Elections and Schools, Guilford Cty.

Some of the biggest disappointments this evening come in education-related races and ballot questions.  The passage of the non-Eastern school bonds-- together with other bond packages passed-- promise significant tax increases for Guilford County residents, on top of those we would ordinarily experience nearly every year.  It also means massive additional sums will be wasted in the school construction process.

And in addition, Sanda Alexander and Michael McKinney-- arguably the two least desirable candidates-- appear to be the top two vote getters in the school board race.   It is a bit difficult to understand some of the school board results.   For instance,  David Crawford is polling ahead of EC Huey and Alan Hawkes-- two much more substantive candidates.  In addition, Sandra Alexander is outpolling everyone else by a large margin.  This is a surprising outcome.  I am unsure whether this reflects huge wells of support she has within the education community; or whether, perhaps, voters are confusing her with Sandra Anderson.

In any case, these results are not auspicious for county taxpayers, or from the standpoint of predicting a positive transformation of our schools.  My condolences to EC Huey and Alan Hawkes, both of whom had the right ideas.

Comments

[keith]

Maybe if there is a race again in the future and 2 candidates have similar ideas maybe they can run as a combination vote in a 2 person race, just a idea.

I was also dissappointed in the outcome but maybe Joe you can get behind Pat McCrory with me for governor change the fred smith ad with Pat McCrory ad.

A real close one is my district in High Point where Laura Wiley squeeked one out for the House 61 seat beating Ragsdale.

We also need to get behind the 2 GOP commissioners as Wendell Sawyer and Larry Proctor.

[Jerrold]

it seems that we have now traded in a few tyrants on the county commisoners for a few thousand who want to continue to take more money from me.

[Wendell Sawyer]

Joe:

I was disappointed to see EC Huey and Alan Hawkes lose. As you stated, "both of whom had the right ideas."

As for the bonds that succeeded, they will eventually result into an excessive burden upon the taxpayers of this county as we attempt to navigate ourselves through the storms of the worsening national economy.

[Stormy]

Joe,

We will not be able to make to much of this race without looking at the polling by precinct. I suspect that Alexander did well in the black areas of Greensboro. Of course, many may have voted for her because she has an "education" background. Of course again, her education background has not been in the K-12 environment. McKinney drew his support from the Democrat Party via Dot Kearns, and of course, the Simkins PAC.

My theory on Crawford is that his support came from the outer parts of the county from people that didn't want to vote for Alexander or McKinney. Now, that's a wasted vote. If people actually get Crawford, they deserve him. Talk about someone who is unqualified for school board. That guy could be dangerous in elected office.

I'm surprised at the strong support for the school bonds, especially after Deena, Walter, and Amos opposed them. Something about that is amiss. Again, looking at the Greensboro precincts may be revealing. Did they have so little influence?

I never fail to be amazed at how people vote more tax on themselves. You saw how they rejected the sales tax, because that is something everyone sees every day. But, bonds are somewhat invisible. And, college students and renters have no problem approving bonds for someone else to pay. You also have parents who think that their children will benefit from new and better schools, but will they be disappointed like Jamestown was a few years ago? I'm just waiting for this school board to pull out a few surprised now that the bonds are approved, like they did after the last one. Voters tend to have no long-term memory.

[Tony Wilkins]

Interesting night downtown Joe.
Might anyone explain Crawford's 15,000 votes and Hennis' 3900 votes?
Glad to see Yow win by a 2 to 1 margin and Laura Wiley keep her seat.
Nationwide jail bonds fail by a 98% rate so Sheriff Barnes did an outstanding job on that one.
On a proud note being Larry Proctor's campaign manager I was glad to see the newcomer be the top vote getter. Larry has worked very hard during the campaign and it showed tonight.
I'm going to try to get a few pictures posted over on my blog tonight Joe but with three hours sleep in two days I'm running on empty.

[Joe Guarino]

Wendell, as one of the two top vote-getters, I am assuming you are moving on to the general election. If I am correct in that assumption, congratulations on surviving the primary. But as your comment suggests, the county commissioners will now have their work cut out for them as the voters, in their infinite wisdom, voted themselves a hefty tax increase yesterday. And I agree, Keith, we need to get behind Wendell and Larry.

