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Home · Articles · News · Rogue of the Week · Cyber-Scrivener Steve Sargent
May 23rd, 2007 WW Editorial Staff | Rogue of the Week
 

Cyber-Scrivener Steve Sargent

5 Comments
     
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It's the electronic equivalent of pushing a smaller kid off his bike. Sure, you can do it. Sure, you might not get caught. You think you're just being funny. In reality, you're a big jerk and everyone but you knows it.

We're talking about cyber-bullying, and these days it's not just for children anymore. Exhibit A from the Rogue Desk of cyber-scrivener misbehavior: the May 4 email below from Steve Sargent, husband of Trudy Sargent, a Portland Public Schools board member. The email's recipient? James Williams, the 23-year-old son of Dilafruz Williams, another School Board member.

Here's the background: In the run-up to the May 15 School Board election, James Williams emailed about 200 Portlanders, asking them to support Ruth Adkins. Steve and Trudy Sargent both supported Adkins' opponent, incumbent Doug Morgan.

Before graduating from Lincoln High School in 2002, James Williams served as the student representative on the Portland School Board. He graduated from Princeton University in 2006, but he's registered to vote in Portland. He sent the email endorsing Adkins from his parents' home, where he now lives.

Still, Steve Sargent, a 50-year-old real-estate investor, considers Williams' residency claim dubious.

Dear James,
I noted the return address on your letter. I am sure you would not want to mislead people about your residence. Yet your mother keeps telling everyone that you attend school at Princeton. Since this is not traditionally known as a correspondence school, I assumed you had to live there to attend. I am sorry you had to drop out and move back in with your mom. We have never met, yet, as a spouse of a school board member, I feel compelled to say "best of luck with your next school."
Steve Sargent

"I fail to see how a private e-mail to James poking fun at his claimed residence qualifies as 'cyber-bullying,'" Sargent emails the Rogue Desk. "But perhaps you have more tender sensibilities than I (especially when on deadline and desperately seeking copy)."

Ouch! Now, back to the first paragraph of this missive.

 
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05.24.2007 at 07:25 Reply
I'm with Sargent on this one: who cares and you were definitely desperate for something negative to print...

 

05.24.2007 at 08:10 Reply
Despite his somewhat misguided attempt at humor, Sargent's question still begs an answer. James Williams apparently has not lived in Portland for several years, yet feels qualified to send out an endorsement for a candidate for the school board, with, one would assume, the approval of his mother. It strikes me as odd that a school board member would use their son as a political factotum to campaign against a fellow board member, and further that a school board member would encourage their son, who does not live in Portland, to use an address that does not reflect where he actually lives. If this were a highly-charged partisan race, this action would surely fall into the category of "dirty tricks."

Regardless of the manner in which Sargent asked the question, the validity of the question itself remains: why would a school board member engage her son, who doesn't live in Portland, in a political campaign, and allow that son to use a Portland mailing address when in fact he hasn't lived in Portland for several years.

I look forward to the answer. - KM

 

05.24.2007 at 11:00 Reply
Neither Sargent has a nickel's worth of decency. When shall we petition the city to take over PPS? :-)

 

05.25.2007 at 11:11 Reply
TG
As a fellow Princetonian, I must rise to the defense of Mr. Williams' character that has been questioned by the previous writers. James Williams won a Truman Scholar award at Princeton, came home every summer to work with high school kids to develop knowledge and skills to deal with education funding and curriculum issues, and plans to settle in Portland to work with non-profits and elected officials after grad school. As the article stated, he graduated in 2006 and has lived at home since, which raises the following math questions to the above writers: doesn't 2002 + 4 = 2006 and doesn't 2007 follow 2006?

 

05.25.2007 at 04:17 Reply
rogue desk got it right. Resulting to casting aspersions regarding where Williams chooses to live, should be beneath any mature adult. Director Sargent should publicly rebuke him for his stooping so low. My wife sure as hell would.

 

 
 

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