BOE election candidates 2024

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Bethany Mandel is associated with Moms4Liberty and other similar groups. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.

Is that the same as the FreeStatePTA thing I keep hearing about?

No, it's this group.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/16/us/politics/moms-for-liberty-sex-scandal.html

[Anonymous]

There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart, but I think it's more pro-Evans folks who are picking up that beat and drumming it, happy to associate Stewart's name with the left without mentioning that their own candidate. They hail from the same part of the spectrum, and, let's face it, one of them is going to win in this county -- just way too blue for it to turn out otherwise.

But Evans has the yoke of having been a multi-term, do-little incumbent, directly complicit in the morass of MCPS problems, while Stewart's been an unempowered advocate (yeah, connected, but PTA and the like, no matter what level, doesn't have a voting seat). Their focus is different, with different core constituencies or potential core constituencies.

Evans' people want her issues at the forefront, and know that there's a good chance that that performance over the past few years would mean she wouldn't win heads-up vs. Stewart in the main election. The primary winnows the field to two and it runs without party affiliation. In the currently tense, anti-incumbent climate they they hope to flip the typical political script, running to the center in the primary (by painting Stewart as the scary liberal and staying mostly silent on Evans, relying more on name recognition and their own core votes) and remaining to the left in the main (the only winning play in MoCo).

If they can push enough of the anti-incumbent MoCo middle to Mandel instead of Stewart in the primary while avoiding erosion by keeping Evans' name out of it, mission accomplished.

Mandel's folks know the general election is a hopeless cause, but they get a win just by making it past the primary to be on the big ballot, keeping her name out there longer and providing her a greater platform from which to spout to Fox & Friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart,

It's not "may be". There actually are pro-Mandel folks targeting her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart,

It's not "may be". There actually are pro-Mandel folks targeting her.

Well, duh. Not "maybe there are" as in "maybe there aren't," but "there may be {X}, but {Y}" as in "it is likely/certain that {X} is so, but the other thing to consider is {Y}."

Pro-Evans folks almost certainly are involved.

[Anonymous]

Pro-Evans folks, if you are here, could you please share with us some of Evans's specific achievements as a board member over the last eight years?

[Anonymous]

Some brief sketches of several of the candidates here:

https://moco360.media/2024/02/14/who-is-running-for-the-montgomery-county-school-board-in-the-2024-primary-election/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pro-Evans folks, if you are here, could you please share with us some of Evans's specific achievements as a board member over the last eight years?

And any deets on the new ones running please, except for the moms4liberty dudette - enough of her already!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some brief sketches of several of the candidates here:

https://moco360.media/2024/02/14/who-is-running-for-the-montgomery-county-school-board-in-the-2024-primary-election/

This is a good start. I will actively campaign against Mandel. She can keep her home school nutty publishing and thoughts to herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart, but I think it's more pro-Evans folks who are picking up that beat and drumming it, happy to associate Stewart's name with the left without mentioning that their own candidate. They hail from the same part of the spectrum, and, let's face it, one of them is going to win in this county -- just way too blue for it to turn out otherwise.

But Evans has the yoke of having been a multi-term, do-little incumbent, directly complicit in the morass of MCPS problems, while Stewart's been an unempowered advocate (yeah, connected, but PTA and the like, no matter what level, doesn't have a voting seat). Their focus is different, with different core constituencies or potential core constituencies.

Evans' people want her issues at the forefront, and know that there's a good chance that that performance over the past few years would mean she wouldn't win heads-up vs. Stewart in the main election. The primary winnows the field to two and it runs without party affiliation. In the currently tense, anti-incumbent climate they they hope to flip the typical political script, running to the center in the primary (by painting Stewart as the scary liberal and staying mostly silent on Evans, relying more on name recognition and their own core votes) and remaining to the left in the main (the only winning play in MoCo).

If they can push enough of the anti-incumbent MoCo middle to Mandel instead of Stewart in the primary while avoiding erosion by keeping Evans' name out of it, mission accomplished.

Mandel's folks know the general election is a hopeless cause, but they get a win just by making it past the primary to be on the big ballot, keeping her name out there longer and providing her a greater platform from which to spout to Fox & Friends.

