Leto's chaos led to Lodi's tipping point
During the recent Board of Education
Election, Joe Leto was the spokesperson for the “Children First” political ticket. He ran their campaign page on Facebook. He spoke on their behalf. He was even the one putting up their campaign
signs throughout town.
Just 6 months ago, the Lodi voters clearly rejected Joe Leto’s
failed leadership and corrupt actions during his few months on the board of education.
The voters disapproved of Leto voting to hire his
running mate’s girlfriend (a position that wat not posted) during his first
month on the board.
The voters disapproved of Leto immediately hiring his
close personal friends. When questioned about giving special
advantages to friends during personnel committee meetings, Leto stated they
were just people he “knew of” from high school.
Needless to say, lots of evidence showed otherwise.
The voters disapproved of Leto giving the
superintendent a 20% pay raise (a $33,016 increase from one year to the next).
The voters disapproved of Leto giving the
superintendent $200,000 for unused sick/vacation days when every other district
employee is capped at $15,000.
The voters disapproved of Leto sending contracts to
the County to be rubber-stamped before the contracts were ever discussed with
other board members.
The voters disapproved of Leto voting to raise taxes
2.08% as the district was receiving $2.1M more in school aid.
The voters disapproved of Leto selecting negotiation
committees where board members were actually negotiating contracts for their
own relatives.
The voters disapproved of Leto approving DoN
Resolutions that listed false information
The voters disapproved of Leto not reporting the names
of his campaign contributors or the amounts they contributed. This opens the door to pay-to-play abuses (violations
of state statutes pertaining to BOEs).
The voters disapproved of Leto blatantly lying in
sworn statements to the School Ethics Commission. “Lodi Live” videos and district emails show that he
blatantly lied in his sworn statements.
Leto’s short record on the BOE is horrendous. All the campaign cash in the world,
self-praise, and self-promotion cannot change that record.
