March 15, 2016 is the Ohio Primary Election and time for the people of certain districts to vote for their House Representative. One of those districts is the 25th district, a “whistle blower” is running for that spot, and her name is Bernadine Kent.
Kent has been a teacher and vice principal for the Columbus City Schools and runs the nonprofit advocacy group PASS – Parent Advocates for Students in School. Kent was responsible for blowing the whistle on the Columbus City Schools for theft and fraud in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) funds. When the Columbus Police Department didn’t listen to her, or shall I say, follow up with her complaint, Kent didn’t just say “OK, I tried to tell them what’s going on” and then give up. No, she blew her whistle even louder and in the direction of the FBI, which in turn sparked their investigation into the situation and found that the Columbus School’s tutoring program was not functioning as it should and in fact, fraud had been committed. Kent also helped expose the data
When asked how her background in education would help in “the house” if elected by the American citizens who vote in the 25th district Kent said “as a state representative, I really could cross both sides, I could talk to the Republicans and the Democrats about what is going on with the school district.” Kent has shown an interest for not only the Ohio citizens who vote, but has advocated for those citizens who don’t feel the need to vote or aren’t old enough to vote.
Kent is concerned about the individuals in the 25th district, which now consists of portions of Columbus, Clinton Township and Mifflin Township, but Kent is also concerned for all the individuals of Columbus. She is running against three other Democrats who are males for the one spot. When asked if this was her only challenge in winning the House seat she responded with “No, I think the biggest challenge for me is making sure everyone knows who I am and what I’m about,” and what Kent is about is improving the ability for the children of Columbus Public Schools to graduate with a diploma, helping the parents of these children learn how to advocate for their children’s education, helping to pass laws that will put back into the public school the trade and skill courses that helped the “poorer” students be able to work at a job that would keep them off welfare, and laws that benefit not only the 25th district but Ohio as well.
As the house representative, Kent will be the voice of the people who aren’t listened to when they blow the whistle because “it’s very hard for the person who isn’t educated to speak the right language to get their needs met.” Kent will be the voice that will help the House members recognize the need to vote on and pass laws that benefit the people of the districts based on their individual district needs.
If the house has the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie, I personally feel very confident that a vote for “whistle blower” Bernadine Kent is a sure fire vote for a candidate who won’t have any problems meeting and implementing any of those job duties and will do so with my personal individual benefit in mind. Just ask the thousands of students she advocated for when she blew the whistle on the NCLB bandits.
We need more “whistle blowers” in the government who aren’t afraid to speak out against tax payers’ money being spent inappropriately, who aren’t afraid to pass bills that will benefit not just the “upper class” but also the “lower class” citizens, who aren’t afraid to go “over the heads” of others to ensure that the voices of the people are heard. Bernadine Kent is the kind of “whistle blower” that the House needs.