And Keith, I am actually happy with the result in the gubernatorial primary. It reveals strength on the part of McCrory-- and in fact, McCrory is a very good candidate. He may do some things that conservatives may not like. But I saw him in action in front of a crowd at Richard Burr's victory celebration a few years ago, and I know that he can be a formidable campaigner.

I don't know how we can limit the number of people running for the school board, Keith. But there was an abundance of candidates in the at-large race, while at least one or two district incumbents are running unopposed. It doesn't make sense.

Jerrold, there is no apparent shortage of voters in Guilford County who want to take more money from you. But I wonder how many truly understand that votes in favor of bonds increase taxes. I don't think we can overestimate the understanding of this particular voting population.

[Joe Guarino]

Stormy, this morning I remain befuddled by the school board results. I cannot explain the results as a black-white thing, as Alexander outpolled McKinney, the Simkins machine candidate, by more than 2-1. Perhaps the Obama draw had an effect. Perhaps Alexander had something going on with the local teachers' associations and PTA's-- I just don't know.

Or perhaps, again, voters were genuinely clueless. How else can you explain the votes for Hennis and Crawford? And I continue to wonder about voters confusing Sandra Alexander with Sandra Anderson. At the forum the other night, someone referred to her as Sandra Anderson.

While there was an organized campaign in favor of some of the bonds, there was no organized campaign opposed. And there were no prominent voices in the media, beside the Rhino, reminding voters they will result in tax increases.

You are right about the failure of some to perceive that they will be paying for bonds. And of course, you are correct that the school board cannot be trusted as a good steward of the bond money.

And Tony, congratulations on the outcome last night. It was a good night for local Republicans in the county commissioners race, with Larry and Wendell apparently advancing. (Again, correct me if I am wrong).

[Stormy]

Joe,

As regards the school bonds, I remember in 2003 when my daughter told me to vote for the school bond because my grandchildren's school, SW, was on the list to receive some needed improvements. Well, I voted for and supported the bonds, knowing that my taxes would increase. The bonds had no sooner been approved than the school board implemented the HP Choice Plan and forced my granddaughter to HP Central. So, that is why I said, once the bonds were approved, you can not trust this board not to pull out some new program to pull the rug out from under our feet. I voted for new schools in Jamestown once, so I was not about to vote for them again.

This is the basic problem that parents in this county do not understand. You can not trust this school board with money. Terry Grier, himself, when asked about it, said that they never promised to do everything on the bond list. Parents need to understand that they were supporting a bond purely on trust with a group that abuses trust. they've now been given another four years to abuse the taxpayers of this county.

So, if the taxpayers of this county are wiling to vote a tax increase of hundreds of dollars per year, I do not want to hear another word about a recession. The economy can not be bad, if we are willing to increase our taxes and give money to the people on an untrustworthy board.

[Stormy]

Given the results of last night's elections, conservatives are in for a very bumpy ride for the next four years. And, your wallet is not going to be any help in cushioning the ride as our elected "leaders" will be busy lightning it.

[Roger Greene]

Perverse logic in that voters rejected the sales tax increase that could mitigate some property tax increases that will go to pay for the bonds. Property owners once again carry the burden in Guilford County. The goose is straining to lay golden eggs. I'm assuming (recklessly) that the sales tax would've been earmarked for the bonds.

[Joe Guarino]

Above and beyond the effects on county taxpayers, last night's results also are a major problem from the standpoint of the administration of our schools and policy-setting. Alexander and McKinney are not going to change the course-- they are, for the most part, status quo candidates. This means our schools are not likely to improve-- from the standpoint of order, discipline, safety or achievement.

Again, it would be an interesting story to uncover what dynamics produced such lopsided, incongruous, awful results.

[Tony Wilkins]

You are correct Joe that Larry Proctor(R) and Wendell Sawyer(R) will face incumbents Paul Gibson(D) and Wade Parks(D) for the (2) At-Large seats on the GC Commission.
Eddie Souther(R) will face incumbent Kirk Perkins(D) in District 4.

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Tony. Let's hope for the best in the fall.

[Fred Gregory]

Joe,

If memory serves me correcyly these bond issued are passed by a lopsided margin. This time those that passed were razor thin, historically speaking.Amazing in light of practically no organized opposition The sales tax bond was labeled correctly and went down by 75%. The School and Jail bonds should have been labeled on the ballot as hyphen tax increase required.I think trhere would have been a different outcome !

[Joe Guarino]

You are probably right, Fred. Voter ignorance might account for some of the things that happened last night.

