The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer.
Itβs been an interesting two weeks for Tucson Unified School District.
First longtime TUSD board member Mark Stegeman resigned, effective immediately.
Then the Arizona Daily Star reported that the district is continuing to shed students, although the drop-off is not as precipitous as in years past.
And this weekend, another board member, Rachael Sedgwick, made headlines with the revelation that a committee for the Arizona Supreme Court recommended she not be admitted to practice law in Arizona.
The committee cited Sedgwickβs βdeficiencies in honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, reliability and respect for the law and legal institutionsβ based on her incomplete or misleading answers concerning a DUI arrest in 2006, and a felony assault charge from 2012.
Still, as Sedgwick pointed out in the news article by the Star's education reporter Danyelle Khmara, the committee has granted her another hearing after concluding it failed to properly notify Sedgwick of the extent of questioning she would be subjected to in their first meeting.
βThe Committee made a terrible mistake,β Sedgwick said in Sundayβs news article. βWhich is why my petition for a new and proper hearing has been granted, to be scheduled soon. In other words, my application has not been denied.β
That should have been the end of the story for now, with more to come after Sedgwickβs next meeting in front of the committee. Instead, Sedgwick took to Facebook on Monday to post her thoughts about why the Star decided to run a story about a board member from the areaβs largest school district being denied the ability to practice law.
βIβm suspicious of The (sic) Tucson Star news and reports, not just because they do not support me, but also because of who they support without question,β she started before going on to note that Kevin Mowbray, President and CEO of Lee Enterprises, the Starβs owner, sits on a few boards in the state of Missouri.
So what, you say? Isnβt it pretty common for CEOβs of major corporations to sit on various boards for charities and interests? Yes, but thatβs where Sedgwick put on her detective hat and dove deeper.
β(RaΓΊl) Grijalva is chairman of the committee that advised Congress on two open land bills in Missouri,β Sedgwick concluded. βHeβs also on the House Education & The Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation addressing higher education, elementary and secondary schools β¦ Mowbray is involved in similar endeavors.β
RaΓΊl Grijalva served in the TUSD board years ago and his daughter, Adelita, is currently on the board.
For those that donβt follow, Sedgwick is asserting the Daily Star βΒ under the influence of our far-flung and never-present-in-Tucson Lee Enterprises CEO βΒ runs positive (or at the very least, not any damaging) stories about certain TUSD board members in order to keep the interests of both Lee and Congressman Grijalva safe.
Clearly, Sedgwick has found us out. Our racket is up. The time in early 2018 when we reported on complaints of possible open meeting law violations by Adelita Grijalva? Just a ruse.
Similarly, reporting on the workplace settlement between Rep. Grijalva and a former congressional employee was a con. All to throw you, John Q. Public, off our scent.
This sort of deflection, this βblame the mediaβ game isnβt helpful. But it's now the de facto fallback for politicians when negative news about them, or their actions goes public.
So let me assure Sedgwick and others who market in conspiracies: Star reporters are covering the news, not to benefit our corporate overlords, but to help inform southern Arizonans.
As an opinion writer, Iβm lucky enough to be able to share my feelings on a news story or community issue. Rest assured that neither my opinions, nor others in the Star are influenced by corporate suits, money or even personal feelings about a public figure.
We are motivated by a need to report the facts and share the truth.
It's unfortunate our motives are so frequently questioned.
