Perhaps my biggest frustration in running for Texas State Board of Education District 10 has been the way certain editorial boards have been unable to see the differences between me and my Republican opponent. These people look at us, two women with Ph.D.s in education, and conclude that the safer choice is to back the Republican in red-state Texas. Safer for their reputations, perhaps, but certainly not safer for Texas children. For the benefit of those editorial boards, I have highlighted key differences between me and my opponent below in bold.
The current State Board of Education has politicized the curriculum-writing process because of the narrow personal political agendas of a few extreme Republican members who have depended on advocates of voucher programs for financial and political support. We have an opportunity to prevent the extremists from reprising what they have done with science and history standards, but to do so will require strong leadership from someone willing to stand up to the extremists. Repeatedly, so-called moderate Republicans on the current Board have failed to do so. My Republican opponent Marsha Farney, unlike me, has refused to state she would not align herself with those who politicize the Board. Her investment choices provide a clear indication of her fundamental values and political preferences.
Our SBOE races got lots of attention last May, and they've maintained some strong momentum throughout the summer. As they approach the stretch run, and if you're not as excited about helping out with Bill White or any of our other statewide races, I'd strongly recommend you give Judy and Rebecca's campaign a call. They are true champions of real curriculum change in Texas -- which, when you get down to it, can be some of the most important change in education we must achieive this cycle.
Get more information about how you can help at their website:
The Republican Party of Texas is making it their mission for Republicans to hide from voters and refuse to debate. We know all about Rick Chicken Perry -- take a look at all the ads around BOR if you don't. But Republicans have decided to refuse to debate up and down the ticket now, only ensuring that their candidates will be seen as cowards who are unwilling to face the voters and talk about the issues.
Judy Jennings and Rebecca Bell-Metereau are fighting back. From their press release earlier today:
"Republican nominees for SBOE Marsha Farney and Ken Mercer have a lot of questions to answer, and they should come out of hiding and answer them. Are they going to participate in a fair debate, moderated by a respected non-partisan journalist, or are they going to follow the orders of their partisan boss? Texans are tired of the State Board of Education being Republicans' political football, in which the school children of Texas get kicked around - this is supposed to be about quality public education, not political gamesmanship," Cook said.
Both the Democrats have notified the League of Women Voters that they will participate in the League's debate, and cautioned their opponents not to duck voters by failing to participate.
"I am honored to participate in the debate and to share my views with voters on how the State Board of Education can do much better for Texas school children. If my opponent respects the voters whose support she seeks, she will accept the offer to participate in this debate as well," said Judy Jennings.
[snip]
"I'm pleased to accept the opportunity to let voters know my priorities if they elect me to the SBOE, and I'm equally pleased about the chance to inform voters of what my opponent has already done as an SBOE member," said Rebecca Bell-Metereau. "I urge him to participate in the debate, because he has some explaining to do regarding his priorities while in office," she said.
The policy of the Republican Party of Texas to simply ignore voters and skip public forums speaks volumes of who they believe matters in this race -- and it's not you. It's not the parents, teachers, or children of Texas who care about public schools. It is themselves.
Up and down the ballot, whatever the race, Republicans are in it for themselves while Democrats are in it for Texas.
If we listen to such folks as former chair of Texas School Board member Don McLeroy, we are told that majorities have given minorities power and that men have given women the right to vote
Today is the 90th anniversary of Tennessee ratifying the amendment which would give women the right to vote.
But to ever say that those in power allowed or gave any rights is disingenuous and inaccurate . This was a movement waged by women suffragists that fought long and hard for this right, not what McLeroy and others seem to imply is a privilege.
Want a case study on why statewide candidates should go to Netroots Nation? Three words... Linda Chavez Thompson. Even through Linda is only 5 feet tall, you couldn't miss her at the conference.
In 36 hours, Linda Chavez Thompson met one on one with bloggers from Texas and across the country, attended multiple caucuses and panels, had a campaign briefing, spoke to 2,000+ attendees as a keynote speaker moments before Sen. Al Franken concluded the festivities, hosted a latino blogger breakfast, and was so impressive she became a trending topic on twitter.
