Incumbents Secure, One Race Overwhelmingly Decided, One a Maybe
With 20.43% of the vote counted, results for Seattle School Board races:
D1- Liza Rankin - 60.77%, Debbie Carlsen - 38.59%
D2 - Lisa Rivera Smith - 68%, Christina Posten - 31.59%
D3 - Evan Briggs - 51.08%, Ben Gitenstein - 48.45%
D6 - Gina Topp - 86.84%, Maryanne Wood - 12.72%
The candidates who win will take their oath of office at a special board meeting on Wednesday, November 29th. However, even before taking the oath all of them will be at the Washington State Directors Annual Conference starting on November 16th. Interestingly, the night before - on November 15th - there is a Board meeting that looks to be lengthy. I would hope the newly-elected members would attend the entire meeting.
Analysis and Reflection
Clearly, incumbents do well in these races. That's been true for a long time although I remember fondly when the entire business-types majority got ousted many years back.
And clearly, Lisa Rivera Smith is one of the luckiest candidates ever. She walked into office her first time and only had one challenger this time.
I think Gina Topp may have broken the old record of Stephan Blanford with her 86%+ showing. I think he was at about 84%.
As for Briggs and Gitenstein, I am hoping over the next couple of days to see that gap narrow. In the past, we have certainly seen close matches turn as more votes are counted. But if today's count continues (or gets larger) for Briggs, then she will win.
If Briggs does win, I do wonder about one thing. I wonder what the how long or on what issue before she turns to Rankin (and her handler, Chandra Hampson) and says, "Quit telling me what to think or how to vote."
Will she be a follower like Michelle Sarju who seems content letting others do the heavy lifting and telling her how to vote?
From video interviews with Briggs, I didn't see a person staking out her own views but she may surprise us.
Also to note, Sunday, November 19th is the last community meeting with Director Leslie Harris at High Point Library. Harris has done yeoman's work to have these regular meetings for 8 years. That's what real community engagement looks like.
Comments
Split it
Uhhhhhhh. And that will help, how? Where does the Equity and AA male centering department go? My guess, not in the south end if you’re thinking a split N-S split. Where would the SOF go? Not sure who wants that. And exactly how would a split be? And how would it happen? What is the procedure for that happening?
Needless to say… we’d be stuck with double (or more) the expensive superintendents and their respective aristocracies.
Far more likely is a state takeover which might be an improvement.
Curious
Splitting is admission that we can't be a unified community. Or it is spite for one's neighbors.
Seattle needs to learn adult levels of compromise.
SP
Doomer
Stalker
Mayoral control is NOT a thing in Washington. Cities and counties have no role in schools or school governance. None. Districts are created only by the legislature, and only the legislature can split a district.
In case of bankruptcy, OSPI i.e. Chris Reykdahl appoints a state administrator, but we’re a couple steps away from that.
-Louie Louie
We got the annual fundraising campaign letter from the school and as I was reading through it noticed that the Alliance4Education is actually the entity collecting the money and apparently retains 6% of every donation to cover a portion of program costs (Their website). I don't feel I need to contribute 6% of whatever donation I might make to go to that particular organization which doesn't seem at all like an organization remotely interested in my child's school. So I checked the not-this-year box and sent it back. I can't wait for next year to learn that the PTA donations will be shared district wide.
Doomer had it right. Anyone who can bolt, will - if they haven't already. If you can't even prop up your school's lagging funding via the PTA without having those funds siphoned off then why even bother? I said in a comment a few days ago, that I'm done. I had hoped a new school board might be elected and steer the district at least away from the worst of the storm. But nope. The only plus is that the fools (and one of their acolytes) that got the district into this mess will be sticking around as the district sinks beneath the waves.
I'm done. No more donations of any kind to district entities. I'll save the money for private enrichment for my kid.
-Seeing Red
It's not a legal, open thing. But machine politics, and Seattle is growing up and getting one to rival Eastern cities, machine politics relies on friendships, club memberships, dinners together, UW games together.
The BrentBruceBrandon triumvirate verges on mayoral control.
SP
Our public school system is universal public education -- school for all. Many people are working hard to turn our health care system into that same model: universal health care, Medicare for all.
But under Chandra Hampson, SPS is moving away from that and is instead deliberately ending universal public education. Their goal is to turn our school system into the current American health care system, in which people are expected to get their needs met privately and the public system exists for the most urgent cases. That's not a good thing. If you want that, Alki Mothership, good for you. I don't think there are very many Seattleites who agree with you, at least outside the JSCEE and the SCPTSA.
Doomer
"Harborview for kids from poor families".
SPS could only wish to provide such excellence. Harborview provides world class care, and in some fields, among the top in the country. It's neurosurgery, cardiac arrest work, etc, are known world over. SPS not so much.
Doomer - and no, Harborview is not "providing the absolute basic minimum of care needed for someone in a crisis" - it's actually the best comprehensive care.
Sorry, your analogy just falls flat on this one. Not necessarily disagreeing with your overall message, but your way of making it is just incorrect.
BLUE SKY
Watching