Even if Evans is similar to Stweart it's time to give someone else a chance. These past few years were not that great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart, but I think it's more pro-Evans folks who are picking up that beat and drumming it, happy to associate Stewart's name with the left without mentioning that their own candidate. They hail from the same part of the spectrum, and, let's face it, one of them is going to win in this county -- just way too blue for it to turn out otherwise.

But Evans has the yoke of having been a multi-term, do-little incumbent, directly complicit in the morass of MCPS problems, while Stewart's been an unempowered advocate (yeah, connected, but PTA and the like, no matter what level, doesn't have a voting seat). Their focus is different, with different core constituencies or potential core constituencies.

Evans' people want her issues at the forefront, and know that there's a good chance that that performance over the past few years would mean she wouldn't win heads-up vs. Stewart in the main election. The primary winnows the field to two and it runs without party affiliation. In the currently tense, anti-incumbent climate they they hope to flip the typical political script, running to the center in the primary (by painting Stewart as the scary liberal and staying mostly silent on Evans, relying more on name recognition and their own core votes) and remaining to the left in the main (the only winning play in MoCo).

If they can push enough of the anti-incumbent MoCo middle to Mandel instead of Stewart in the primary while avoiding erosion by keeping Evans' name out of it, mission accomplished.

Mandel's folks know the general election is a hopeless cause, but they get a win just by making it past the primary to be on the big ballot, keeping her name out there longer and providing her a greater platform from which to spout to Fox & Friends.

Even if Evans is similar to Stweart it's time to give someone else a chance. These past few years were not that great.

Just to be clear, Evans is the current BOE member (incumbent). Stewart would be the someone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart, but I think it's more pro-Evans folks who are picking up that beat and drumming it, happy to associate Stewart's name with the left without mentioning that their own candidate. They hail from the same part of the spectrum, and, let's face it, one of them is going to win in this county -- just way too blue for it to turn out otherwise.

But Evans has the yoke of having been a multi-term, do-little incumbent, directly complicit in the morass of MCPS problems, while Stewart's been an unempowered advocate (yeah, connected, but PTA and the like, no matter what level, doesn't have a voting seat). Their focus is different, with different core constituencies or potential core constituencies.

Evans' people want her issues at the forefront, and know that there's a good chance that that performance over the past few years would mean she wouldn't win heads-up vs. Stewart in the main election. The primary winnows the field to two and it runs without party affiliation. In the currently tense, anti-incumbent climate they they hope to flip the typical political script, running to the center in the primary (by painting Stewart as the scary liberal and staying mostly silent on Evans, relying more on name recognition and their own core votes) and remaining to the left in the main (the only winning play in MoCo).

If they can push enough of the anti-incumbent MoCo middle to Mandel instead of Stewart in the primary while avoiding erosion by keeping Evans' name out of it, mission accomplished.

Mandel's folks know the general election is a hopeless cause, but they get a win just by making it past the primary to be on the big ballot, keeping her name out there longer and providing her a greater platform from which to spout to Fox & Friends.

Even if Evans is similar to Stweart it's time to give someone else a chance. These past few years were not that great.

Just to be clear, Evans is the current BOE member (incumbent). Stewart would be the someone else.

If by “someone else” you mean a MCCPTA and MCPS lifer who rubber stamped everything the BOE wanted to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart, but I think it's more pro-Evans folks who are picking up that beat and drumming it, happy to associate Stewart's name with the left without mentioning that their own candidate. They hail from the same part of the spectrum, and, let's face it, one of them is going to win in this county -- just way too blue for it to turn out otherwise.

But Evans has the yoke of having been a multi-term, do-little incumbent, directly complicit in the morass of MCPS problems, while Stewart's been an unempowered advocate (yeah, connected, but PTA and the like, no matter what level, doesn't have a voting seat). Their focus is different, with different core constituencies or potential core constituencies.

Evans' people want her issues at the forefront, and know that there's a good chance that that performance over the past few years would mean she wouldn't win heads-up vs. Stewart in the main election. The primary winnows the field to two and it runs without party affiliation. In the currently tense, anti-incumbent climate they they hope to flip the typical political script, running to the center in the primary (by painting Stewart as the scary liberal and staying mostly silent on Evans, relying more on name recognition and their own core votes) and remaining to the left in the main (the only winning play in MoCo).