KetyE: Here at briefing w Linda Chavez-Thompson. #NN10 #NetrootsNation #latism What an amazing woman! #p2 #gov20 http://tweetphoto.com/34692166
Linda was impressive. Along with Judy Jennings and Rebecca Bell-Metereau, the three women from Texas were everywhere and working hard to talk to people from every state and every walk of life.
Attendees took notice. As Linda bounced from the Women's Campaign Forum Breakfast to her Campaign Briefing, others already started talking about her speech that night.
@ernestomedia: RT @MeanRachel: Linda Chavez-Thompson (@electlinda) will speak tonight at #nn10 keynote, spread the word Texas will have a Latina Lt. Gov in Nov!
Which had the added benefit of getting Texans a little fired up.
@XicanoPwr: It's people like Bill White, Linda Chavez-Thompson and Chuck Rocha that make me feel proud being from Texas again! #NN10
At a conference packed with events, LCT had over 40 folks attend a campaign briefing. Leaders ranging from the Hispanic community, labor community, and online leaders. Folks were enthusiastic and as a result of positive feedback Linda hosted a Lation blogger meeting the following day to capitalize on the passion being generated.
Without missing a beat, as many of us loitered after the briefing (or in some cases headed down to the blackjack tables... it was Vegas after all) Linda immediately went to talk to her brothers and sisters in the labor movement at the labor caucus.
I wish I could take the time to show you what happened next on twitter. Seriously. But with over 200 tweets in less than 15 minutes, Linda Chavez Thompson dominated twitter feeds across the country.
Linda spoke to over 2,000 attendees before Sen. Al Franken's keynote. The speech easily one of the best speeches of the night and convention.
@sadydoyle: Linda Chavez Thompson is KILLING ITTTTT. I want to be LCT when I grow up. #nn10
It was incredible to watch the room as she spoke. She was funny, interesting, and a crowd pleaser. She talked policy. She discussed the Texas political climate. And she showed there was hope not just in Texas but everywhere.
Not long ago, Texas earned a unique honor. The city of Laredo became the largest city in the country without a bookstore. Over a quarter million people and there isn't a single bookstore in the whole town. If we don't work together, we are going to continue to see the gap grow between the haves and the have nots. We are going to see our budget shortfall grow at the same rate we watch our education deficit increase.
The thing that was so refreshing to watch at Netroots Nation wasn't that Linda was there, but that she was there speaking truth to power and influencers. She was open and honest about her beliefs and her solutions. To every politician or candidate out there who is afraid or timid, what we saw this past weekend was how well people response to honesty. What we saw, online and off, people are hungry for leadership. We are starving for an honest debate. Instead, we are either too often ignored or pandered too. Linda Chavez-Thompson was successful at Netroots Nation because she used the medium the way it was intended... as a political space to have fair, open, and honest discussions about how we can work together and fix complex problems.
For 36 hours, Linda Chavez-Thompson was the political embodiment that Texas is changing, and not because of time, but because we are devoted to making a difference. Linda Chavez-Thompson is a difference maker.
Linda Chavez-Thompson is a client of GNI Strategies. A company Matt Glazer launched in 2009 with two others - Katie Naranjo and Will Ikard. Linda Chavez-Thompson nor the campaign saw, edited, or had any direct input in this Netroots Nation retrospective.
I love America and I am a Democrat. This might not be shocking news to any of you, but Marsha Farney could be incredibly surprised to hear this "news". From a press release the Judy Jennings campaign sent out earlier today, Farney went from secret hiding to highly insulting in 24 hours, only to go back into hiding.
It's bad enough that Republican nominee for SBOE District 10 Marsha Farney has been virtually silent for weeks regarding her priorities, if elected to the State Board of Education.
Far worse was what Farney said once she finally broke her silence, before quickly returning to seclusion.
"I'd rather be here than with those America-bashing Democrats," Farney said at a July 4th weekend Tea Party rally in Georgetown,to the Austin American-Statesman.
