For the record, his name is Mitch Kraft, or, how one small new story that's little remembered today by 99.9% of you, offers a peek into the much-larger reporting, editing and management problems with South Florida news outlets, and in my opinion, the Miami Herald in general and Herald reporter Patricia Mazzei in particular.
I originally wrote parts of this as an email to friends and my Circle of Trust on May 24th, 2010, but post excerpts of it now to prove a point or two about some of the self-evident lazy reporting in South Florida that too many people are consciously ignoring.
For months, practically the entire 19-month time period since the following news story first appeared in print in the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel, I've used it as instructive example of how glaring the problem is.
Though this was originally written in January of 2010, when Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft's departure was a current issue, even now it's an insightful reminder of how basic aspects of news reporting and journalism that newspaper readers and TV viewers are entitled to expect, have been completely Missing-In-Action in South Florida for years.
This is just the first in a number of future pieces focusing on the recent past that will appear here before the end of the year on that sore subject, which has only gotten worse with time.
Much worse!
But first, the article that was the predicate to all of this.
Much of this will be familiar to many of you who are regular readers of the blog, less so to others.
And there's been huge news regarding all the principals mentioned here, but those changes are NOT the focus of this post.
Today, the errors of omissions are the problem -the information that was NOT conveyed to readers
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Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald writes, "Kraft's announcement, which was not unexpected..."
It's all down-hill from there!!!
Miami Herald
BROWARD SCHOOL BOARD
Stephanie Kraft won't seek fourth term on Broward School Board
A School Board member announced she won't run for a fourth term -- and a parent activist filed for her seat.
By Patricia Mazzei
January 13, 2010
Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft will not seek reelection to her seat, she said Tuesday, shortly before Coral Springs parent and school district volunteer Shelly Solomon Heller filed to run for the post.
Kraft's announcement, which was not unexpected, throws open the race for her Northwest Broward seat. It may be the only one of five School Board contests on the August ballot that will not have an incumbent running for reelection.
For now, Heller, a mother of four and an attorney who helped craft the district's anti-bullying policy, will face Dave Thomas, a history and psychology teacher at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs who filed last year. There is still time for more candidates to file.
Three other School Board members have put in papers for reelection: Jennifer Gottlieb, Phyllis Hope and Ann Murray. Hope faces a challenger, Weston parent Laurie Rich Levinson.
Bob Parks has not yet filed for reelection to his Northeast Broward post, though he is expected to run.
Kraft, a lawyer and one of the most tenured members on the board, is known for her ability to discuss at length the finer points of policy issues. She cited her daughter's graduation from a public high school in June as her main reason for stepping aside.
``If you don't have children in the system, you just don't understand a lot of the issues that the parents are dealing with,'' particularly in a district with many young families, she said.
Kraft said when she was sworn in to her third term in 2006 that it would be her last four years in office, but she had not officially announced whether she would seek reelection.
On Tuesday, Kraft said she waited until she knew other people were interested in running for her seat before making a final decision.
Heller has served as Kraft's appointee on several school system committees.
Kraft said the arrest of suspended School Board member Beverly Gallagher in a federal corruption sting in September did not influence her decision to not seek reelection.
``I've been saying this for years,'' she said.
Kraft drew scrutiny since revealing -- after Gallagher's arrest -- that her husband worked for board lobbyist Neil Sterling. Federal authorities familiar with Gallagher's case said they were probing Sterling's influence on the School Board.
Kraft's husband, an attorney, did work for a Sterling company that does not do business with the district, Kraft has said. The relationship prompted the school system to tighten its lobbyist rules so lobbyists must declare any conflicts of interest with board members' families.
More questions were raised about Kraft after district records showed developer Bruce Chait told school system staffers that he retained Kraft's husband while negotiating a $500,000 break in fees from the School Board in 2007. Neither Kraft nor her husband, Mitch Kraft, have publicly addressed Chait's claim.
Chait, president of Prestige Homes, and his son, Shawn Chait, were arrested last month after former Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion told prosecutors he accepted $25,000 in cash and a golf membership from the Chaits in exchange for his votes.
Stephanie Kraft said Tuesday she has not been contacted by prosecutors on the Chait case -- and that as far as she knows, she is not being investigated for criminal misconduct. A state ethics complaint against her is pending.
Kraft said she does not have a job lined up and has no plans to run for county or statewide office, though she left the door open to seeking higher office.
``There's always a possibility of filing in the future,'' she said.
