What does Elena Herrada bring to the Detroit School Board?...

**Al Publican** · June-20-11, 02:59 PM

Those of us that know Elena personally, as I do, may find her ethnocentric agenda takes to be a bad fit on a school board for a school system that has been in constant crisis for decades.

Elena Herrada, you may recall, last year likened the Border Patrol to the KKK. No word from her, however, on how illegals that are violent felons should be treated. The last thing Detroit and its school system needs is another xenophobic voice telling residents and kids that it's us versus them, the outsiders, the non-Detroiters.

Just curious: whatever became of former school board member Lonnie Bates?

**Detroitnerd** · June-20-11, 03:03 PM

I think you are making a big deal out of thin air. How about that? If you want to find fault with an ethnocentric agenda, I recommend you look at almost any Caucasian politician.

**Melocoton** · June-20-11, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by Al Publican

Elena Herrada, you may recall, last year likened the Border Patrol to the KKK. No word from her, however, on how illegals that are violent felons should be treated.

Any word from you on why this race-baiting question is relevant? [[Or why she would have pre-emptively answered it, just because you were thinking it?)

Don't know her personally or much about her candidacy. Being an advocate for the Latino population of Detroit--who are woefully under-represented in city politics--is not the same as being "ethnocentric."

Also, what Detroitnerd said.

**SWMAP** · June-20-11, 03:40 PM

Herrada's given name is Ellen. She is half Hispanic. To be fair, she does have a little bit of an activist academic background, so that she has some discipline to bring to the school board. However, she is a poseur and pretty much campaigns on her disapproval of both Steve Tobocman and Rashida Tlaib being elected to the State House from SW Detroit when she rants that the seat should be Hispanic. Nevermind that Tobocman and now Tlaib have done stellar jobs for their districts. Predesssor Belda Garza inconsequential in comparison. So she is somewhat of a race-baiter herself.

**Al Publican** · June-20-11, 04:24 PM

Herrada's worldview was telling with her hyperbole about the Border Patrol being akin to the KKK.

I had civil discussions with her about Detroit and national issues years ago. Her Marxist-leanings were never an issue with me, even though I did not concur with them.

What she does project that I find narrow and guilt tripping is the way she drapes issues in ethnicity and oppression. [[I'm told she is of Mexican and Irish ancestry.) Her loathing of Americana came out once when I mentioned that my non-white immigrant wife had become a US citizen. In so many words, she dismissed that as being a confirmation of sorts of US imperialism, another co-opting of a person of color into the capitalist system.

Nothing personal toward Herrada, but I don't care to see people from the fringe of the Right or the Left in positions of public responsibility. Such types should promote their worldviews in private organizations of which there seems to be so many of today promoting various agendas.

**Detroitnerd** · June-20-11, 04:28 PM

Oh, yes. Herrada may be many things, a communist, an anarchist, a child-abuser, a serial murderer, a husband-beater. She may be illegally in the country, she may be a satan-worshiping harpy from another planet. She may be a member of a vast left-wing plot to overthrow the United States and kill any number of people. All of those things may be true. And yet, I, as a good American citizen, refuse to repeat these vile slurs on her character, and choose, in my magnanimity, to give this communist hater of white people the benefit of my doubt.

I thank you all.

**SWMAP** · June-20-11, 04:53 PM

I looked for a citation of Herrada's ethnocentric view of SW Detroit that ignores the great work of our current State rep in favor of any Hispanic person having that seat [[but mostly herself as she is running for anything to get name recognition. I guess she lost for Charter Commission). This from the Michigan Citizen reporting on a community meeting & Herrada's interpretation of the turnout:
"“When Victor asked for police intervention, Southwest Solutions sent out e-mails asking that the ‘community’ let the ‘powers that be’ know how important this art gallery is to the community, which is a crock of b------t,” longtime southwest resident Elena Herrada said. “The reason there were all those Latinos at the meeting at the Southwest Public Safety Mall was because our community of Latinos is trying to fight to regain some semblance of political power from [Steve]Tobocman and Rashida [Tlaib] and Southwest Solutions gang.”

DetroitPole · June-20-11, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by Al Publican

Herrada's worldview was telling with her hyperbole about the Border Patrol being akin to the KKK.

I had civil discussions with her about Detroit and national issues years ago. Her Marxist-leanings were never an issue with me, even though I did not concur with them.

What she does project that I find narrow and guilt tripping is the way she drapes issues in ethnicity and oppression. [[I'm told she is of Mexican and Irish ancestry.) Her loathing of Americana came out once when I mentioned that my non-white immigrant wife had become a US citizen. In so many words, she dismissed that as being a confirmation of sorts of US imperialism, another co-opting of a person of color into the capitalist system.

Nothing personal toward Herrada, but I don't care to see people from the fringe of the Right or the Left in positions of public responsibility. Such types should promote their worldviews in private organizations of which there seems to be so many of today promoting various agendas.

I don't mind so much a person of rather extreme persuasions being elected, if that is what the voters choose, but the problem, in my opinion, is that she is on the school board.
She is using it as a soap box for her cheesy Che Guevara rants - uh, what does that have to do with running Detroit Public Schools?
Oh yeah, like the rest of them, she's just using it as a pulpit and for name recognition. She doesn't seem to have much to say about the kids.
That, and the fact that she's an Irish-American poseur named Ellen, is what bothers me.

Maybe I can change my name to Guillermo and start writing inflammatory crap for some two-bit paper and run for an office that nobody educates themselves on to make name for myself.

Make that Reverend Guillermo.