Before I go into too much more detail, let's do a little housekeeping. I still work at GNI Strategies and one of our clients is Judy Jennings. (It's easy to work for people you agree with). House keeping piece number two, Judy Jennings is running against Marsha Farney and you should go to her website right now and support a candidate that believes in education and listening to experts instead of inserting blind partisanship into the classroom.
Thanks for sticking with me during the necessary aside.
Usually when a candidate makes a claim that insults an entire group of people, the candidate likes to clarify or explain their thoughts and positions. Having put my foot in my mouth a few times, it is always important to make sure people understand the truth and not the misstatement. Well, apparently Farney didn't misspeak or doesn't have anything to clarify. Farney is staying mum and letting her original quote stand.
Now, Farney is hiding from reporters and refusing to answer questions on why she has completely abandoned all pretense of being a mainstream candidate for an office entrusted with the education of Texas' school children. The Houston Chronicle has attempted for days to contact Ms. Farney to question her on what she meant, but Farney has again gone underground.
Judy Jennings did have something to chime in with though.
"For weeks I have called on Farney to explain to Texas families whether she would join those already on the SBOE in ignoring the advice of teachers and experts, by continuing to push hyper-partisan ideology on our school children., For weeks she has remained silent. Now that she's proven the extent to which she will pander to a fringe element, she has quickly returned to her 'undisclosed location' and refuses to answer any questions, in hopes that Texans won't notice," Jennings said.
"I have been clear from the start. When I am elected to the State Board of Education, I will not inflict ideology on the schoolchildren of Texas. Instead, I will listen to the advice of experts and teachers, and will remain focused on the task at hand - providing our Texas children with a world-class education," Jennings said.
"Shamefully, it's now clear that we cannot expect the same from Marsha Farney."
Earlier today, Hurta wrote more about the poll Judy is referencing. You should take a look. Apparently so should Marsha Farney. Let's take partisanship out of the classrooms and make education a priority.
Today marks a big defeat for kids in Texas, and anywhere else else kids read and use textbooks. The current State Board of Education (SBOE) approved history requirements that, among other things, incorrectly imply that:
Woodrow Wilson and Oliver Wendell Holmes were eugenics proponents,
Global organizations undermine US sovereignty through treaties,
Social Security and Medicare are not credible programs,
and a host of other inaccuracies that promote a distinct partisanship that can't be confused with historical truth.There were some small victories today but ultimately, most of the conservative agenda and amendments were or will be approved.
We are past the point of petitions & public hearings- the ONLY recourse we have now is to change the face of that board. That means we need to open our wallets and donate to Democratic State Board of Education candidates Judy Jennings and Rebecca Bell-Metereau right now.
Even if you don't live or vote in Texas, it's clear that the missteps of the SBOE might have implications for kids outside of Texas. Your donation matters more than a lot of races out there - because the outcome of this race has not only Texan implications, but national impact. Please vote with your wallet and change the face of the State Board of Education for all students' sake.
We also need your help to spread the word to others.
Below we've created one-click links for you to share a message of support on Facebook & Twitter. Click either or both of the links, customize the text if you like, and then share this call to action with your friends.
History is usually written by the victors. Not so when it comes to social studies standards here in Texas, where Don McLeroy - a dentist from College Station and a defeated, outgoing member of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) - would rather have public school attendees talk about fictional characters from a coffee table book than historicallysignificantAmericans. As Phillip Martin wrote about earlier, Dr. McLeory recommended a change to curriculum (page 3) that prominent American history muckrackers and reformers like Upton Sinclair, Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells and W.E.B. DuBois be contrasted against "the optimism of immigrants including Jean Pierre Godet as told in Thomas Kinkade's The Spirit of America." Dr. McLeroy did not mention that Jean Pierre Godet is a character in a work of fiction written in 1998. And that's only one point on a long list of mistruths the current SBOE wants to write into public school curriculum.
But there is still hope for the kids of Texas. Just like Texas science textbook purchase in Texas might be delayed, so might social studies textbooks. In fact, the textbooks will likely be purchased by the next SBOE elected this coming November, which means we have a chance to elect people who have education credentials and possibly save history in Texas. Here's what you can do to help...
