WE WON - Analyzing the Result of the PSU Board of Trustee's Elections

The success of the "reform and hold responsible" PS4RS candidates for Board of Trustees is only another step for those of us who worked hard to secure their election. We now need to support them with suggestions and help consolidate the collective power of the only popularly elected members of that body. Congratulations to the new board members.

Now there are NINE -  NINE popularly elected new Penn State Trustees since the 11/9/11 Board who, under the "guidance" of John Surma and the control of Tom Corbett, voted to destroy the reputation of the great institution they had a fiduciary duty to defend.

2012  Election Results Candidate – Vote Total Winners

Adam J. Taliaferro, '05, Swedesboro, NJ -- 15,629

Anthony P. Lubrano, '82, Exton, PA -- 10,096

Ryan J. McCombie, '70, State College, PA -- 4,806

2013  Election Results Candidate – Vote Total  Winners  

Barbara L. Doran, '75, New York, NY – 15,085

William F. Oldsey, '76, Basking Ridge, NJ – 13,940

Edward "Ted" B. Brown, III, '68, State College, PA – 11,403

and NOW  2014  Election Results Candidate -- Vote Total Winners

Alice W. Pope -- 10,025

Albert L. Lord -- 9,516

Robert C. Jubelirer -- 8,101 

The Onward and Upward "MOVE ON" oriented candidates included Myers, Dan Cocco, Julie Harris McHugh, and Matt Schuyler.  UpwardState used some rather devious tactics, such as using photographs of protesting Alumni at the March4Truth, to misrepresent their position about moving forward.  The tactics didn't work.

Cocco and McHugh scored 3800 and 3500 votes respectively - less than half the total of Bob Jubelirer, who was smeared with negative campaign tactics.
Joel N. Myers - the sole 11/9/11 Trustee who sought re-election scored 3500 votes after spending thousands. His role in the 11/9/11 disaster was clearly repudiated by the Alumni.   

Ryan Bagwell (who is responsible for obtaining the emails that exposed the 11/9 members) and Rudy Glocker (endorsed by Sue Paterno)  scored a respectable 3400 and 2700 votes - votes that can be counted against the "move on" movement. 

Ted Sebastianelli - organizer of a group proposing a Joe Paterno statue - and obviously opposed to the "move on" agenda, scored 5700 votes in 4th place. 

So put another way Move On candidates - Myers, Cocco, and McHugh totaled roughly 11,000 votes total  or an average of 3500 votes each while reform and "HOLD RESPONSIBLE" candidates totaled roughly 43,000 votes or 14,000 voters x3 for reform and responsibility. 

Of the Penn State Alumni who cared enough to pay attention and vote on a very basic difference in position and opinion:

3,500 wanted to "move on"   

14,000 want those responsible held accountable

That's 20% vs 80% 

That isn't just a simple victory for the forces of right vs wrong - It is a MANDATE giving the reform trustees a base of support within the Alumni that is powerful and focused on an agenda holding the perpetrators of the 11/9/11 agenda responsible. 

The winning candidates won the PS4RS primary and were thus endorsed by PS4RS. The PS4RS group has spawned additional groups with some differences of opinion on details and tactics like PSU Re-BoT, March4Truth, Put the JoePa Statue Back, and PSU Alumni for Re-Organization of the BoT. But all of these groups were unanimously opposed to the "move on" agenda of the well funded Onward and Upward State groups. The Facebook Pages and websites for the various "Reform and Hold Responsible" groups see significant daily activity.  

This SMSS website is approaching 1.5 million visits this month (the 26th of active existence). That's  60,000 visits a month from Penn Staters who want the TRUTH about what was done to their Alma Mater by Tom Corbett, John Surma and their partners in crime (Ken Frazier, Karen Peetz, the Corbett appointees, etc) exposed.  We supported the "Reform and Hold Responsible" Candidates in order to sustain the 'hold responsible' agenda.  

Only NINE of the Trustees are popularly elected. They alone have a constituency of concerned Penn State Alumni who care about their University - not the interests of corporations or politicians who control their appointments. 

The next move for those who want to hold the 11/9/11 BoT responsible for the damage done - and alter the negative narrative spawned by the Corbett-conflicted 11/9/11 board - is to get actively involved in the defeat of Tom Corbett.  Our impact in damaging Corbett should convince a new Governor to consider our advice on his appointed replacements - as well as reform measures being considered to downsize the BoT and make it more responsive to students and alumni, as opposed to business interests. 

When 80% of the active concerned alumni demonstrate their support with their votes and hard work - these new trustees join the previous six with a significant power base they alone enjoy. These reform trustees were not appointed or chosen by Ag or Business groups - they were elected with a mandate to right the wrong done to Penn State by Tom Corbett and his cronies. This election demonstrates our power to effect change. We need to help set an agenda that makes the best use of that power. 

