Loveland - August 1, 2015
This November's Thompson Board of Education election is shaping-up to be a seminal battle in the
statewide conflict between education reformers and teacher's unions. Two years after reformers gained
a slight majority on the Thompson Board of Education, the board's direction is up for grabs as outside
interests on both sides pour resources into the battle ground districts near and inside Loveland.
Local Democrats and organized labor are betting on a "can't lose candidate" for the Thompson Board of
Education in an all out effort to return Jeffrey Swanty to the School Board where he resigned his position
a decade earlier. District A is currently represented by Loveland resident Donna Rice who has
announced she will not be seeking re-election. Amie Randall, a Loveland bookkeeper, is also running to
replace Rice as the District A Director on the board.
A prosperous insurance salesman for Allstate, Swanty, like his longtime friend and neighbor Don
Marostica, serves on nearly every city board, commission or civic group that will have him. Described by
a former Rotarian as a "perennial volunteer and salesman" who quit Rotary after he said Swanty
pestered him regularly about purchasing Allstate whole life insurance. The volunteer also likened the
time he spent with Swanty on a volunteer committee as the "punishment" portrayed in a Woody Allen
movie "see video clip".
One locally elected Republican who asked not to be identified, revealed he finally stopped taking calls
from Swanty after he said Swanty never contributed to his campaign but badgered him constantly to buy
Allstate whole life insurance. Though Swanty's controversial sales tactics did become national news story
(more on that below), Swanty's three quarter of a million dollar home purchased in 2006 in the Backbone
Meadows development west of Loveland stands as a monument to his success in selling insurance
products.
A registered Republican since 1992, Swanty contributes regularly to campaigns of local Democrats
looking to unseat Republicans from State Senate and House seats. Swanty contributed to the losing State
Senate Campaigns of Richard Ball and Stan Matsunaka as well as Bill McCreary's attempt to unseat State
House Representative Brian DelGrosso in 2010. Swanty's friend Marostica resigned from the State House
after working against his fellow Republicans to over-turn Arveschoug-Bird before taking a position with
Democrat Governor Bill Ritter. Marostica also received campaign contributions from Swanty.
Wall Street Journal Investigates Swanty's "Scientology" Mind Bending Sales
Techniques
Swanty made national news early in his insurance sales career for allegedly imposing Scientology
management techniques he learned in a course designed by L. Ron Hubbard. According to a special
report by the Wall Street Journal, the course taught aggressive management techniques which advocated
treating poor performers badly even teaching "reasonableness is the great enemy in running an
organization."
According to one co-worker of Swanty's at the time who was quoted in the Wall Street Journal article, he
believes Swanty's implementation of the management by intimidation techniques he learned from the
Church of Scientology founder's course worsened the health of a man with cancer (see excerpt in column
right of this story) who later died.
Swanty To Push For Another School Bond
Swanty's relationship with Loveland's Mayor Cecil Gutierrez goes back to when Gutierrez was still
employed in the school district. Both are longtime activists to raise Colorado property taxes and now
serve together on the Loveland Fire Protection District Board with Swanty as Chairman (nominated by
Gutierrez) and Gutierrez as his Vice-Chair. In May of 2012 voters in Loveland's rural fire authority
district (outside Loveland city limits) rejected Swanty's proposed 4 mill levy increase in property taxes to
increase authority to fire authority (see commentary against). However, 6 months later the tax increase
was again put before voters as 2.4 mill levy increase and passed.
In 2004 Swanty was instrumental in passing the deferred compensation that rewards teachers who leave
the district with tens of thousands of dollars called "departure bonuses" before he resigned his seat from
the Board of Education. Since Swanty voted to implement these bonuses in 2004, the District has paid
out over $30 million to retiring teachers contributing to the current financial crisis. With over $10 million
in the generous departure bonuses still owing to current teachers if they choose to leave the district,
Thompson Education Association (TEA) members are pushing for a special bond for the district to fund
future salary increases while also covering departure bonuses. Ironically, a TEA related Facebook Page
endorsement regarding serving with Swanty acknowledges, "it wasn't easy" apparently in reference to his
harsh tactics but endorsing him for getting things done.