Actually, contrary to what was written above and below, if you relied solely on the Herald or Sun-Sentinel for your non-TV news information, Stephanie Kraft's departure WAS unexpected ONLY in that none of the local print reporters covering education issues had ever bothered to publicly hint or write that Kraft was on the way out, however that might happen.
The reporters covering Kraft were the only ones who were caught unaware.
It was common knowledge to people actually paying close attention.
There's a big difference.
But that's far from the only problem.
Let's try an experiment.
See if you can spot the recurring pattern below, which is lifted word-for-word from Patricia Mazzei's article:
Kraft drew scrutiny since revealing -- after Gallagher's arrest -- that her husband worked for board lobbyist Neil Sterling. Federal authorities familiar with Gallagher's case said they were probing Sterling's influence on the School Board.
Kraft's husband, an attorney, did work for a Sterling company that does not do business with the district, Kraft has said. The relationship prompted the school system to tighten its lobbyist rules so lobbyists must declare any conflicts of interest with board members' families.
More questions were raised about Kraft after district records showed developer Bruce Chait told school system staffers that he retained Kraft's husband while negotiating a $500,000 break in fees from the School Board in 2007. Neither Kraft nor her husband, Mitch Kraft, have publicly addressed Chait's claim.
It's not until the fourth time he's mentioned -her husband, an attorney, Kraft's husband, her husband- that Mazzei finally spits out his name. What's the big mystery?
Jesus, say it the first time and be done with this teeth-pulling and faux mystery!
That's to say nothing of the inexact way that Mazzei and other Herald reporters who now or formerly have written about education in South Florida, have consistently failed to mention how individual School Board members actually voted on the particular agenda items that have come up, which are, after all, the reasons the reporter is there in the first place.
It's as if they can't be bothered with something so simple as the actual vote.
But that's true of 99.5% of all the Herald reporters, as I wrote about several times here about articles about the Broward County Charter Review Commission in 2008, it's just that with other legislative bodies, it's easier for citizens to find out who voted which way.
Even today, the Broward School Board does NOT have that basic voting info on their website for quite some time.
But when Congress is in session, I can find out in seconds how a congressman in Montana voted today or yesterday or even send him or her an email.
Perhaps if the Herald actually had an Education blog in January of 2010, that news about Kraft and her attempts to o hand-pick her successor might've come up before.
In the year 2011, the Herald might want to consider getting around to that since they have so many other blogs that, to be kind, are nothing but fluff or issue advocacy.
Since it's not reasonable to expect that all, most or even half of Herald readers know who was on the Broward School Board before they moved here, much less, who is on it now -esp. since in Ann Murray's case now, she's seldom if ever present publicly in the Hallandale Beach portion of her district- Fort Lauderdale businessman/lobbyist Neil Sterling was a member of the Broward School Board from November 1984 until he resigned in January of 1991.
Gov. Lawton Chiles replaced him by selecting Miriam Oliphant.
I mention this since Neil Stirling's past experience as a Broward School Board member before becoming a lobbyist is NOT mentioned in the Mazzei article.
It's called historical context
"Oh, now I get it!"
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Good for the goose, good for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Why is the name of Stephanie Alma Kraft's husband's so TOP SECRET?
His name is Mitch Kraft.
Why is this simple fact NOT mentioned in this Sun-Sentinel article?
Instead, he is referred to below, as I have emphasized, as, a.) "her husband's" b.) "her husband"
Why is his name the one that is not spoken?
Or, apparently, written down, so that readers know who the hell you're talking about?
Does it have something to do with casting a spell?
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
KRAFT WON'T SEEK NEW SCHOOL BOARD TERM - RECENT CONTROVERSIES NOT A FACTOR SHE SAYS
By Kathy Bushouse Staff Writer
January 13, 2010
Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft announced Tuesday she won't seek re-election in August, but she said it had nothing to do with the recent ethics complaint against her or speculation she is the latest Broward politician under scrutiny by federal and state prosecutors.
She has no job lined up, she said, and doesn't dismiss an eventual return to public office. Her decision to give up the northwest Broward seat she has held for 12 years came in part because her daughter had graduated from the Broward school district, she said.
"I just think it's better to be able to relate to the people in this particular district when your kids are going through the same thing," said Kraft, 53, an attorney. "And honestly, after 12 years, I think it's time to have some new blood."
Kraft has a reputation for asking multiple, pointed questions of the district staff and for her love of school arts and music programs. She is credited with leading the charge in 2006 to fire then-Superintendent Frank Till, saying she had no confidence in him.