[Stormy]

Roger,

I think that you assumption is inaccurate. It was said that sales tax increase would be used to replay the bonds, but there was no mechanism to ensure that. One truth, though, is that no tax that gets put in place ever expires. They are forever. It is only tax cuts that are temporary.

If you question the accuracy of my argument, consider the federal gas tax. It was put into place in 1956 to help complete the interstate system, which was completed in the early 1990's. But, the gas tax lives on. And, as we have seen with the recent political rhetoric about it, it is now on a par with a sacred cow. The federal gas tax should be canceled and let road-building and maintenance become the province of the states, which have their own gas tax. (Except when they use the fund to build a Teapot Museum.)

Come to think about it, the feds should discontinue the funding of public education and get out of business of regulating it, rather than the states. But, school administrators and boards would rather take the cash and complain about the "unfunded" federal mandates. when they say "unfunded", what they really mean is unfunded to significant levels. As we have seen, school boards have a bottomless desire for cash to spend in the pursuit of education (and building $88 Million schools).

[Roger Greene]

Stormy I'm not inclined to question anything you stated. I only made the point that many who voted these bonds in are not property owners so they essentially voted for someone else to pay for the bonds rather than tax themselves by voting for the sales tax. Just an observation. I pay property taxes on 2 homes. At least the sales tax is somewhat voluntary. Further, my statement about the earmarking of the sales tax was clearly qualified that I was speculating.

[Wendell Sawyer]

At this point in time, we need to remind ourselves that Guilford County is, for the most part, a safe haven for the Democratic Party and it frequently passes bonds.

While George Bush won North Carolina by a sizable margin in 2004, Guilford County went for John Kerry.

With one exception, all of the officeholders who hold countywide office that are elected on a partisan basis are Democrats: District Attorney, Clerk of Court, Register of Deeds and two at-large county commissioner.

The one exception is Sheriff Barnes who was a beneficiary of the Republican tidal wave in 1994 ("Contract with America") and now has the advantage of being an incumbent law enforcement administrator.

Other Republican officeholders are located in districts that were designed for Republican candidates.

Therefore, we should't be shocked by the passage of such bonds or the selection of certain school board candidates.

What we can do is to instill in ourselves a sense of determination to change this course in our county. We can do this by stirring up those taxpayers who rarely vote because they don't believe that "it makes any difference."

[Joe Guarino]

Wendell, of course you are right. Guilford County politics is immoderate, and solid lefty Democratic. And we need to be doing things to change that. But I think some additional dynamics took hold in the school board and school bond votes, and I am not yet satisfied that we completely understand it.

Part of the problem, of course, is that Republicans (and conservatives perhaps) likely felt less motivated to vote because the Presidential nomination has already been decided on the GOP side. You had a huge wave of Democratic voting because of interest in the Obama-Clinton race. But I still think there are other dynamics out there.

[Stormy]

Roger,

I agree with your point. Surely, college students and renters likely accounted for much of the vote for the bonds, because, after all, they do not have to pay for it. However, I have my suspicions that there were quite forces at work here to mobilize these groups. They tend not to be active voters, especially in primaries. Perhaps, the attractiveness of Obama to the college students accounted for their going to the polls. But,still, something happened here, as Joe noted. No one expected the bonds to pass, but they did. We know in past elections that there have been quite mobilizations of certain voter groups, as it has been observed by poll workers. The overwhelming election of Alexander and the bond approvals stand-out to bring question. On the other hand, 16,000 votes for David Crawford brings a question as well. That guy should be nowhere near a school board. He is ethically-challenged.

[Stormy]

Someone told me once that to win an At-Large race in this county, you have to be well-known or have a lot of campaign cash. Alexander had little name recognition, so who funded her campaign? McKinney had the key endorsements in Greensboro and HP and was far back the track on Alexander.

[Glenn Jordan]

Speaking of disappointing education-related results, I'm very discouraged that NC Republicans handed their version of Jim Black a lopsided win in the primary for superintendent of public instruction. Hard to see how Richard Morgan brings any meaningful education reform to Raleigh. No way I'll vote for him in November. Also very disappointed by the Huey result. I feared all along he was too good to be true.

[Wendell Sawyer]

Joe:

I agree. I think that there may have been two factors that resulted in the passage of the bonds.

