maurer, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[22] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Rolf + Maurer + Connecticut + House"
See also
External links
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Rolf Maurer campaign website
- Stamford Public Schools
- Rolf Maurer 2014 Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook Page
- Connecticut Green Party homepage
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedGreenCandidates - ↑ Rolf Maurer for Comptroller 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," September 8, 2014
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford GOP school board candidate withdraws," September 2, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Democrats dump school board incumbents," July 23, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Democratic City Committee, "Our 2015 Democratic Candidates," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Rauh to run for Stamford school board," August 5, 2015
- ↑ Connecticut Green Party, "2015 candidates," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Contributions to Maurer, Rolf," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 19, 2012
- ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 21, 2012
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Five candidates on the ballot for Tuesday's special election," April 10, 2011
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Fox wins in 27th District special election," April 12, 2011
- ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State, Election Results (dead link) (dead link)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates answer why they’re running," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about district’s strengths, weaknesses," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates: How well has Hamilton performed?" October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about the district’s facilities management," October 10, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about board’s role," October 17, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss goals for superintendent," October 17, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss expanding preschool," October 24, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss mental health services for students," October 24, 2015
