The Republican members of Fairfax County School Board pushed for a Special Election, costing the tax payers of the county an extra $250,000 to hold a Fairfax County School Board Special Election in late August.
Typically, this is the time when families are re-adjusting their schedules after summer, gearing up for the Fall, and everyone is busy readying for school. They did this to put in someone not qualified, with really no experience with schools, teachers, students and their essential needs. Also, Fairfax County Republicans want to entrench a narrower, more exclusionary perspective into the school board. Don’t let them do it. Vote for Karen Keys-Gamarra.
Karen Keys-Gamarra has endorsements from —
- Fairfax Education Association — Teachers
- Fairfax County Federation of Teachers.
- Gubernatorial candidate Dr. Ralph Northam.
- Lt. Gubernatorial candidate Justin Fairfax.
- Virginia AG Mark Herring.
Furthermore, she has an endorsement from the WaPo Editorial Board, and this is what they said:
Tuesday’s special election comes as the 189,000-student school system grapples with fiscal challenges caused by the inability of state and county funds to keep up with its fast growth. A meals tax that would have provided extra resources to public education was roundly defeated in a referendum last year. The candidate with the best understanding of these complicated issues is Karen Keys-Gamarra. Ms. Keys-Gamarra, an attorney and child advocate whom we endorsed in 2015 when she unsuccessfully ran for the school board’s Sully District seat, doesn’t offer simplistic solutions but instead understands that competing needs must be weighed and prioritized — and that the school board must work as a partner with its county counterparts.
You should also know that their endorsement is a swipe at her opponent who has been endoresed by a white supremacist group. And neither the opponent or any Fairfax County Republican has refuted that endorsement.
You can read more about it at Blue Virginia, and the fact is that the Fairfax County Republicans attacked Karen Keys-Gamarra in personal terms, calling her:
[...] “arrogant” “glib,” “smooth,” “dishonest.” Speaking of “dishonest,”
Because reviling a talented and, qualified candidate, who also has charm and authenticity, is always the way wingnut Republicans roll. Along with exhibiting their racism.
In the mean time, their candidate was once characterized thusly, by the WaPo —
By contrast, her Republican opponent, Chris S. Grisafe, lacks any experience or qualification for the job. Mr. Grisafe’s grasp of policy and politics is so tissue-thin that he doesn’t even mention the word “Tysons” on his campaign Web site; that alone should disqualify him. (Boldong, mine)
Did you read the above?
“[...] grasp of policy and politics is so tissue-thin [...]”
That is who the Republicans want. And they want him so that they can maintain their homophobic and confederacy supporting hold on the school board.
Vote today — Flip the School Board.
Vote today — Flip the board.
Karen Keys-Gamarra’s children have gone through the school system. Also, her professional experience meets up with the requirements needed in a school board member —
- Fairfax County is big, and its county government is fragmented. The school board has to be a partner with the county. Karen Keys-Gamarra’s experience with the Fairfax Planning Commission will help the school district in any building and renovations that the school district may carry out.
- Additionally, Karen Keys-Gamarra has experience as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. This is one of the roles she has in her legal practice — as as a Court appointed guardian. In that role, she has worked with kids and youths in a professional and supportive capacity.
Both of those make her an extraordinary candidate for the district’s school board.
She is -
- Against bullying.
- For smaller classrooms.
- Supportive of teachers and improving their morale.
- Supports diversity in schools.
This is what she believes in:
1) That every child deserves a quality education.
2) That every child is a treasure to his or her community.
3) That every child benefits from the collaborative efforts of parents, teachers and the community to address educational concerns.
It takes hard work and focus to build and maintain a quality educational system and Fairfax County provides a first class education. With your help and an opportunity to listen to the voices of parents and members of the community, I believe excellence is and will be the standard found in every Fairfax County Public School classroom
The candidate has TMac’s endorsement.
And this is what she is running for —
1) Protect after-school programs from Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos, who want to cut all federal funds to these programs in our schools.
2) Fully fund Fairfax schools so our teachers get the resources they need to give our kids a great education.
3) Enact policies to reduce bullying, so our kids have a safe learning environment.
4) Decrease class sizes so our students receive the attention they need to learn and teachers are better able to support all kids in the classroom.
Remember to vote at your regular polling place this Tuesday, August 29, between 6am and 7pm. Let’s send Donald Trump and his Republican party a message they won’t forget.