If they can push enough of the anti-incumbent MoCo middle to Mandel instead of Stewart in the primary while avoiding erosion by keeping Evans' name out of it, mission accomplished.

Mandel's folks know the general election is a hopeless cause, but they get a win just by making it past the primary to be on the big ballot, keeping her name out there longer and providing her a greater platform from which to spout to Fox & Friends.

Even if Evans is similar to Stweart it's time to give someone else a chance. These past few years were not that great.

Just to be clear, Evans is the current BOE member (incumbent). Stewart would be the someone else.

If by “someone else” you mean a MCCPTA and MCPS lifer who rubber stamped everything the BOE wanted to do.

I don't think you know what "rubber stamped" means.

[Anonymous]

Jennifer Reesman supports Mandel and that should tell you all you need to know about Reesman, her cronies (including Smelkinson), and their agenda. They were the loudest during the Pandemic, they continue to complain about things that happened in 2020, and they have the loudest voices in the county. They are always contacting Fox 5, pretending they care about students, when really they just care about furthering their careers and garnering publicity for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There may be pro-Mandel folks denigrating Stewart, but I think it's more pro-Evans folks who are picking up that beat and drumming it, happy to associate Stewart's name with the left without mentioning that their own candidate. They hail from the same part of the spectrum, and, let's face it, one of them is going to win in this county -- just way too blue for it to turn out otherwise.

But Evans has the yoke of having been a multi-term, do-little incumbent, directly complicit in the morass of MCPS problems, while Stewart's been an unempowered advocate (yeah, connected, but PTA and the like, no matter what level, doesn't have a voting seat). Their focus is different, with different core constituencies or potential core constituencies.

Evans' people want her issues at the forefront, and know that there's a good chance that that performance over the past few years would mean she wouldn't win heads-up vs. Stewart in the main election. The primary winnows the field to two and it runs without party affiliation. In the currently tense, anti-incumbent climate they they hope to flip the typical political script, running to the center in the primary (by painting Stewart as the scary liberal and staying mostly silent on Evans, relying more on name recognition and their own core votes) and remaining to the left in the main (the only winning play in MoCo).

If they can push enough of the anti-incumbent MoCo middle to Mandel instead of Stewart in the primary while avoiding erosion by keeping Evans' name out of it, mission accomplished.

Mandel's folks know the general election is a hopeless cause, but they get a win just by making it past the primary to be on the big ballot, keeping her name out there longer and providing her a greater platform from which to spout to Fox & Friends.

+1

Evans is the Dan Quayle talking feather character in Doonesbury. There is no there there with Shebra. She would tell people she would do something and there would be no follow-through. She liked to go with McKnight on school visits because it was fun (and lightweight). There is nothing substantive about Shebra Evans. She just goes with the flow. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see Laura Stewart is bragging[/i] about her partisan affiliations. I can’t remember this ever happening in a school board race, which is nonpartisan, and I find it to be a real turnoff. I’m also still waiting for her to recognize MCPS’s management as an ongoing problem. Her posts about the council hearing all use the past tense when she talks about MCPS’s problems. A lot of senior leaders who McKnight hired are still there, so the bullying and cover-ups will keep happening.

Where?

It’s on her X account, the new one she created after she made her real one private (but that’s typical of a candidate who says she’s committed to transparency, right?). The first two positions she highlights are both partisan:

More about me - Current Positions:
[b]Montgomery County Women’s Democratic Club (WDC) Board (and past Prez)
Dem Party Precinct Chair
Communities United Against Hate VP
Safe Healthy Playing Fields Board

Does she not understand that this is a nonpartisan election or is she signaling that she’ll serve as a hard-core partisan? I find it off putting either way. The BOE is dysfunctional enough and partisanship rarely makes institutions stronger. She needs to do more to distinguish herself from Evans to make it worth the risk of voting for her. Change doesn’t improve things when the replacement is worse. I will vote for Evans unless Stewart gets specific on what she views as the problems and what she thinks needs to be done to fix them.

Stewart has a lot of support. She’ll easily beat Mandel in the primary and might even beat Evans. But this election is going to be nasty. Mandel will raise a lot of money, and a lot of that money will be used to attack Stewart and Evans. Mandel also gives extremists a reason to care about this election and they will try to bloody both Stewart and Evans.