One, apparently, there was a significant increase in voters who were in the age range of 18 to 21. Many of these voters are not homeowners; some of them still live with their parents, some of them live in college dorms and some of them may pay rent. A significant increase in property taxes simply won't affect them. So, why not vote for the bonds?

Second, since it was apparent that John McCain would be the Republican nominee for president, many of the GOP voters may have simply stayed home on election day. I haven't checked the data on this but it would be interesting to know the percentage of Republican voters who voted in Guilford County on Tuesday as opposed to the percentage of Democrats who voted.

[Bubba]

Welcome to Oz, folks. The door is left open for the Bureaucrats/Dems to separate you from even MORE money than you think possible.

Our only hopes lie in getting Larry, Wendell, and the other Republicans elected or re-elected.

Why was there no organized opposition to the school board bond issue? We certainly screwed up on that issue.

In addition to getting behind Pat McCrory, we need to support the rest of the Republicans (except for the execrable Morgan) for the Council of State positions. I'm most particularly keen on seeing Bob Crumley be our next attorney general.

Congratulations, Wendell.......what are your campaign strategy goals for the general election?

[Wendell Sawyer]

Bubba:

As you probably know, I didn't run an active campaign for the GOP primary election contest; no yard signs, no mailings and no forum appearances.

John Hammer with The Rhino and some others have criticized me for not campaigning. But, my feeling was that the core Republican voters were familiar with my name since I have been involved with GOP politics in Guilford County for over 26 years. Shucks, I can even remember when the GOP had a majority on the board of commissioners.

Plus, unlike my opposition, I had been elected to office before (the state senate) and, before Tuesday, I had won three previous GOP primary election contests in Guilford County.

Both Larry Proctor and Rudy Binder conducted excellent, strong campaigns for the at-large seats. Both of these gentlemen are good, conservative Republicans and I did not enter the race to run against them. I entered the race because I strongly desired to see an end to the dominance of the county board by the Democrats and put an end to their tax-and-spend binge.

I am honored that the GOP voters selected me as one of their nominees and, because of their trust in me, I believe that it is my duty to run an active campaign for the fall election.

Believe me, it's tough for a Republican candidate to win countywide in Guilford against the Democrats during general elections. I need all the help that I can get from my fellow conservatives and so does Larry Proctor.

[Joe Guarino]

Glenn, I appreciate your comments, and you are right-- it is very disappointing the Morgan has emerged once again.

Bubba, you are right about Bob Crumley. There are deficiencies in the AG's office that need to be fixed. And yes, we need to get behind McCrory. And as you say, it was a fatal error not to have an organized anti-bond campaign. But these election results should spell out loud and clear that us conservatives are the minority in Guilford County.

Wendell, I look forward to your campaign. I hope many folks will step forward, volunteer, and donate to support the right candidates.

[E.C. Huey]

Joe, Wendell, et. al.: I haven't yet begun to analyze the numbers but I just want to thank you all once again for the outpouring of support. I'm humbled and honored with everyone's kindness. We fought a hard battle and ran a good campaign and my head is held high. This is not a goodbye; the blog will continue, I'm not going anywhere (except to bed...after nearly two years of campaigning, I'm a little tired)...and I don't think the county has seen nor heard the last of me.

[keith]

Joe,

How can the no votes compete against the Bonds for School Committee when

Action Greensboro gives
$70,000

Greensboro CHamber Foundation gives
$30,000

Fairway Signs gives 5 free billboard placements

[Stormy]

The school bonds passed and the wrong people got the school board nod because no one in this county pays any attention to what happens in the schools, unless they have school-age children. Most people couldn't tell you anything about the people that were running, and more than that couldn't tell you all of the names of the present board. This county just doesn't think that school politics is important, until they realize that the vast majority of their property taxes go to the schools for operation and bond payments. With a little help from the economic development crowd, they snuck it passed the taxpayers.

For most county residents, if what is happening isn't in their school, then it's not their concern. I tried to get people concerned outside of HP a few years ago about what they were doing to North HP with the Choice Plan, but no one was concerned, because their ox wasn't getting gored. And, how many people in Jamestown voted for the bonds because they expect to get new schools? Answer: the same people that voted for them five years ago when they thought they were getting new schools.

[Joe Guarino]

E.C., we appreciate what you have done, and look forward to more. Ultimately, the right ideas can prevail with persistence.

Keith, the cash support you quote is eye-opening. