UPDATE by Brian: The diary that is referred to here was a troll diary at dKos, and thus I think this would best be considered a troll diary as well. The candidates released a joint statement about the issue a while back, which can be found here. Here’s the statement:
Statement of Louis Vandenberg:
I reject any assertion or suggestion that Mr. Hedrick acted improperly with respect to the incident cited in a DailyKos diary posted on November 4, 2007. In my view, Mr. Hedrick behaved honorably and professionally in the execution of his duties as the leader of the Rialto Teacher’s Union. It is the responsibility of a person in such a position to address personnel matters in a manner which is as fair and objective as possible to all parties. The accused teacher, regardless of the accusations, was not convicted in a court of law. To my understanding, no criminal or civil charges were ever brought in this matter. Therefore, it would have not been appropriate for Mr. Hedrick to have stated anything other than the facts of the case, which is what he did. This is standard practice. No responsible person would have done anything differently. Although I am a political opponent of Mr. Hedrick’s in the 44th congressional race, such a smear deeply offends my sense of justice and fairness. I reject it, and I believe we all should. This campaign should be and must be about real issues that matter to real citizens in the real world. And this is not real.
Statement of Bill Hedrick:
Normally, this type of dirty trick does not merit a response. But when false allegations like these impugn the ethics and due diligence of an excellent school district and outstanding police force, this goes beyond personal slander of a political candidate.
As an educator, student safety is my highest priority. All employees of the Rialto Unified School District-whether the superintendent, the union president, or clerks, custodians, or teachers-are mandated reporters of any suspicion of child abuse.
Rialto Unified and the Rialto Police Department are diligent in investigating every allegation involving student safety. In the incident cited, both agencies vigorously and thoroughly performed their investigative duties with the full participation of the teachers’ association.
As a teacher, my first professional, legal, and moral obligation is student safety. Also, I work to ensure due process and the rule of law-something all citizens deserve in our democratic and free society.
It is unfortunate that posting such baseless allegations damages the credibility of school districts, law enforcement agencies, and teacher associations, all of whom are committed to ensuring the safety of children.
Again, we together, as Democrats and as candidates, seek honesty in our political dialog at this important time. Therefore, we have taken this unique step–political rivals coming together to condemn and reject obvious smear and slander. We trust that you will too.
Sincerely,
Bill Hedrick
Candidate for United States Representative in Congress
California’s 44th CD
www.hedrickforcongress.com
November 5, 2007
Corona, CaliforniaLouis Vandenberg
Candidate for United States Representative in Congress
California’s 44th CD
www.vandenbergforcongress.com (site update coming soon)
November 5, 2007
Riverside, California
Now back to your regularly scheduled troll diary. /update
The diary that I found this on Daily Kos. Here’s the link: http://www.dailykos….
What a piece!!! See below:
I’m a little pissed that Inland Empire Democrats have placed their hopes of defeating corrupt Rep. Ken Calvert (R) on Bill Hedrick. Can’t we find someone better? Hedrick is gonna get ripped apart if he makes it to the general election in Nov. 2008. See below.
I found this on craigslist > california > inland empire > politics.
Maybe someone can email Bill Hedrick and get a response? Bill Hedrick needs to come clean about his statement that George Warren retired and that the “sexual harassment allegations had nothing to do” with Warren’s decision to retire. How stupid does he think the Democratic voters of CA-44 are? I suspect some industrious muckraking reporters are on the case now…
Check out this story to get an overview of the sex predator problem in our nation’s schools: http://www.editorand…
Copied from http://inlandempire….
“Bill Hedrick is a Democratic candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 44th Congressional District of California, which includes Riverside. He is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.). The primary will take place on June 3, 2008.
Questions and serious concerns remain about controversial comments made by Bill Hedrick while president of the Rialto Teacher’s Union. In 2005, a verbal argument erupted between a young middle school girl and her teacher, George Warren. Later, the girl accused George Warren of sexually harassing her. Soon, other female students came forward as well, corroborating a pattern of sexual harassment carried out by George Warren.
The school district conducted an investigation. At its conclusion, George Warren announced he would no longer serve as a middle school teacher.
Bill Hedrick, then and still president of the Rialto Teachers Union, made it clear that Warren had been cleared by the school board, had simply retired of his own choice and that the sexual harassment allegations had nothing to do with his decision.
Do you believe Bill? Did he protect a child sex predator?”
See story at: http://www.zerointel…
Bill Hedrick’s campaign website: http://www.hedrickfo…
His more honorable Democratic Opponent Louis Vandenberg: http://www.vandenber…