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Carranza Blitz Rolls On

Pol rep, RRC demand Chancellor’s ouster at summer meeting


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The July 8 Rockaway Republican Club (RRC) meeting started off with a bang, as Charlie Vavruska went into full attack mode when speaking about NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza. Also pictured (behind speaker) is RRC President Philip McManus. Photo by Ralph Mancini

The July 8 Rockaway Republican Club (RRC) meeting started off with a bang, as Charlie Vavruska went into full attack mode when speaking about NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza. Also pictured (behind speaker) is RRC President Philip McManus. Photo by Ralph Mancini

A passionate— and at times volcanic— plea on the part of a political advisor to facilitate the removal of NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza from his post led off a loaded agenda at the July 8 Rockaway Republican Club (RRC) session.

Charlie Vavruska, an education consultant for Councilman Robert Holden, recapped a recent rally he was part of, along with RRC President Philip McManus and others, outside the Tweed Courthouse, on 52 Chambers St. to voice their displeasure with the DOE frontman.

Carranza, said Vavruska, has done nothing but promote “racial division” since his appointment in April, 2008.

“He’s pitting one group against another. We’ve never had a chancellor do this. We’ve never had a chancellor try to split the city apart like this,” bellowed the education activist who constantly paced the Belle Harbor Yacht Club’s meeting quarters from side to side throughout his tirade.

At the core of Vavruska’s request to see Carranza relieved of his duties is the educator’s push to phase out the Specialized High Schools Admission Test (SHSAT) that affords highachieving scholars the opportunity to enroll in prestigious science and technical New York City institutions (see Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, etc.).

Pro-life advocate Pam Manero was among the night’s featured speakers. Also pictured (to her right) is Glendalebased civic leader and activist Thomas Murawski.

Pro-life advocate Pam Manero was among the night’s featured speakers. Also pictured (to her right) is Glendalebased civic leader and activist Thomas Murawski.

Due to traditionally superior scores registered by Asian-American students that favor their admission over other groups, the Chancellor is now reportedly seeking to remove the examination to streamline and advance the entry of youngsters from diverse racial and/or ethnic backgrounds, according to the guest speaker.

“So, he says, ‘I don’t want to buy into the narrative that one ethnic group owns this admissions process.’ Well, guess what? Asians do not own the admissions process. These kids work hard and do well, and get there on merit,” he observed in front of the right-wing audience.

“He says that you, me and anybody who cares about specialized high schools and wants the SHSAT is a racist. Well, that’s despicable, and that’s why he has to go.”

Nicholas Giordano shared his strong opinions on government and the rise of corporate power in the United States. Photos by Ralph Mancini

Nicholas Giordano shared his strong opinions on government and the rise of corporate power in the United States. Photos by Ralph Mancini

In addition, Vavruska questioned how the same students who can’t pass state tests are excelling in math. To further his point, he cited one Bronx school, where the best performers in math—sporting 95 grade-point averages— have proven incapable of solving basic problems, such as adding fractions with different denominators.

The fiery orator equated this practice to being a “fraud” and “scandal” of Madoff-like proportions.

Vavruska didn’t stop there, however, as he later accused Carranza of organizing roundtables with local parents and fellow DOE employees in which he denounces the perceived attributes of merit, objectivity, individualism and perfectionism as “aspects of white supremacy.”

Moreover, attendees at the RRC gathering were apprised of a letter signed by eight public elected officials, asking the well-traveled DOE leader to curb his polarizing policies or resign from his position. Among those supporting the mandate are Holden, Councilman Eric Ulrich and Staten Island-based Councilman Joe Borelli.

“He attacks the politicians who signed it and challenges then by saying they’re racists. Two months later, he’s done nothing about it. He hasn’t addressed it; he hasn’t responded to it to the repeated requests because he doesn’t care about education. He needs to go. And let me tell you, as Carranza comes here, and he’s done what he’s done. If he gets away with this, we will see this repeated.”

Other guest speakers at the summer conference included a number of Queens-based party boosters and prolife supporters, such as Thomas Murawski and Madeline Santangelo Palumbo of the Joint Parish Respect Life Committee, along with Pam Manero.

“We want to make abortion unthinkable,” said Manero in stating her mission to help rid the U.S. of abortion clinics. One state where this has been successful, according to the trio, is Missouri, where only one facility remains.

Murawski challenged the notion of women opting to abort pregnancies in favor of advancing their careers by reasoning: “I never heard anyone say on their death bed say that they wish they spent more time at the office.”

Former political candidates Howard Neiman, Vicky Paladino and Joseph Concannon also addressed the crowd by elucidating their thoughts on finding ways for the Republican Party to thrive on a local level.

Socio-political analyst and college professor Nicholas Giordano closed the proceedings with a 45-minuteplus impassioned discussion on a wide-variety of issues negatively affecting the country as a whole, as well as the Republican Party.

The Suffolk County Community College political science professor— who has recently appeared on Fox News program, “Tucker Carlson Tonight”—weighed in on the recent rise of the socialist ideology by warning people how individuals who espouse those tenets are looking to “deemphasize” American history by eliminating it from the school curriculum. The goal, he said, would be to eventually rewrite the Constitution.

He also posited that Silicon Valleybased tech giants, such as Google, now have more power and influence than the government does in the United States.

“We have these corporations that are now telling you that they’re the moral authority. They know the right position on the issues and you better shut up or else you’re not allowed to come into our stores. So, if you’re wearing a MAGA hat, you can’t come into our place of business. The far left wants you to be harassed and they want to shame you to be quiet.”

He added: “This is not some tin-foil conspiracy: the social media companies have the power to destroy people’s lives. They can post whatever they want about you on the computer and you’re going to have to go against them and fight to prove that that’s not true. They have the power to let whatever you’re searching for determine what you’re going to see, and more importantly—what you’re not going to see.”

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