Smile of the Day

I received an e-mail that Peter Maier is promoting Estey and Blanford for School Board.   And that's fine.

What's funny is how he describes them (and given what he writes, I'm pretty sure he DID write it):

Estey

Suzanne Dale Estey is running to fill the District IV position vacated by retiring Seattle School Board Member Michael DeBell, who has endorsed her. From our work together on the School Board, both Michael and I understand the importance of having strong School Board leadership. Suzanne is a passionate, knowledgeable and experienced leader who will be a strong advocate for high quality education. I have no doubt that Suzanne will make a positive impact on the School Board at a time when we need it most.

Suzanne was born and raised in Seattle, and served as the chair of the Inter-High Council and student representative to the School Board while she was a student at Roosevelt High School. Suzanne has two young boys who attend Catharine Blaine K-8. I have given Suzanne my full support in this three-way Primary, because a solid education lays the groundwork for our children’s future.


Blanford

Stephan Blanford is another very strong candidate, who has a doctorate in education leadership and policy and significant experience as an executive director of education and youth development organizations serving Seattle school kids 0 – 18 years old. He has studied more than 100 schools and districts nationwide, and is an authority on evidence-based approaches used by schools to close achievement/opportunity gaps. He is also a Seattle Public Schools parent, with a daughter entering fifth grade at Beacon Hill International School.
A bit of a difference, no? He kind of makes her sound like a housewife (which she isn't) while Blanford is this uber-education expert.  I guess that high school experience is really paying off for Estey because there seems to be many people impressed by it. (And FYI, Estey has one child at Blaine; the other starts there this fall.)

This e-mail was paid for by the Estey campaign (no love from the Blanford side?).

Naturally, I am of the mind that if you want Peter Maier's endorsement, you probably don't understand what being a good Board member looks like.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hmmm. It's kinda weird that a QA/Mag school board position... would be held by somebody who has a kid at a Beacon Hill school. Hmmm. Something wrong with QA/Mag? Is that an odd state of affairs?

-Mag Resident.
Mag, no, it's Blanford's child (in District V) who is at Beacon Hill. Estey's children are at Blaine (District IV).
mirmac1 said…
I wonder why they don't mention Estey's safety patrol and lunchroom assistant duties in elementary?
Anonymous said…
This is so Seattle. For all of the feigned cosmopolitanism, Estey's bio reveals the lingering backwater quality to this town.

Sounds right out Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Estey could easily be one of the characters in the book, which happens to be set in Queen Anne.

--enough already
mirmac1 said…
I was wondering when the Times would take up the drumbeat again. I'll bet that, after the primary, we'll see "news articles" and editorials on this race every other day.

6 compete for 2 open seats on Seattle’s School Board
There are several things that are interesting about the latest Times article.

One, it came on in late evening (online) and disappeared by morning from its front page. Didn't give it much legs.

Two, interesting how the bulk of the article is about Peters and Estey.

Three again, I don't want to hear the Times tell me how "fair" they are. The mismatch of endorsements for Peters and Estey is quite telling. (Peters gets unnamed members of the School Board and activist/teacher Jesse Hagopian while Estey gets the solid citizen Dems even though Peters has just as many solid citizen elected Dems officials. Hmmm.)

Also, it states that both were asked how many SB meetings they attended and the answer was 10. Now, it doesn't say if this is in the last 10 years or year but I, along with a couple of other stalwarts go to most of them. I have only since Estey at one (and that was last week) and maybe a second one earlier in the year. The meetings are not that crowded that you don't notice who is in attendance. Maybe someone who doesn't go much might not realize that.

Eric B said…
Also weird: in the dead tree edition photos of the candidates, the women were all in color and the men were all in black and white. No idea what it means, but it can't have been accidental.
Anonymous said…
Estey's campaign and handlers (including the Seattle Times) have been in panic and hatchet job mode ever since The Stranger endorsed Peters.

Given the likely role of this endorsement in the last election (The Stranger being credited with Buetow's loss), Camp Estey's concern is justified.

The good news is that her character is being exposed with a vengeance.

--enough already
I also wonder if that flyer had been from supporters of Peters, would that have been in the article? I suspect so.

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