We are altering our publishing schedule to accommodate the volume of candidate interviews we need to deliver before election day.
On this installment we welcome in candidate for re-election to school board - labor lawyer Brian Perry.
Brian fills us in on his long pursuit of the school board seat he’s occupied since 2019 and how his intentions to serve started as far back as his High School days here in Hilliard. We touch on the role his legal education has played in his time and work on the board and how it influences some of his thinking and planning.
Kevin takes us into the ‘best practices’ understanding necessary to make decisions around appropriate School Resource Officer (SRO) levels and Brian’s response takes in the expansion and development of the program during his tenure to encompass additional designations such as "Safety Officer” and other tools that the schools and the Police department have developed to deal with problems as they arise.
Brian describes the relationship between life in Hilliard as a city resident and life as a student in our schools. The topic of school buildings and facilities as outreach for important community priorities is discussed.
There has been significant reform to the Hilliard Schools during Brian’s tenure and we ask him to describe some major initiatives and evaluate their effectiveness.Hilliard's "Portrait of a Learner"
Brian also brings us to and walks us through the general framework of another landmark document and developing cornerstone of the Hilliard Schools - The Master Facilities Plan.
We then segue into a few minutes of talk about the tensions and approaches surrounding the necessary and ongoing nature of local, collaborative government.
Brian continues to describe the day to day nature of school board work by delineating between work and business sessions including his preference and hope that people engage with all aspects of the school board’s work and not just national, “hot button” narratives.
We then move into talk about various fiscal responsibilities of the board as it pertains to labor contracts, planning, and administrative savings in ongoing defense and effective use of taxpayer investment. Brian touches on the expanded role of school board in approving TIF use for residential development but also various land deals the schools have done to support city collaboration.
Time check talk: We were not at 44 minutes. We were at 52 minutes.
Brian talks about the differences he perceives this election go round and the role he hopes his record and a level of experience brings.
Tim asks about upcoming challenges in a potential next term and Brian describes his hopes to remain focused on and continue to define meaningful academics to conclude our interview.
We hope you enjoy this series and we are taking this very seriously.
We would like to extend a perpetual “thank you” to candidates and officials willing to make themselves available in this format.
Featured below is the guiding document we developed - drawing on decades of Kevin Corvo’s reporting experience - to provide residents the best chance to get to know the candidates you’ll be asked to vote for this November.
2023 Hilliard Beacon Election Candidate Interview Guidelines
Purpose of this document:
* Create a framework for candidate interviews that will lend consistency to the overall project in an effort to keep the interviews fair and unbiased
* Provide candidates with an idea of what to expect during the interview
Purpose of the interviews:
* Provide a resource for Beacon Readers (and Hilliard voters in particular) to hear from candidates in a neutral environment so they can vote with confidence.
* Give candidates the chance to speak at length about the issues they consider most important.
General format for the interview:
* Timeframe for the interviews is open-ended. Most of our podcasts last about 40-50 minutes.
* We will start with introductions and some chit-chat, then into questions.
* Candidates will have the last word at the end of the interview to direct people to websites, fundraising, and ongoing contact.
General questions we may ask:
* What’s your background/history in public service?
* Why are you running for office?
* What are the most important issues facing Hilliard and what can we expect of you if you win?
* Outside your family and upbringing how did you develop your essential “common sense?”
Specific to longstanding and or ongoing issues in and around Hilliard as it pertains to our key focus areas - development, city governance, schools administration.
* Of the 5 focus areas highlighted by the community plan which do you feel should be prioritized and how?
* When it comes to Land Use how do you feel Hilliard should proceed with the Big Darby Accord?
* On the subject of TIF - talk about your understanding of recent Hilliard history and how we got here via Issue 9 - Issue 25 - The Hilliard Development Corporation - and tax abatements in general? Examples: BMW Financial - Hickory Chase.We will be putting considerable time into talking about the Community Plan- we’ll ask what you like about it, what you do not like about it, and what policies you will pursue in light of the plan.
