This image from today’s newspaper encapsulates the value of local journalism – these six people are running for three seats on our local school board. In a larger metropolitan area, or an area not served by a local paper, these candidates would not be given this level of visibility in the local paper. This doesn’t mean as much as it once did – many people (particularly the young’uns) don’t get their news from a local paper. But every bit of publicity helps, particularly when candidates are new to the political arena.
School board elections are non-partisan in Virginia, so these candidates aren’t identified with a particular party. But you don’t have to dig into their bios very deeply to figure out where they stand in the current debate over the role of the public schools in American society.
I know two of these candidates personally – Randy Riffle and Max Blalock – and “know” some of the others by reputation. Randy is running for the seat that represents my part of James City County, and I have participated in a couple of events to help his election. He is only 24 years old but already has political experience as Chief of Staff for our member of the House of Delegates (lower house in Virginia state legislature). He is bright, enthusiastic, and energetic. A graduate of William and Mary, he touts his quite recent experience as a student in the local public school system. He also signed up last spring to be a substitute teacher in the system, and he features his experiences in this role on his social media pages. He is a tireless campaigner, using his skateboard to get him around neighborhoods where he knocks on a prodigious number of doors daily in an effort to reach as many voters as possible. Plus, he’s cute as a bug.
I also know Max Blalock, who is running in another district. I have also attended a couple of events to help his campaign. I first met him when we attended Williamsburg United Methodist Church; Max is the Campus Minister at the Wesley Foundation (Methodist), just across the street from the William and Mary Campus. He is a boisterous individual whose booming voice (featuring a strong Alabama accent) can’t be missed in any gathering. His interest in public education stems from two circumstances in his life: his two children, who attended the local public schools, and his experience with WM students who struggle with many of the issues that plague society in general today. He is “on call” 24-7 to assist his students, who struggle with addiction, homelessness, and discrimination because of who they are. In his “Why I’m running” statements, he talks about the trans or otherwise LGBTQ students whose parents have disavowed them and who feel both marginalized and targeted in today’s political environment.
My most recent memory of Max in a public space was at a rally in 2017 against the “Muslim Ban” promulgated by #PO1135809. I attended this event (in the Sunken Garden at W&M) with my Iranian Muslim friend Monis and her husband Abbas, whose continued presence in the United States was threatened by this ban. Not because of where they were currently – they had the proper papers and whatnot – but because they feared they could not go back to Iran for a visit and be certain they could return to the US. What we didn’t know then is that Monis’s brother would die suddenly back in Teheran, and she would have to go home to be with him. She is still there, six years later. It was obscene.
Oh yeah, and Max spoke at this rally. His voice (did I mention that he was loud?) rang out over the Sunken Garden as he shouted “NO” in response to his own rhetorical question, “Is this what America is?” I think his “NO” is still echoing around the campus.
I don’t know the other candidates personally, although the positions supported by Damon Walker (running in yet another different district) align with the views of both Randy and Max. He is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel whose experiences in the military gave him a great deal of insight into how to conduct training and education in a way that is open and inclusive. In addition, his wife is a teacher in the district, and his son attends the local public school. I have friends who know Damon well and are helping with his campaign.
The local League of Women Voters and the York-James City-Williamsburg NAACP are sponsoring a candidate forum later this week at the local library. Last week, these same organizations sponsored a similar forum for people running for seats in the General Assembly. Unfortunately, the GOP candidates chose not to engage in this forum. This has been true for several election cycles. I’m hoping that all of the local school board candidates (and board of supervisors candidates, who are not featured in this article) will be in attendance. I would bet good money that Randy, Max, and Damon will be there. I would bet equally good money that the other candidates will not show up. I hope they prove me wrong.
National politics generally sucks up all the oxygen in the room. For most of us, the drama swirling around #PO1135809 occupies all of our political bandwidth. But for all of the noise associated with the 2024 Presidential Election, government shutdowns, and the latest courtroom catastrophe for the 45th POTUS, local governments are quietly working to solve the problems everyone is speechifying about. You may not have local or state elections this year (Virginia is an outlier in this regard), but you’ll have them next year. You have time to find out who’s planning to run for these vital positions (and either run or recruit others to run if there aren’t any candidates yet) and then help the people with the “right” ideas (according to your own philosophy of life) get elected. If you don’t do this, at this time next year you’ll be moaning about the quality of the candidates or the fact that no one has told you the things you want to know.
Giddy-up, my friends.
Do you remember about 30 (or more) years ago (Moral Majority Days) when Pat Robertson ran for something national, and having lost called for Christians to run for local school boards, county supervisors and mayors. His reasoning was that if his followers took over local government then they would be well placed to move up to state governance and then federal and could elect whomever they chose. He was right, and more importantly, that's exactly what they did. Sadly, the more liberal thinking folks weren't inclined to do that sort of long term thinking and strategize that far out. We should have. Look where we are now.
Everyone should identify candidates with whom they agree and do whatever they can: yard sales, canvassing, calling, providing rides to the polls. But, most important of all ... VOTE!
Yes! I am trying to be hopeful. It feels like a last chance for our democracy. And you're right, it starts at the local level. Thanks for your blog and information that is important to me.