Leadership in the TEA is communicating to its membership that a Jeffrey Swanty run Board of Education
can have two benefits. First, knocking out the slight majority of the reformers from the school board
majority but also bringing an experienced bond advocate to the board who has successfully lobbied for
and partly funded efforts to raise property taxes within Thompson School District (recently for the Rural
Fire Authority and in 2005 for the School District).
This November's Thompson Board of Education election is shaping-up to be a seminal battle in the
statewide conflict between education reformers and teacher's unions. Two years after reformers gained
a slight majority on the Thompson Board of Education, the board's direction is up for grabs as outside
interests on both sides pour resources into the battle ground districts near and inside Loveland.
Local Democrats and organized labor are betting on a "can't lose candidate" for the Thompson Board of
Education in an all out effort to return Jeffrey Swanty to the School Board where he resigned his position
a decade earlier. District A is currently represented by Loveland resident Donna Rice who has
announced she will not be seeking re-election. Amie Randall, a Loveland bookkeeper, is also running to
replace Rice as the District A Director on the board.
A prosperous insurance salesman for Allstate, Swanty, like his longtime friend and neighbor Don
Marostica, serves on nearly every city board, commission or civic group that will have him. Described by
a former Rotarian as a "perennial volunteer and salesman" who quit Rotary after he said Swanty
pestered him regularly about purchasing Allstate whole life insurance. The volunteer also likened the
time he spent with Swanty on a volunteer committee as the "punishment" portrayed in a Woody Allen
movie "see video clip".
One locally elected Republican who asked not to be identified, revealed he finally stopped taking calls
from Swanty after he said Swanty never contributed to his campaign but badgered him constantly to buy
Allstate whole life insurance. Though Swanty's controversial sales tactics did become national news story
(more on that below), Swanty's three quarter of a million dollar home purchased in 2006 in the Backbone
Meadows development west of Loveland stands as a monument to his success in selling insurance
products.
A registered Republican since 1992, Swanty contributes regularly to campaigns of local Democrats
looking to unseat Republicans from State Senate and House seats. Swanty contributed to the losing State
Senate Campaigns of Richard Ball and Stan Matsunaka as well as Bill McCreary's attempt to unseat State
House Representative Brian DelGrosso in 2010. Swanty's friend Marostica resigned from the State House
after working against his fellow Republicans to over-turn Arveschoug-Bird before taking a position with
Democrat Governor Bill Ritter. Marostica also received campaign contributions from Swanty.
Wall Street Journal Investigates Swanty's "Scientology" Mind Bending Sales
Techniques
Swanty made national news early in his insurance sales career for allegedly imposing Scientology
management techniques he learned in a course designed by L. Ron Hubbard. According to a special
report by the Wall Street Journal, the course taught aggressive management techniques which advocated
treating poor performers badly even teaching "reasonableness is the great enemy in running an
organization."
According to one co-worker of Swanty's at the time who was quoted in the Wall Street Journal article, he
believes Swanty's implementation of the management by intimidation techniques he learned from the
Church of Scientology founder's course worsened the health of a man with cancer (see excerpt in column
right of this story) who later died.
Swanty To Push For Another School Bond
Swanty's relationship with Loveland's Mayor Cecil Gutierrez goes back to when Gutierrez was still
employed in the school district. Both are longtime activists to raise Colorado property taxes and now
serve together on the Loveland Fire Protection District Board with Swanty as Chairman (nominated by
Gutierrez) and Gutierrez as his Vice-Chair. In May of 2012 voters in Loveland's rural fire authority
district (outside Loveland city limits) rejected Swanty's proposed 4 mill levy increase in property taxes to
increase authority to fire authority (see commentary against). However, 6 months later the tax increase
was again put before voters as 2.4 mill levy increase and passed.
