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Danny,

I have no idea who Flo5582 is, none whatsoever. But, I think you missed the point of the letter, which was that in a non-partisan School Committee there shouldn't be partisanship. And campaigning with current or prospective political candidates is, by definition, engaging in partisanship or at the very least, partisan behavior. You can call it negative campaigning if you choose, but that doesn't change the facts.

Also, I don't sit behind a keyboard; it's my wife that actually does all of the social media, usually in the evenings after we have been campaigning or at the end of our family's day, not me. I have been walking many, many neighborhoods every weekend since August. I am (and have been) in attendance at SC Meetings, the City Council meetings when the schools are on the agenda, the Consolidation meetings that have been going on for years in our district, the Educational Outreach Committee, & the Parent Communication Advisory Committee, so behind a keyboard I am not.

Additionally, I don’t know if I'm ahead, tied, or behind, but I do know what I said in my letter - that a non-partisan School Committee candidate should not be campaigning with elected officials. If we as a community want that, then let's change the Charter to allow SC candidates to run under the banner of parties. This isn't something that just started happening a week ago, it's been going on since all the campaigns began and appears to have ramped up significantly in the last couple of weeks. As I said in the letter, it's the principle for me, and some may call me naive for feeling that way. So be it. Many years ago, the late Bill Bowling, for whom the library at Francis is dedicated, ran for SC. He was a registered Republican but he disaffiliated before he ran because he respected the non-partisan nature of the seat. That’s a belief in non-partisanship.

As far as community events go, as you know there are a lot of them at this time of year and because of family obligations, there are times when my family comes first (and I wouldn’t be inclined to take photos of myself at community events anyway.) But, there is also an abundance of public meetings and forums that deal with the pressing issues relative to our schools and I make sure that I attend every one of those make the effort to express my views and support our students and teachers.

I can assure that I have canvassed a significant amount of the city, neighborhoods in every ward, and talked in depth with so many residents, listening to what’s concerning them and discussing what's going on in our schools - and those are not short conversations. But, I've done it all with the help and support of my wife, kids, nephew, and friends - none of whom hold, or are running for, a political office which, again, is the point of my letter.

David Testa