But she has been under fire since October, when she disclosed her husband's business ties to School Board lobbyist Neil Sterling, who also lobbied for Vista Healthplan. Kraft led the advisory committee that chose Vista to be the district's sole health insurance provider. This year, Vista upset district employees by raising premiums for their children by 46 percent.
In addition, Kraft is being investigated by the Florida Commission on Ethics over allegations she misused her position to help Prestige Homes developer Bruce Chait and failed to disclose that her husband was working for Chait's company.
She has long known she would not run again, Kraft said, but she was going to hold off on a formal announcement until the ethics complaint against her was resolved. She said she changed her mind "in deference to people who wanted to start their campaign ... so there's no question that the seat's going to be available for people to run."
By the end of the day Tuesday, two candidates were in the race to fill her seat: J.P. Taravella High School teacher David "Dave" Thomas, of Coral Springs, and Coral Springs parent volunteer Shelly Heller.
When asked whether she had been contacted recently by the FBI or state or federal prosecutors, Kraft said she hasn't "heard a word since the day that Bev [Gallagher] was arrested and I got interviewed."
Gallagher, who has been suspended from the School Board, was arrested Sept. 23 on federal corruption charges, including bribery, extortion and honest services fraud. She was accused of taking money to steer school construction contracts to favored companies.
Several board members took time at the end of Tuesday's school board meeting to praise Kraft.
"Truthfully, some of us knew way back when that you were thinking about retiring," said board member Bob Parks. "We are really gonna miss you."
Board member Maureen Dinnen said while the two didn't always agree, she appreciated Kraft's attention to detail "and the passion that you bring to those arguments."
There will be five School Board seats up for election Aug. 24. So far, board members Jennifer Gottlieb, Phyllis Hope and Ann Murray have filed papers to seek re-election; Parks still has not filed but said he will run again.
Kraft said she's "accomplished pretty much everything I wanted to accomplish on the board," and will keep working "until my time is up."
She said she won't run for anything in November because "right now there are no elected offices that are open in my district."
She mentioned the Florida Senate seat currently held by Jeremy Ring and the Broward County Commission seat held by Stacy Ritter but added, "I certainly wouldn't run against an incumbent in my district for anything."
"I'm just going to keep myself open," Kraft said. "I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and they happen when they're supposed to happen. I think between now and next November something will be revealed. I just don't know what it's going to be yet."
INFORMATIONAL BOX:
Stephanie Kraft: Key dates in her School Board career
May 6, 1998: Filed papers to run in District 4 against 16-year incumbent Donald Samuels. The Broward Teachers Union didn't even bother to interview her.
Sept. 1, 1998: Wins District 4 seat.
Nov. 16, 2004: Board elects Kraft chairwoman.
Feb. 25, 2005: Joins elected officials from across Broward County to urge voters to reject slot machine gambling.
2006: Received $2,000 in campaign contributions from Vista Healthplan and its affiliates. Kraft served as chairwoman of the School Superintendent's Insurance Advisory Committee, which screens plan proposals. Her husband, Mitch Kraft, ran for Coral Springs City Commission but lost. Vista Healthplan and its affiliates donated the maximum allowed by law to his campaign.
Oct. 17, 2006: School Board fires Superintendent Frank Till. Kraft led the push to oust Till.
August 30, 2007: Vista Healthplan wins the $1.7 billion contract to be the sole health insurance carrier for 6,000 eligible Broward County employees beginning in 2008.
2008: Vista uses an adjustment provision to dramatically raise rates for dependents.
Oct. 13, 2009: Kraft discloses that her husband had worked as an independent contractor since late 2007 for SRG Technology LLC, a company owned by Neil Sterling, one of the school district's biggest lobbyists who represent a number of companies that do business with the district, including Vista Healthplan.
Oct. 20, 2009: Sun Sentinel reports that Prestige Homes, a Tamarac developer, won a $500,000 break in fees to the Broward School District after hiring Kraft's husband, Mitch.
Oct. 31, 2009: Philip Sweeting, former deputy police chief of Boca Raton, filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics against Kraft.
Nov. 24, 2009: School Board unanimously agrees to eliminate the health insurance advisory committee's three board member positions held by Bob Parks, Kraft and Robin Bartleman.
Dec. 3, 2009: Teachers union files a lawsuit against the School Board, seeking to prevent Vista Healthplan from increasing rates by 46 percent for dependent coverage, pending the outcome of a state ethics complaint filed against Kraft.
Compiled by Barbara Hijek, news researcher
Sources: Sun Sentinel archives, Broward School Board, Miami Herald