SMSS will have some suggestions that could alter the narrative during this upcoming election cycle. We herein initiate a discussion of tactics that might re-open the debate in the Commonwealth concerning Penn State's culpability in the Second Mile Sandusky Scandal. 

The election offers an opportunity to focus on Corbett's conflicted agenda that failed to investigate The Second Mile and the Dept of Public Welfare while attempting to blame Penn State. Corbett's failure to protect the children of the Commonwealth by failing to investigate TSM and DPW is a great campaign issue for us. 

A media focused on the gubernatorial election would have to cover 1) Corbett's clear Conflict of Interests concerning Penn State and 2) Corbett's part in the Freeh Fiction. 3) Corbett's clear failure to investigate TSM and DPW - the real agencies that failed the children of the Commonwealth.  Once the public sees how Corbett manipulated this crisis to harm Penn State, everything will be exposed to public view. That will be a very good thing and I think we can help make that happen with the help of the elected BoT members. 

In my view the gubernatorial election not only offers a chance for a new governor to replace a large number of 11/9 Trustees - done right, it could afford reform and responsibility forces input in who replaces them. 

But perhaps more importantly,  this election offers the last best chance to alter the narrative in the Commonwealth concerning Penn State's culpability in what should have always been known as the Second Mile Sandusky Scandal by focusing attention on Corbett's failure to protect children who were failed by The Second Mile and PA's child protection agencies. 

Robert Jubelirer: Candidate for Penn State Board of Trustees

We at SMSS in recognition of specific issues addressed by Robert Jubelirer concerning Joe Paterno's legacy, his agreement with Al Clemens statements, and his acceptance of Stephen Fink's recommendations have offered this space on our website. We agree with Bob and want to assist him in offering his case for election to the Penn State Board of Trustees. 

Dear SMSS Friends and Followers,

Thank you very much for the opportunity to share my platform as a candidate for the Penn State Board of Trustees. Your interest means a lot to me; I do not take your support lightly or for granted. YOU and other like-minded alums have been at the forefront of the fight to restore what is our beloved university’s real reputation as well as Coach Joe Paterno’s. I admire that you stand by the courage of your convictions in the face of often harsh circumstances and opposition. Nobody should minimize as merely symbolic the returning of JoePa’s statue to its rightful place – it can begin to heal the rift that has developed in PSU nation.

This is my second year running for the BoT. Last year was quite a learning experience. While I fared pretty well, I realized after that I had a lot more work to do in order to garner more support and earn an alumni-elected seat. Therefore, I have been working relentlessly to make a real difference in our fight through my relationships in Harrisburg with members of the state legislature and around the state at key hearings and at Trustees meetings. To date, I have garnered the support of 14 more state senators to support Senate Bill 1240 to begin reforming the Board of Trustees. And recently I’ve been working to get a public hearing for Governor Corbett’s BoT nominees, which is sorely needed especially in light of the nominees’ Second Mile ties.

Let’s talk about the Board. The Board should represent the best interests of the alumni, students and others. While some individual alumni-elected members have stepped up and deserve support, the “old guard” has been terrible except for one very notable exception: Al Clemens. He stepped up and I was very proud of my former classmate. It takes guts to admit you were wrong. His peers should follow! And they should also listen to Steven Fink who laid out best how the BoT not only should have proceeded in the past, but even now. The BoT, however, without due process dismissed Joe Paterno and through their acquiescence in accepting the NCAA sanctions without a thorough review of the Freeh Report, the Board failed us. Yet, I remain optimistic. Our university is strong. And serving in legislative leadership for so many years taught me the valuable skills of bringing people with differing positions together for results, and regrouping and forging ahead after suffering setbacks. That’s what I intend to do!

My top priorities (as a candidate and as a Penn Stater) are:
1. The Board needs to change its makeup and size. I support passage of PA Senate Bill 1240 and putting Trustees under the State Ethics Act.
2. To increase transparency, I support putting Penn State and all state-related universities under the Right to Know Act.
3. Stop wasting money on hiring outside consultants; instead use the money to reduce tuition for students.
4. PSU needs to better cultivate relationships in Harrisburg with the legislature and Administration.
5. PSU needs to better convey the remarkable academic and research attributes that make our university a renowned leader, and remind people what powerful economic engines ALL our campuses are

Thank you for this opportunity. If you are a PS4RS member and haven’t voted, I hope you will consider voting for me before Sunday! And I hope you will consider my candidacy in the election that begins next month.

For the glory, Bob

Bob with Anthony Lubrano on Joe Paterno's Legacy

Bob at the PS4RS Forum on Mar 6, 2014

VISIT THE JUBELIRER FOR TRUSTEE WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION