(This article, reprinted with permission, featuring Bob Weiler, class of 1953, appeared in The Columbus Dispatch on August 11, 2005)   8/17/05

School board fills Heard’s spot
Former member selected over four other finalists

By Bill Bush
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The Columbus Board of Education voted unanimously last night to appoint Bob Weiler, 70, to fill the vacancy created by the death of board member Loretta Heard.

Weiler was the only ex-member of the school board to apply for Heard’s seat. The real-estate developer’s last term ended in 1991.

“I’m certainly very grateful to the board for asking me,” Weiler said last night. “I feel particularly pleased that I have the opportunity to fill the unexpired term of one of the best friends I’ve had in the entire world.”

Weiler, whose four children attended Columbus Public Schools, initially said he wasn’t interested in the post, but changed his mind after Heard’s husband, Hubert, encouraged him to take it.

“I’m going to try my best to be a good team player, but at the same I’m going to be my own person,” he said. “Basically, I want to be a strong supporter of the school system.”

In 1985, Heard asked Weiler to apply to finish the unexpired term of James R. Ebright, who had resigned. He then was elected to a four-year term.

“He’s already been here, understands what this role actually means, the importance it has in the community,” board President Stephanie Hightower said. “He brings something to the table, just that expertise and that wisdom that Mrs. Heard would have brought to the table as well.”

“Bob Weiler is someone who has already sat in our seats before. He understands the issues.”

Weiler was one of 23 applicants and five finalists vying to serve out the remainder of Heard’s term, which expires in January. Heard, a 24-year board member, died last month. Because of illness she had decided not to seek re-election in November.

The other four finalists were Heard’s daughter-in-law; two of the candidates who are seeking full, four-year seats in the November election; and a community activist.

“I really have no reaction or comment,” said Tracy Maxwell Heard, 42, who is married to Heard’s son Howard and runs the political and marketing firm Millennium Solutions Inc.

Finalist Barbara Bryson, 50, who is running for the school board in November as an endorsed Republican said choosing Weiler might have been done in part to not sway the outcome of the election. Not serving on the board will allow her to concentrate on her campaign, Bryson said.

“I want the people to make the choice,” she said.

W. Carlton Weddington, 35, an endorsed democrat on the fall ballot for the school board, said the board acted to fill its immediate need for experience.

As the only Latino candidate, Ruben Castilla Herrera, 47, said it was important for him to have been a finalist: “It just means that we are one step closer.”

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