Fisher announces the start of her re-election campaign

Fisher announces the start of her re-election campaignFisher to sign clean campaign pledge at Kickoff Fundraiser

Toledo, Oh: Darlene Fisher will hold a fundraiser/volunteer party Tuesday, April 14th from 6:30 - 9:30 pm at the Distillery, 4311 Heatherdowns Blvd to kickoff her re-election campaign, Working for the Community.  The press is cordially invited.

Four years ago, Fisher pledged to serve a full term on the Board of Education and work to involve the community, restore and improve financial accountability, and to improve academic performance. When the voters of Toledo placed their trust in her, she took that responsibility seriously. Fisher believes in first working collaboratively, but many times she said she has had to stand alone on issues. "At times I was unable to fight the bureaucracy and the political games that have become too commonplace in our education system. The moments of frustration I view as learning experiences, the moments of success are proof that our voices can be heard," she stated.

One of the main questions everyone asked as Fisher was considering running for re-election was, "Who would speak for the parents and the children in our community if you don't run?" That question made her pause, as it is easy for some to focus on a campaign as some win/lose scenario especially when it comes to accomplishments. Fisher said, "A School Board member cannot create change alone, but after working with our community for almost four years, I was left with the pressing thought that our goals are not a lost cause."

Fisher maintains that where the Board has made progress, they can make more. Where they have had setbacks, it is still necessary to forge ahead. "The only way our community and our desire for our children to have the type of education they deserve will happen, is if we don't give up," Fisher said. She credits the community for her success and is ready to continue, with their help, to work just as hard as she has the past four years to represent every community member on the Toledo Public School Board.

Fisher will sign the same clean campaign pledge that the Toledo Blade asked all mayoral candidates to sign. She believes that in addition to the mayor, school board and city council are vital and important offices, and candidates should also sign the pledge. She feels that to ignore these campaigns is to ignore the need for good leadership across all elected offices, especially when education is so critical to the revitalization of our community.

Fisher is calling on all the other candidates for school board to join her in signing the clean campaign pledge and to also pledge to debate the critical education issues.

In 2005, increasing transparency and accountability for our community were core goals of her campaign. As she seeks to be re-elected to the Toledo Public School Board, she believes that it is clear now more than ever that our community needs elected representatives that work for the community in an open and transparent manner.

Toledo voters deserve and need candidates that will truthfully discuss the pressing issues before our community. "Too often rhetoric and personal attacks take the place of substantive discussion about issues and ideas. The campaign process is fundamental to our representative democracy. This is why I am signing the clean campaign pledge and I urge all other candidates to join me," said Fisher

Her promise to Toledoans is to be a positive force for the improvement of educational outcomes for every student. Fisher is asking for the support of the community to return her to the Toledo Public School board so she can continue to keep that promise.