Lynn's divisive behavior makes her an unfit BOE candidate

I read with disbelief and disgust Maureen Lynn’s opinion in the September Heights Observer, "Parents question library's mask requirement". According to reports, she chose to ignore Heights Libraries’ COVID mask rules, and subsequently engaged in a loud and threatening confrontation with librarians so serious that police had to be summoned. Our Heights librarians are among the most laid-back, helpful and nicest people around. Bullying them as a publicity stunt is inexcusable.

Worse, her statement that masks “impede oxygen to the brain” would be laughable if not so deadly serious. Virtually every medical expert agrees that wearing a mask helps prevent the spread of COVID, especially among the most vulnerable—children too young to be vaccinated. Ignoring science and endangering children to make a political point is unconscionable. (Thank you, Sheryl Banks, for your article in the September Heights Observer, "Library's mask policy protects visitors," quoting evidence-based guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control.)

As a physician, I am acutely aware of how many of Ms. Lynn’s facts are incorrect. Ms. Lynn’s behavior at the library (and, yes, it is within the library’s purview to instate mask rules) is embarrassing, and certainly not how I would expect someone on our school board to behave. Her behavior was divisive. The fact that library staff needed to call the police indicates how rude and offensive these antics were.

As a mother of two children who attended the CH-UH public schools from pre-school through 12th grade, and as a resident of Cleveland Heights for over 35 years, I have been very proud of the way the city and school district have responded to the COVID-19 crisis. 

Ms. Lynn’s antics regarding wearing masks is an ugly distraction from an epidemic that has already killed 650,000 Americans. 

Ms. Lynn is an unfit candidate for the CH-UH Board of Education.

Joan Lederer

Joan Lederer is a retired psychiatrist who has resided in Cleveland Heights for 35-plus years, and is the proud mother of two CH-UH public school graduates.

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Volume 14, Issue 10, Posted 10:55 AM, 10.01.2021