Samuel Blakemore, a candidate for the district five Hamilton County School Board seat, said to the Nightside Pachyderm Club Thursday evening, "I want to concentrate on reading. I want to concentrate on safety, on performance."
Mr. Blakemore said, as a father of five children currently enrolled in the school system, "I see a lot of the problems that go on."
He said, "Whatever happened in the past is the past. I don't live in the past...I think we all ought to be working together to make this a great country.
It is a great country. But we can make it better. We can put aside a lot of things that don't matter."
He said that as a child, "I lacked a lot of skills but I didn't let that stop me. I think the same thing can happen in District 5. Even though they lack some skills, they still can be successful."
He told the club that he spoke to several students in the area, asking them what they thought was the biggest problem. Mr. Blakemore said all of the students agreed that the lack of expectations for them was a challenge.
He said, "They have a lot of people telling them they can't be successful." He pointed out that while this sometimes makes people to strive harder, it can also make others believe what they are hearing and give up.
He said, "I want them to know they can make it."
He continued, "I know I can work and make a difference in District 5."