By: Sharon Aron Baron
After knocking on doors and meeting with Broward voters, candidate Robert Mayersohn believes he has enough signed petitions to qualify him to be on the ballot for School Board District Four.
District Four which includes, Parkland, Coral Springs, Tamarac and parts of Margate and North Lauderdale are currently served by School Board member Abby Freedman.
To get his name on the ballot by petition, Mayersohn needed 1,629 signatures by registered voters in Broward County which was one percent of all registered voters in the district.
Just to be safe, he turned in more than 2,000 signatures.
This June 16-20 is the qualifying period for candidates who want to run for office. By qualifying by petition, Mayersohn doesn’t have to pay the filing fee of $1,637.28.
“I wasn’t concerned about the fee, because I wanted to qualify by petition,” said Mayersohn. “As a candidate, people want to have confidence about putting you on the ballot. It’s not as easy as it appears, and it’s a very humbling experience.”
Mayersohn said he obtained the signatures by attending events, knocking on doors, going to ball games, as well as meetings. “Wherever people are congregating, obviously you can introduce yourself as a candidate.”
“Signing a petition is not a vote, or an endorsement, it’s asking for a right to put a candidate on the ballot,” he said.
This isn’t the first time that Mayersohn has attempted to qualify by petition. In 2012 he did it before, however, he was in a primary race with five other candidates. So far, besides Mayersohn, only Freedman has announced her candidacy.
Although Mayersohn didn’t win in 2012, he has continued to do what he loves: being involved with Broward County Schools where he began volunteering with the school system when his son Garrett, now a freshman at Florida Atlantic University, was at Riverglades Elementary School.
“When Garrett was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, I knew I was going to have to embrace the challenges confronting Garrett by advocating for more resources and programs for all children.”
Serving as Past Chair of the Broward County School Parent Exceptional Student Education Advisory Council, Mayersohn was accountable for providing input on the effectiveness of educational programs and services for students with disabilities. Through his capacity as Advisory Chair, he was very instrumental in changing Broward County School Board policy and guidelines.
Mayersohn has also served on various Broward County School District committees and workgroups, some of which include the Facilities Task Force, District Advisory Council, Wellness Committee, Code of Student Conduct, and Attendance Committee.
“I want bring back the accountability piece we all need to invest in our children’s education,” said Mayersohn who hopes to establish a culture for children to become lifelong learners. “where we don’t have to motivate them to want to learn,” he said.
After Mayersohn finds out if he qualifies by petition which could be within the next two weeks, he said he wants to continue his hard work to become the next School Board Member for District Four.
“I’m going to continue what I’m doing over the summer by knocking on doors, meeting with people, raising funds, and keeping up the grassroots effort.”