Donate directly to the campaigns. Support two candidates running for the SBOE by donating directly to their campaigns. Dr. Judy Jennings (running for SBOE District 10) and Dr. Rebecca Bell-Metereau (running for SBOE District 5) are running in districts that - if you put the two districts together - are geographically the size of Mississippi and total about 1.8 million registered voters. Judy and Rebecca are both committed to Saving History and you can donate to both candidates at their Save History ActBlue site.
Help spread the word through Facebook, Twitter and your blog of choice. Those of us supporting Judy, Rebecca and others in Texas are using the #savehistory hashtag on twitter, as well as using that same tag on our posts.
Be heard - join us in the Twitterbomb. Forget to submit your personal comment on the current standards up for review? We found a (non-official) way to submit a comment. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is on Twitter and we'd like to let them know how we feel about the proposed curriculum changes while they're voting on those changes. Please join us on Thursday, May 20th at 9am Central Standard by tweeting:
.@teainfo Do right by TX kids & public school kids everywhere. Reject distorted Social Studies curriculum changes. #SaveHistory
Also let TEA know which historical figures and heros you'd like the SBOE to save by tweeting your favorite folks (for instance, Dolores Huerta) using the #savehistory hashtag all week.
Lately, I've liked telling people that Democrats have a very good chance to make important gains in all levels of state government, from the Governor's Mansion to the State Board of Education.
With the SBOE, there are really only one or two districts where Democrats can reasonably hope to take away from Republicans, but the story on that board is not so much Democrats vs. Republicans. In the SBOE, somehow, one major group is of crazy conservatives who want to isolate Texas into a Christian and potentially unproductive box. The other group: rational people, both Democrats and Republicans, who want to ensure that Texas children are prepared to compete in the global economy.
There are four important seats where that way-too-extreme social conservatism is being fought tooth-and-nail. One is SBOE 3, where Democrat Rick Agosto has embarrassingly been a swing vote with the crazies. He's been pushed to not running for reelection, and Michael Soto is expected to take his place and do well.
The other important races are in districts 5, 9, and 10. The Texas Freedom Network did a nice roundup of SBOE fundraising, so let's take a look at these three districts.
SBOE District 5
This district stretches from Bexar County to southern Travis County and includes the Hill Country.
Republican Primary
Ken Mercer (I): $8,035.00 in contributions, in $3,639.05 cash on hand
Tim Tuggey: $60,330.58 in contributions, in $24,945.65 cash on hand
Democratic Primary
Rebecca Bell-Metereau: $17,797 in contributions, in $6,414.44 cash on hand
Robert Bohmfalk: no report available yet
Daniel Boone: $4,176.72 in contributions, in $3,457.72 cash on hand
Josiah Ingalls: $350 in contributions, in $36.15 cash on hand
There are a lot of Democrats who think that Rebecca Bell-Metereau has a decent shot, and she is certainly leading the other Democrats in fundraising as well as social conservative incumbent Ken Mercer.
But the real challenge to Mercer might be in his own party. Tim Tuggey is absolutely dominating the money race. He's spent more than half what he has received, but he still has about 3 times more on hand than Mercer has raised at all. If his spending is wise, we'll see Mercer knocked off in March.
District 9
This largely East-Central Texas district stretches from Plano to Bryan-College Station.
Don McLeroy (I): $1,200 in contributions, $611.33 in cash on hand
Thomas Ratliff: $15,173.20 in contributions, $8,098.50 in cash on hand
District 9 is a definitely Republican district, which could hurt Ratliff. But he still is significantly leading McLeroy, and he has his father's name. Don McLeroy is possibly the most dangerous member of the State Board of Education. So, go Thomas Ratliff!
District 10
This district stretches from Williamson and northern Travis County to just west of Houston. Republican incumbent Cynthia Dunbar is not running for re-election.
Republican Primary
Marsha Farney: no contributions, no cash on hand
Rebecca Osborne: $5,416.00 in contributions, $5,515.09 in cash on hand
Brian Russell: $8,229.40 in contributions, $7,455 in cash on hand
Democrat
Judy Jennings: $15,900 in contributions, $14,072.31 in cash on hand
Cynthia Dunbar, as you probably know, is in that McLeroy-level of dangerousness. Thankfully, she's not running. But her hand-picked successor, Brian Russell, is probably just as bad. He's leading the Republican money race, but Rebecca Osborne has been campaigning longer.