I'm NOT conservative at all, by the way. She's just a doofus.

**Al Publican** · June-20-11, 05:37 PM

This is small potatoes to me in this regard, but I've heard that she went from using her Irish surname to her maternal Latina name some years ago as part of a political identity [[re)construction thing. Let me know if I am wrong on this. It's been years since I heard this.

**Gary** · June-20-11, 06:02 PM

I've know her since before our undergrad days at Wayne State back in the 70s. Her [[paternal) surname is and always has been Herrada.

**SWMAP** · June-20-11, 06:15 PM

In her father's January 2011 in the Freep, she was listed with her sisters Julie and Mary. Her family evidently doesn't subscribe to "Elena" because she was listed as "Ellen." Just a little telling. But it appears that she really identifies with her Hispanic heritage for whatever reason.

**Gianni** · June-20-11, 07:22 PM

BTW I believe she disapproves of the term "Hispanic."

**oldredfordette** · June-20-11, 07:53 PM

Her sisters and her many friends call her Elena. For a very long time. Mistakes made at the Free Press or the funeral home notwithstanding.

**SWMAP** · June-20-11, 08:12 PM

I imagine that she insists on that. How else maintain the pose?

**oldredfordette** · June-21-11, 06:56 AM

How long have you guys known Elena?

**SWMAP** · June-21-11, 09:50 AM

I don't know her personally at all. I don't know Sarah Palin either. I pay attention to what each one has to say, though.

**Al Publican** · June-21-11, 11:12 AM

The term "HIspanic" was cooked up by the Nixon admin as a new census category. When I owned a retail biz in downtown San Diego folks of Iberian [[if you will) ancestry referred to themselves by their country of current nationality, Columbian, Salvadoran, Mexican, and so on. Latino/Latina seemed used more than Hispanic among folks I met in SoCal, but country of family origin in Central or South America was often used as well.

Hispanic sounds as synthetic as "American Indian." [["native American" has a better historic ring.) Latino sounds more fitting for an ethnic mix that is often difficult to pin a demographic on.

**Al Publican** · June-21-11, 01:04 PM

What do school board members get paid? What is Herrada's current job? Is she with SEIU?

**Det_ard** · June-21-11, 01:22 PM

Getting back to the thread title, "What does Elena Herrada bring to the Detroit School Board?..."

I don't know her or much about her, so those who support her, what's her contribution to DPS?

**ragnarok1981** · June-21-11, 01:31 PM

I know her and after having some conversations with her about the school board I was pretty shocked. First issue is that she seemed to adore Anthony Adams. This guy was at the heart of the Kilpatrick administration and it is really hard for me to believe that he was untouched by any of the corruption. He also apparently lives outside of Detroit so I am not sure how he can even be on the school board to begin with. My other fault with her is that I asked her how it is that so many of our schools were left unsecured and full of school supplies that could have been used for the kids in other schools when they were closed. She told me that Aramark had been hired to go through each school when it was closed and to clear out all the materials that could be reused for other kids. But Aramark had completely dropped the ball and apparently did nothing and left countless numbers of books to literally rot, computers to be stolen, and music instruments to decay to the point of being garbage. Even supplies that could be reused had been so contaminated with asbestos and other hazardous materials that they were unfit for anyone to use. So despite her knowledge of this being the case I have yet to see her being a vocal critic of this happening, anything to do with getting the money back for not following through with contracted work, or anything about this whole mess at all. Yes I know the school board is essentially toothless and really cant do anything anymore, but I would expect anyone in her position and with her background to be screaming from the roof tops that this was going on.

**Al Publican** · June-21-11, 01:46 PM

About twenty years ago a Detroit school engineer told me about the theft of some 40 commercial vacuum cleaners from Central Stores. Such a sizable theft should have been a news story, but the DPS apparently covered it up.

Aramark or any contractor is not responsible for security in schools, the administration is. The leadership of DPS has been part of the kleptocracy of Detroit governance.

**Det_ard** · June-21-11, 02:41 PM

Who's responsible for making sure contractors fulfill their contractual obligations? Someone in DPS I presume.

**SWMAP** · June-21-11, 02:53 PM

Well, The Board approves contracts over a certain small amount. If the contractor doesn't accomplish the job, the Board would disapprove payment and, for the big stuff - turn the details of the breach over their lawyers to litigate. Staff would do the monitoring, of course.

**Det_ard** · June-21-11, 03:06 PM

My point being that contractor screw-ups can be traced back to the DPSer who ought to be monitoring and ensuring satisfactory completion of the contract, and like you say, the Board should serve as a check on DPS employees, and they have the power to pay or not. So for a Board member or DPS functionary to point the finger at a vendor is to point the finger right back at themselves for failing to manage the vendor properly. Like managers successfully do at companies all over, every day.

**Al Publican** · June-21-11, 03:07 PM

I was thinking of someone to liken Herrada to when the late council member Mary Ann Mahaffey came to mind, except that Herrada is way more to the Left than Mahaffey who was a well meaning social democrat-type that I came to disagree with on most issues.

I met Mahaffey once at a party and called into several radio talks shows that she was on in the '80s and '90s. I recall when I was in person with her how she reacted when I suggested that Detroit should attempt to merge its bus system with then SEMTA [[now SMART) and, if possible, privatize the bus system. Oh, heavens no, said Mahaffey. The bus system must be owned by the people.

Mary Ann Mahaffey and I may have clashed a few times in person and on radio shows, but she wasn't a zealot the way Herrada often is with her takes on society.