School Buses Students to Vote, Gives Them Democrat-Only Sample Ballot

The Cincinnati Public Schools system "expressly denies" that it did anything wrong when it allowed a group of high school students to be bused during school hours to the Board of Elections, to be shown sample ballots that included only Democrats, and then to vote.

Thomas Brinkman, a Republican candidate for county auditor, and a group called the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes filed a legal complaint after three van loads of students from Hughes High School were bused on Oct. 13 to the Hamilton County Board of Elections. The students, all registered voters, were given sample ballots that listed only Democratic candidates -- "clearly with the intention of instructing [them] how to vote," according to the complaint -- before they cast their ballots.

Then the kids were then taken for free ice cream, a move Brinkman and the coalition said was tantamount to "bribery."

Brinkman's attorney, Chris Finney, said a teacher at the high school coordinated with Gwen Robinson, a former principal within the district, to allow a local church to provide three vans to transport the students to a local polling location.

"We wanted to stop this activity, to stop the buses from rolling and the one-sided nature of the contact," Finney told FoxNews.com. "We want academic freedom."

On Wednesday, attorneys for the school district and Brinkman filed an agreed order that calls for the district to "not use any personnel or property" for advocating any particular political candidate or party.

I wonder if this is the Gwen Robinson mentioned in the story. Sure would fit.

http://www.cincy-caa.org/president.asp

Gwen L. Robinson has been the President/CEO of the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency (CAA) since 1995. Ms. Robinson has transformed an embattled agency into one that is now a major institution of service in the community. Under her stewardship, the agency has rebounded financially and is consistently expanding its programs and services. Ms. Robinson also plays a major role in other local initiatives, such as co-founding the nonprofit organization Every Child Succeeds. In addition, she oversaw the construction of two new multi-million dollar facilities to serve CAA’s clients and families. This is a first for a nonprofit in the Greater Cincinnati community.

Ms. Robinson serves on many boards at the local, state, and regional levels. She is also President of the State Community Action Association and she is a member of Governor Strickland’s Public Advisory Board.

She recently served as President of Cincinnatus and President of the Mid-America Community Action Agencies, a multi-state association consisting of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. She also sits on the Fifth Third Bank CRA board, Family & Children First Council, the Success by Six Executive Committee, the Cincinnati Museum Center’s African American Advisory Board, and is Second Vice-President after serving for 6 years as President of the State Community Action Association.

She has received numerous awards including the Cincinnati Enquirer 2006 Women of the Year, Leading Women of the Year, YWCA Career Women of Achievement, Ladies of Distinction 2007 Honoree, NAACP 2006 Wright Overstreet Award, Applause Magazine Image Makers Award, Ohio Finance Award for Development, and the Dada Rafiki Award for positive women in our community.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.