To: Malik Evans, Commissioner, Melisza Campos, Commissioner, Cynthia Elliott, Commissioner, Willa Powell, Commissioner, Van Henri White, Commissioner, James Sheppard, Police Chief, Gary McLendon, Dave McCleary, George Radney, Tiffany Lankes,...
Public Apology from Commissioner Mary Adams
Dear Rochester Board of Education Commissioners,
As you all have been notified, the following happened on August 26, 2012:
Rochester Board of Education Commissioner Mary Adams, Mr. Hubert Wilkerson, and Commissioner Adams' husband, Mr. Ricardo Adams, charged into a community meeting in Rochester, NY where four Community Education Task Force (CETF) members were present. During the incident, which occurred at 6:46 PM on Sunday, August 26, 2012, Mr. Adams came in shouting, and verbally abused, threatened, and bullied the four Community Education Task Force members while Commissioner Adams stood by, watched, and said nothing.
The following were Mr. Adams' exact words to us (verbatim): "If any of you mother f-ers come within 10 ft of my wife outside of a school board meeting, there's gonna be drama. I'm telling you, you're gonna have problems. Bunch of sorry, lying mother f-ers."
I’m sure that you and the other Rochester Board of Education members will agree that, especially in light of the Rochester City School District's anti-bullying policy as well as ethics, morality, and civility in general, participation in and allowing this grossly inappropriate behavior is unbecoming and unacceptable for a School Board Commissioner. Commissioner Adams, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Wilkerson are aware that young children frequently attend these weekly Sunday meetings. It is fortunate that none were present on August 26th.
Considering the circumstances outlined above and to prevent a harmful precedent from being set in regards to elected officials’ behavior in the community, I respectfully request that you and the other Board Commissioners compel Commissioner Adams to at least issue a written, public apology. A public apology is warranted as her involvement and participation in such reckless, irresponsible, and unprofessional action condoned the incident described above. Commissioner Adams has also caused an unnecessary hardship on a community group, the Community Education Task Force, which she helped establish, actively participated in and endorsed prior to her election.
(Copied to New York State Commissioner of Education and New York State Board of Regents)
As you all have been notified, the following happened on August 26, 2012:
Rochester Board of Education Commissioner Mary Adams, Mr. Hubert Wilkerson, and Commissioner Adams' husband, Mr. Ricardo Adams, charged into a community meeting in Rochester, NY where four Community Education Task Force (CETF) members were present. During the incident, which occurred at 6:46 PM on Sunday, August 26, 2012, Mr. Adams came in shouting, and verbally abused, threatened, and bullied the four Community Education Task Force members while Commissioner Adams stood by, watched, and said nothing.
The following were Mr. Adams' exact words to us (verbatim): "If any of you mother f-ers come within 10 ft of my wife outside of a school board meeting, there's gonna be drama. I'm telling you, you're gonna have problems. Bunch of sorry, lying mother f-ers."
I’m sure that you and the other Rochester Board of Education members will agree that, especially in light of the Rochester City School District's anti-bullying policy as well as ethics, morality, and civility in general, participation in and allowing this grossly inappropriate behavior is unbecoming and unacceptable for a School Board Commissioner. Commissioner Adams, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Wilkerson are aware that young children frequently attend these weekly Sunday meetings. It is fortunate that none were present on August 26th.
Considering the circumstances outlined above and to prevent a harmful precedent from being set in regards to elected officials’ behavior in the community, I respectfully request that you and the other Board Commissioners compel Commissioner Adams to at least issue a written, public apology. A public apology is warranted as her involvement and participation in such reckless, irresponsible, and unprofessional action condoned the incident described above. Commissioner Adams has also caused an unnecessary hardship on a community group, the Community Education Task Force, which she helped establish, actively participated in and endorsed prior to her election.
(Copied to New York State Commissioner of Education and New York State Board of Regents)
Why is this important?
Commissioner Mary Adams of the Rochester School Board in Rochester, New York needs to issue a public apology for participating in behavior unbecoming of an elected official. We urge you to sign the letter of support demanding an apology based on the events detailed in the letter which will be sent to directly to Commissioner Adams' colleagues on the School Board.