Who are you voting for?

[Anonymous]

Just wondering who people with kids will be voting for this fall. I'm interested in Mont. County School Board and County Council. Personally, I think Nancy Floreen needs to go and so does that blond woman who is head of the school board (her name is escaping me at the moment).

[Anonymous]

Elrich and Reimer only, for at large. The rest have to go.

[Anonymous]

I am fired up about the BOE election for sure. It's funny because all these years I thought people that were watchdogs on how public money was spent and made noise about transparency were so different from me. Now I have seen the light and I want those people in office on the local level!

Since a big part of MoCo budget is education, what is done there does impact the rest of the county. I wasn't so amused when Weast threatened to sue the Council if the education budget was cut. WTF. So his budget is untouched BUT no summer reading program at the library. Were we the only county in MD that didn't have a summer reading program? I mean even living in a not so wealthy area in the middle of the 80's recession we had a summer reading program. Heck, the library is one of the few places you can go in the summer that doesn't cost money and has air conditioning ... but we are cutting that to the bone. And I wasn't a fan of the last minute contract to pimp out the Montgomery County brand as part of this million dollar deal with Pearson .... slipping it into the agenda last minute to be voted on that day. BTW, althought the Maryland State Education board rejected the appeal filed by an individual about the contract, the State Board made a point of saying how this deal basically puts Montgomery County out of step with state reforms and changes because we not only are locked into this curriculum and deal, but it becomes harder to share and collaborate and leverage any work being done on the state level. And speaking of, didn't Montgomery County NOT sign on for Race to the Top. We have a budget crisis yet we don't want to make changes or innovate to make us eligible for millions of dollars of federal money??? My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it. So the people that were rubber stamping all this craziness need to go.

So my BOE votes are going to Lyda Astrove, Agnes Jones-Trower, and Louis Wilen. The current BOE president (Patricia O Neil) isn't on the primary ballot but I am most certainly not voting for her in the Nov. election. With the county council, I need to do some research. I am considering the newcomers Ilaya Hopkins and Hans Riemer. I am not sure which incumbent I will vote for yet.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone out there been an effective advocate for the improvement of downcounty schools, or is anyone out there campaigning that they will take that on as an issue? I saw a flier for Lou August today and I have to admit it rubbed me a little the wrong way when he stated that his kids had attended an immersion program. I think that it's great that his kids had that opportunity and I don't begrudge it, but because of the questionable quality of the elementary school in my neighborhood, I'm praying my kids will have that PRIVILEGE. I wonder if a BOE member who was fortunate enough to have his kids admitted into an immersion program truly appreciates the angst of some downcounty parents whose kids don't win the immersion lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am fired up about the BOE election for sure. It's funny because all these years I thought people that were watchdogs on how public money was spent and made noise about transparency were so different from me. Now I have seen the light and I want those people in office on the local level!

Since a big part of MoCo budget is education, what is done there does impact the rest of the county. I wasn't so amused when Weast threatened to sue the Council if the education budget was cut. WTF. So his budget is untouched BUT no summer reading program at the library. Were we the only county in MD that didn't have a summer reading program? I mean even living in a not so wealthy area in the middle of the 80's recession we had a summer reading program. Heck, the library is one of the few places you can go in the summer that doesn't cost money and has air conditioning ... but we are cutting that to the bone. And I wasn't a fan of the last minute contract to pimp out the Montgomery County brand as part of this million dollar deal with Pearson .... slipping it into the agenda last minute to be voted on that day. BTW, althought the Maryland State Education board rejected the appeal filed by an individual about the contract, the State Board made a point of saying how this deal basically puts Montgomery County out of step with state reforms and changes because we not only are locked into this curriculum and deal, but it becomes harder to share and collaborate and leverage any work being done on the state level. And speaking of, didn't Montgomery County NOT sign on for Race to the Top. We have a budget crisis yet we don't want to make changes or innovate to make us eligible for millions of dollars of federal money??? My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it. So the people that were rubber stamping all this craziness need to go.

So my BOE votes are going to Lyda Astrove, Agnes Jones-Trower, and Louis Wilen. The current BOE president (Patricia O Neil) isn't on the primary ballot but I am most certainly not voting for her in the Nov. election. With the county council, I need to do some research. I am considering the newcomers Ilaya Hopkins and Hans Riemer. I am not sure which incumbent I will vote for yet.

I like you. I wish I knew as much about the BOE elections as you do. It's more important than most people think.

[Anonymous]

Other than going to each candidates' website, is there a good source of info on each of the BOE and council candidates?

[Anonymous]

The League of Women Voters puts out a non partisan voting guide http://www.vote411.org/home.php You can go to this site and put in your address and it will pull up a sample ballot for you. You don't have to fill out each page, but can go to just the races you care about. I think council was page 8. You can click to compare each candidate based on questionnaires they filled out.

Still, you're getting the candidate's official statements. Personally, I'm only voting for Riemer for council. We need someone new on the council and at best, we're only going to get one new face. The best way to get that new face on the council is to only vote for him since it's the top 4 vote getters who are elected. I don't want to give any of the incumbents an edge to be #4 and beat Riemer. Realistically, Elrich and Leventhal are going to fight for the #1 and #2 spots, so if you like one of them (I think Elrich is okay), you could vote for them too. But a vote for Floreen or Trachtenberg or one of the other challengers hurts Riemer's chance of getting on.