Thankfully, Judy Jennings beats both of us. District 10 contains about half of Travis County, and it is also the absolutely best chance for a Democrat to take a seat that a Republican has held. This is a clear toss-up seat, so seeing Jennings' lead is a surely comforting sign.
The good news: Apparently, super right wing radical Cynthia Dunbar will not run for reelection in 2010 to the State Board of Education's 10th District. This is great news for Texas, as well as for those in Austin and elsewhere who live in the district. She only disrupts and distracts from potential progress in education.
The bad news: Ms. Dunbar plans to pick her successor.
APPEARS DUNBAR WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION TO SBOE
SREC member Brian Russell says she recruited him to run for her open seat.
Republican Cynthia Dunbar, a lightning rod for controversy on the State Board of Education for her ultra-conservative views, appears to have told supporters she will not run for a second term on the board and likely will be replaced on the ballot by Austin intellectual property attorney Brian Russell, who currently serves on the State Republican Executive Committee.
Another clue she may not be running: Her website, cynthiadunbar.com, brings you to a pretty looking website that mentions the State Board of Education relatively little. Completely ignored is cynthiadunbar.com/index.htm, which directs you to a campaign site as of this posting.
He may not be quite as virally appalling as Ms. Dunbar or her colleague Don McLeroy, but Brian Russell is also a Christian Conservative that would put politics before education.
As Austin's member on the State Republican Executive Committee, he signed a letter about the 2009 Speakers race. The letter implied that the Anybody-but-Craddick Republicans were "working against their own Party."
He is the Austin contact and "Volunteer" with the Texas Eagle Forum. If you don't remember, this is the far-right conservative organization from where Cathie Adams hailed.
Hopefully, the Republican primary voters will pass on Mr. Russell. The party has a reasonable looking candidate in Rebecca Osborne. Unfortunately, she no longer has Cynthia Dunbar's absolutely repugnant record to fight against. And Republican primaries tend to favor the more conservative.
That also means that the Democratic candidate also won't be able to fight against such repulsiveness. With Lorenzo Sadun stepping aside, now could be a prime opportunity to help Judy Jennings. She's currently the only Democratic candidate for the SBOE 10 seat, which is the only seat Democrats can reasonably hope to gain in 2010 . Right now, it looks like we'll need our candidate to be strong. We need a candidate that will win over Texans in the fight for truly better schools.
Update: We still do not have direct confirmation that Dunbar will step aside, but the Statesman has it that, in an email, she said a statement would be released later. They also hear from other SBOE member David Bradley that she will not be returning.
Update by Matt: This statement just came in from Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller:
"If this report is accurate, then it appears that Cynthia Dunbar realized her extremist track record made her a damaged brand in next year's election. But the only difference between her and Russell is she wrote a book savaging public education and he hasn't done that yet. Nobody should be fooled here. He holds the same anti-science and extremist views that Dunbar does, which is why she recruited him to run for her seat."
In her 2008 book, One Nation Under God, Dunbar called public education a "subtle tool of perversion," "tyrannical" and unconstitutional. During the 2008 president election, Dunbar attacked then-candidate Barack Obama as a Marxist and a terrorist sympathizer who wanted another attack on America so that he could declare martial law and throw out the Constitution. Dunbar has also been a leader of efforts by the State Board of Education's far-right faction to politicize our children's social studies classrooms and to promote creationist arguments against evolution in science classrooms.
In March of this year Russell successfully persuaded the State Republican Executive Committee to pass a resolution demanding that all Republican state board members obey the Texas GOP platform by supporting creationist arguments against evolution in new public school science curriculum standards. He also has served as treasurer of Legacy PAC, a Christian-right political action committee. In 2004 he served on a committee that drafted the Texas Republican Party platform, which called separation of church and state a "myth," demanded that public schools teach "intelligent design"/creationism in science classrooms and opposed including medically accurate information on contraception and disease prevention in sex education classes.
