MoCo BOE primary election results

[Anonymous]

^^^here is a map that shows the Board of Education districts:

https://data.montgomerycountymd.gov/Education/Board-of-Education-Districts/cz3q-cuy7

The districts represent equal populations as of the 2010 Census.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes the district thing is just so Silver Spring doesnt dominate the board, right?

I don't understand this "Silver Spring" obsession that some people in the county apparently have.

-resident of the upcounty (but you can call it upper northwest Silver Spring, if you want)

I think it stems from the vocal group of Silver Spring and Takoma Park residents who have something against the residents who live in the western side of Montgomery county in particular the W schools. They too are pretty obsessed with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes the district thing is just so Silver Spring doesnt dominate the board, right?

I don't understand this "Silver Spring" obsession that some people in the county apparently have.

-resident of the upcounty (but you can call it upper northwest Silver Spring, if you want)

I think it stems from the vocal group of Silver Spring and Takoma Park residents who have something against the residents who live in the western side of Montgomery county in particular the W schools. They too are pretty obsessed with it.

Nope, because the weird "Silver Spring" obsession isn't just limited to MCPS issues.

But also there are only so many times you can read on DCUM about the superiority of the wealthy/white/western schools, before you start wondering whether the obsession with the wealthy/white/western schools belongs to the people who want to keep them that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sure did. I honestly had no idea what district we were assigned to. It does seem that down county can take over these elections.
A more fair setup IMO is only the candidates from that district vote to represent their district on the school board with a couple extra at large.

Only because you haven't looked at the make-up of the Board of Education, which is:

1 board member who lives in District 1
1 board member who lives in District 2
1 board member who lives in District 3
1 board member who lives in District 4
1 board member who lives in District 5
2 board members at large, who can live anywhere
1 student member of the board (SMOB)

And, of course, people get elected to the board of education by having more people vote for them than for the other candidate(s). That's not unfairness, that's democracy.

Wouldn’t that be like having people from one state run for Congress but allowing the whole country to vote on it? It’s not true representation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sure did. I honestly had no idea what district we were assigned to. It does seem that down county can take over these elections.
A more fair setup IMO is only the candidates from that district vote to represent their district on the school board with a couple extra at large.

Only because you haven't looked at the make-up of the Board of Education, which is:

1 board member who lives in District 1
1 board member who lives in District 2
1 board member who lives in District 3
1 board member who lives in District 4
1 board member who lives in District 5
2 board members at large, who can live anywhere
1 student member of the board (SMOB)

And, of course, people get elected to the board of education by having more people vote for them than for the other candidate(s). That's not unfairness, that's democracy.

Wouldn’t that be like having people from one state run for Congress but allowing the whole country to vote on it? It’s not true representation.

Yes, it is true representation. You are a Montgomery County voter, and they are representing you. If you think that Bethesda/Potomac would only be represented on the Board of Education by a BoE member whom only Bethesda/Potomac voters were allowed to vote for...well, I don't know. All I can say is that it's Montgomery County Public Schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sure did. I honestly had no idea what district we were assigned to. It does seem that down county can take over these elections.
A more fair setup IMO is only the candidates from that district vote to represent their district on the school board with a couple extra at large.

Only because you haven't looked at the make-up of the Board of Education, which is:

1 board member who lives in District 1
1 board member who lives in District 2
1 board member who lives in District 3
1 board member who lives in District 4
1 board member who lives in District 5
2 board members at large, who can live anywhere
1 student member of the board (SMOB)

And, of course, people get elected to the board of education by having more people vote for them than for the other candidate(s). That's not unfairness, that's democracy.

Wouldn’t that be like having people from one state run for Congress but allowing the whole country to vote on it? It’s not true representation.

Each BOE member represents every county resident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wouldn’t that be like having people from one state run for Congress but allowing the whole country to vote on it? It’s not true representation.

Yes, it is true representation. You are a Montgomery County voter, and they are representing you. If you think that Bethesda/Potomac would only be represented on the Board of Education by a BoE member whom only Bethesda/Potomac voters were allowed to vote for...well, I don't know. All I can say is that it's Montgomery County Public Schools.

At large voting is an old trick to suppress minority voices (according to NAACP).

https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/At-Large-Voting-Frequently-Asked-Questions-1.pdf

https://www.nonprofitvote.org/bias-large-elections-works/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wouldn’t that be like having people from one state run for Congress but allowing the whole country to vote on it? It’s not true representation.

Yes, it is true representation. You are a Montgomery County voter, and they are representing you. If you think that Bethesda/Potomac would only be represented on the Board of Education by a BoE member whom only Bethesda/Potomac voters were allowed to vote for...well, I don't know. All I can say is that it's Montgomery County Public Schools.

At large voting is an old trick to suppress minority voices (according to NAACP).

https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/At-Large-Voting-Frequently-Asked-Questions-1.pdf

https://www.nonprofitvote.org/bias-large-elections-works/

Gold star for chutzpah, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sure did. I honestly had no idea what district we were assigned to. It does seem that down county can take over these elections.
A more fair setup IMO is only the candidates from that district vote to represent their district on the school board with a couple extra at large.

Only because you haven't looked at the make-up of the Board of Education, which is:

1 board member who lives in District 1
1 board member who lives in District 2
1 board member who lives in District 3
1 board member who lives in District 4
1 board member who lives in District 5
2 board members at large, who can live anywhere
1 student member of the board (SMOB)

And, of course, people get elected to the board of education by having more people vote for them than for the other candidate(s). That's not unfairness, that's democracy.

Wouldn’t that be like having people from one state run for Congress but allowing the whole country to vote on it? It’s not true representation.

Each BOE member represents every county resident.

So then what is the point of dividing it into districts at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So then what is the point of dividing it into districts at all?

Presumably so that the Board of Education has members from all parts of the county, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So then what is the point of dividing it into districts at all?

Presumably so that the Board of Education has members from all parts of the county, no?

So it’s like an appearance of representation but not really?
This is why the county needs to be divided. Please consider signing the petition if you feel the same.

http://ninedistrictsformoco.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So then what is the point of dividing it into districts at all?

Presumably so that the Board of Education has members from all parts of the county, no?

So it’s like an appearance of representation but not really?
This is why the county needs to be divided. Please consider signing the petition if you feel the same.

http://ninedistrictsformoco.org/

That is about the County Council districts, not the BOE districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“The gap between Dasgupta and Austin widened from 3,013 on Friday night to 4,084 on Sunday.”
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/news/harris-dasgupta-push-further-ahead-in-school-board-at-large-race/

And now Dasgupta is ahead of Austin by 5,336 votes.

[Anonymous]

Yeah no it is weird that voters from across the county vote for every BOE district. That being said, the whole "I'm from Bethesda, everybody hates me, I'm such a victim" thing is hilarious.

Signed,
A pro-boundary study resident of Silver Spring who grew up in Bethesda and went to Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no it is weird that voters from across the county vote for every BOE district. That being said, the whole "I'm from Bethesda, everybody hates me, I'm such a victim" thing is hilarious.

Signed,
A pro-boundary study resident of Silver Spring who grew up in Bethesda and went to Whitman.

"I live in Bethesda, but more people live in Silver Spring, no fair!"

Although to be fair, there's also "I live in Germantown/Clarksburg/the Ag Reserve, but more people live downcounty, no fair!"