Got Ballot?
Seattle friends, please consider voting for these people for Seattle School Board. The Board is coming into a time of shrinking enrollment, a new governance system that weakens the Board oversight and closing schools.
D1 - DEBBIE CARLSEN (the incumbent, Liza Rankin, talks a good game but she sides with staff most of the time; she is not an effective leader). Debbie is bright and would bring non-profit experience and diversity to the Board.
D2 - Hard to say because of the lackluster campaigns from both candidates (there are only 2 so they were not in the primary). The incumbent, Lisa Rivera Smith, is bright but easily cowed and this is a time for strength. Her opponent, Christina Posten, is a former SPS principal/teacher, very bright but also somewhat scattered.
If I were voting, it would be a reluctant vote for Lisa Rivera Smith.
D3 - VOTE FOR BEN GITENSTEIN. He is a fantastic choice - bright, knowledgeable, with leadership skills in place. His opponent, Evan Briggs, does not know the district and is an acolyte for the person currently holding this position, Chandra Hampson. This is the same Hampson who sued the district over an independent investigation finding that she harassed, bullied and intimidated two senior staffers. Anyone aligned with Hampson is not to be trusted.
VOTE BEN!
D6 - You don't really have a choice here as the leading candidate, GINA TOPP received nearly 80% of the primary vote. She works in King County and is very bright and thoughtful. That said, she's a dark horse in terms of what she thinks about SPS. She has a "I want to be a team player" attitude which is great but we need people who will stand up and be counted (when it counts).
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Seattle voter
--Another SPS Voter
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