With Buffalo developer Carl Paladino officially in the race for the Buffalo Board of Education, the war of words has started between the former gubernatorial candidate and Buffalo Teachers Federation President Phil Rumore.
Palladino has long attacked the union president. In a statement distributed at Wednesday's board meeting, the developer says the union president has made corrupt bargains with school board members to back the union.
Paladino also says Rumore should face jail for the way he has spent union money and members want an audit.
BTF members get a chance in May to rule on their president because union elections are at the same time as the May 7 school board elections.
Rumore says his "demented" opponent shouldn't be on a school board, pointing to e-mails Paladino forwarded to a mailing list.
"Women having sex with each other. Women completely unclad. African-Americans being apparently run over by an airplane. It is really sick that anybody would give any kind of credibility to somebody like this being on a board of education," said Rumore.
School board elections have notoriously low turnouts, with retiring Park District member Louis Petrucci elected in 2010 with 325 votes of 351 cast.
