“She is a rock star and tailor-made for the position,” a
highly regarded legal mind proclaimed.
Indeed, after years of
determined preparation and cultivation of a career that has
garnered the respect of both peers and the community, the
time is ripe for a well-deserved promotion.
A graduate of Ohio
Northern University – Claude W. Pettit College of Law,
Bowman-English has served as Clerk of Court for Toledo
Municipal Court for 17 years after previously serving seven
years in the Lucas County Prosecutors Office as an Assistant
Prosecutor.
Toledo set a record number
of homicides in 2020 and has experienced 15 homicides so far
in 2021. Also, Black juveniles are arrested locally at three
times the rate of Whites. As the mother of a young
African-American son, Bowman-English can address
decision-making biases and speak with authenticity to
institutionalized racial disadvantage in the Lucas County
juvenile justice system.
Further, while Black and
Brown youth are overrepresented in the system, research also
shows that they also experience disparities in accessing
diversion programs.
Thanks to the American
Recovery Act, more than $400 million in federal aid is
headed to Toledo among the City, Lucas County and Toledo
Public Schools. The Lucas County Commissioners have pledged
$12 million for direct community aid; the mayor has
allocated $30 million for neighborhoods, parks and youth.
The Toledo Public Schools are working to expand early
childhood education and Early Head Start.
However, the critical feat
is to bring these efforts together to work upstream – to
invest in programs to reach youth before they get to
juvenile court (prevention) and scale up diversion and
deterrence programming that intervenes before children get
arrested.
Vallie Bowman- English is
the right person at the right time to make valid impact as
Juvenile Court Judge. She will ensure that funding sustains
the necessary programs to transform our community rather
than to balance administrative bureaucracy merely.
Finally, Vallie checks all
of the boxes needed to win a political campaign. She has
been Democratic Party Central Committee Chair for several
years and thus, has the multi-racial support of:
-
The Democratic Party
-
The Legal Community (who finance judicial races)
-
The Local Political Intelligentsia
-
The Grass Roots Community (clergy, community activists,
volunteers)
Traditional wisdom says,
“Do the right thing at the right time for the right amount
of time,” and the yield of fruit will arrive in season.
And, as one enlightened
public official divulged, “Vallie’s golden! There is nothing
standing in her way. We’ve been waiting years for her to
express openly where she wants to go. All she has to do now
is announce that she wants the position.”
Expect the announcement to
come very soon. For, this is Vallie’s Season!
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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