For BOE - If you are in district 5, Mike Durso is a good candidate. Here's a good argument from him from another BOE member I like http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-school-board-races.html. As for Judy Docca, she's nasty and I'd be happy to see her go. I know a lot of teachers and politicos who feel the same way. I have met Shirley Brandman and while I wish she was more supportive of getting rid of the styrofoam trays, I think she is thoughtful and dedicated to her job. I have worked with her on several issues and she has been great. As for O'Neil, I have no experience with her.

[Anonymous]

Maryland Politics Watch is the go-to site for Montgomery County politics (and some other local politics).

http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/

I don't see it talking about BOE issues much, though.

And of course, reading the Gazette.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maryland Politics Watch is the go-to site for Montgomery County politics (and some other local politics).

http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/

I don't see it talking about BOE issues much, though.

And of course, reading the Gazette.

Sorry, PP -- I didn't realize your link included Maryland Politics Watch, and it's nice to see there's a decent write-up about the Board of Education election.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maryland Politics Watch is the go-to site for Montgomery County politics (and some other local politics).

http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/

I don't see it talking about BOE issues much, though.

And of course, reading the Gazette.

I second this as a pretty good source for political news, although I think the blogger's own bias is on the heavy side. It does seem like the only source that reports on Montgomery politics.

[Anonymous]

I early voted yesterday. Looked at everyone's website that I could find. For council: I voted AGAINST Berliner (for Hopkins). I DID NOT vote for Floreen or Leventhal. I did vote for incumbents Trachtenberg (fiscal responsibility in spite of the rest of the council) and Elrich (transparent development planning). I voted for Reimer and Wagner (as I recall).

For the BOE, I did vote the incumbents except I voted for Wilen. I wish the challengers had been more convincing in their positions. I can't say BOE is completely broken, given how well our schools are performing overall. I'm a new K parent, so maybe my views will change in the future.

[Anonymous]

teacher recommendations: http://www.mcea.nea.org/action/election2010.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Other than going to each candidates' website, is there a good source of info on each of the BOE and council candidates?

I think if you are just looking for everything in one place the League of Women Voter's has nonpartisan info. The main sources I use to help narrow the list are the Gazette, WashingtonPost, and possibly WashingtonExaminer. The only thing is I don't know what goes into the newspaper endorsements - I think some are spot on, but others you need to do your own research to make sure your specific interests are being represented. This year I am using the newspapers to help me consider some candidates, then I look thru campaign literature, check websites like DCUrbanmoms and my listservs to see what people are thinking and why. Slowly but surely, my list is coming together. For something like Sheriff, I will probably be lazy and go with the Gazette pick. For something like Register of Wills - who knew there was such competition for this spot - I will go the person that currently does the job - Griffin.


For BOE I also look at endorsements - The Teachers Union is obviously a big one. I used to vote for the apple ballot/teacher's union choices, but lately I realized that it was exactly that - the Teacher's Union choices, not necessarily representing me directly as a parent and I say this as a child of a school teacher! It's like at my job in IT, I can see something that would make sense for the company - and help move the company ahead - and at the same time in the back of my mind I have to think - oh my goodness what does this do to my job - either in terms of a whole new skillset I would need to learn, or perhaps needing less of what I do. Let's be honest, it is very difficult to act in direct contrast to your own self-interest in terms of your job though it may contribute to the company's strategic objective/bottom line unless you know there is a safety net that the company will retrain you or try to place you in a different job. So I don't know necessarily know how the Teacher Union choices would hold up in tough fiscal times. When there is a tradeoff between increase class size and eliminating positions for example for a Visual Arts teacher and a furlough day for example for all people not in the classroom, where is the union going to stand ... and where would the union backed choices stand? As a parent, I am more impacted by the class size, or eliminating the things I believe helps my child be a more well-rounded individual - be it media, arts, music etc. but from the standpoint of impact to the most teachers - the answer would clearly by any kind of furlough. So my strategy for the BOE is to go for the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County candidates in the primary. I am sure the BOE incumbents will all pull through. Then I will attend one of the Board of Ed Candidate forums and use that to make the final decision.

League of Women Voters - http://mont1.lwvmd.org/n/ great start and nonpartisan. You can read candidate responses online and compare candidates.
Gazette Voters Guide - http://www.gazette.net/votersguide2010/ - for the stories covered in the Gazette select Gazette.net stories on Montgomery Races
Parents Coalition of Montgomery County http://www.parentscoalitionmc.com/

[Anonymous]

A note on the Apple Ballot and the Board of Education election. The Apple people claim they interview candidates. However, in the Board of Education race this year they only interviewed the incumbents. They interviewed and endorsed them way before the filing deadline for the election. After they had already endorsed the 4 incumbents, 8 more people filed to run this year. In all, 12 people were running for Board seats but the Apple people only talked to the 4 they wanted to keep. Too bad they don't give all candidates a chance to at least make their case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I early voted yesterday. Looked at everyone's website that I could find. For council: I voted AGAINST Berliner (for Hopkins). I DID NOT vote for Floreen or Leventhal. I did vote for incumbents Trachtenberg (fiscal responsibility in spite of the rest of the council) and Elrich (transparent development planning). I voted for Reimer and Wagner (as I recall).

For the BOE, I did vote the incumbents except I voted for Wilen. I wish the challengers had been more convincing in their positions. I can't say BOE is completely broken, given how well our schools are performing overall. I'm a new K parent, so maybe my views will change in the future.

Oh honey, just you wait. You will need to be way more involved than you can ever imagine.