In 2004 Swanty was instrumental in passing the deferred compensation that rewards teachers who leave
the district with tens of thousands of dollars called "departure bonuses" before he resigned his seat from
the Board of Education. Since Swanty voted to implement these bonuses in 2004, the District has paid
out over $30 million to retiring teachers contributing to the current financial crisis. With over $10 million
in the generous departure bonuses still owing to current teachers if they choose to leave the district,
Thompson Education Association (TEA) members are pushing for a special bond for the district to fund
future salary increases while also covering departure bonuses. Ironically, a TEA related Facebook Page
endorsement regarding serving with Swanty acknowledges, "it wasn't easy" apparently in reference to his
harsh tactics but endorsing him for getting things done.
Leadership in the TEA is communicating to its membership that a Jeffrey Swanty run Board of Education
can have two benefits. First, knocking out the slight majority of the reformers from the school board
majority but also bringing an experienced bond advocate to the board who has successfully lobbied for
and partly funded efforts to raise property taxes within Thompson School District (recently for the Rural
Fire Authority and in 2005 for the School District).
| LovelandPolitics.com |
| School Board Candidate's 'Scientology' Business Tactics Once Profiled in WSJ |
| Wall Street Journal Excerpts from WSJ Investigative Report (click here to read article) Scientology Methods At Allstate "After taking the classes, territorial-sales manager Jeffrey Swanty talked constantly about management by statistics, says David Richardson, the former Allstate manager who attended the course with him. To apply the ideas, Mr. Richardson says, Mr. Swanty developed a system under which the worst-performing agent and the worst-performing manager in his territory would be required to reach a series of daily, weekly and monthly goals. Frequently, Mr. Richardson says, the goals were unreachable, requiring that business be doubled or tripled within a short period. "It allowed management by intimidation. It was vindictive -- a way to try to remove people," Mr. Richardson says. "We would harass agents" by calling them constantly and visiting them repeatedly. (Mr. Richardson had his own run-ins with Mr. Swanty and was reprimanded at least once.) One incident that employees still talk about involved William Wesler, a 35-year-old Phoenix manager, who was suffering from lymphatic cancer in 1990. Everyone in the office knew about Mr. Wesler's condition and his efforts to reduce stress as part of his treatment, Mr. Richardson says. Nonetheless, a month after taking the Hubbard training course in July, Mr. Swanty placed Mr. Wesler on a rigorous program to improve his performance. The Hubbard course materials During the following 120 days, Mr. Wesler was supposed to double his district's sales, hire at least one female and one minority agent, attend public-speaking classes and enroll in a college course on interpersonal skills, his August 1990 job evaluation states. He also had to meet with Mr. Swanty every other week to receive an evaluation of his progress. "It was a workload for three people," says Mr. Wesler's widow, Sherry Scott. She says her husband completed most of the work but quit in October 1990. He died in May 1992. "When I saw Jeff Swanty at the funeral, I turned and walked away," says Greg Peterson, who had worked for Mr. Wesler and says he watched Mr. Swanty's behavior change after the management classes. "I feel his actions worsened Bill Wesler's health," he adds. Mr. Swanty acknowledges that he was impressed with the Hubbard course materials but says he didn't implement much of the program because he feared it would create too much paperwork. He says he didn't know at the time that Mr. Hubbard was connected to Scientology. He knew Mr. Wesler was ill, Mr. Swanty adds, but denies he treated him unfairly in light of his declining performance. "We treat people with dignity," says Edward Moran, an in-house Allstate lawyer who also denies that Mr. Swanty was unfair. He says Mr. Wesler was having serious problems with managing and communicating with agents for some time before he received his negative evaluation in August 1990. In addition, Mr. Moran says, Mr. Swanty began drafting the evaluation in June, before he took the Hubbard lessons. However, the performance review is dated Aug. 14. Across the country, a number of agents were making complaints similar to those voiced in Arizona. Lawsuits and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints were proliferating; more than two dozen have alleged fraud, harassment or discrimination by Allstate, often in connection with wrongful-discharge cases. One manager joked about forcing so many to quit that they would have to bring in "body bags" to cart them away, while others described agents with low productivity as below the "scum line," workers said in pretrial statements related to these lawsuits" |
| School Board candidate Jeffrey Swanty with Loveland Mayor Cecil Gutierrez |