The Billionaire Boys want to elect your school board officials. After George W. Bush left the White House, I didn't think it would be possible for him to be my worst nightmare again. I was wrong. While most Presidential and Congressional candidates keep their distance from the man who all but turned our country into a third world nation, he may have found his niche in advocating for school board candidates. His high profile, infamous though it may be, coupled with $10,000 and $25,000 checks from "reformers" to corporate sponsored contenders will make local school board elections all but impossible for legitimate candidates to win.
David Sirota writes beautifully and lovingly about his wife's school board election. I couldn't improve on his narrative if I diligently tried. So, I'll leave you with it sharing only these questions. How can this happen? Isn't there something about equal protection that should apply to those of us who don't have a money tree? Oodles of money spent on national elections is one thing, but big money being thrown at school board candidates is beyond the pale.
As published at Salon.com: W. enters my wife’s schoolboard race
Emily knew it would be a tough race against her opponent, a deep-pocketed investment banker, but she felt confident she could run a solid campaign. She thought her experience as a social worker and community organizer in Denver gave her the tools to mount a good ground game, and she felt that her longtime policy work at the federal, state and local level was a good match for the school-board job. She also has deep roots in the community; her campaign has been endorsed by the district’s state representative and city councilors, by the city auditor, and by the key legislators who serve in the state’s senior education policymaking positions. And she was more than willing to do the grueling work that campaigns demand: walking precincts, answering questions at events, and calling every single person she knows and begging them for a few dollars.
Yet, as summer turned to fall, it’s become clear that this local race — like so many local races across the country — has turned into another arena for corporate muscle-flexing and elite political rainmaking.
Emily had thought a “big” contribution meant a few friends joining up to scrape together $500. But, in the last few weeks, news broke that oil CEOs and financial executives were cutting $10,000 and $25,000 checks to her opponent. We found out that notorious front groups like Stand for Children were funneling in tens of thousands of dollars of out-of-state financial industry cash, and we started hearing about serious threats of retribution from big-time professional politicians.
Also posted at Great Schools for America.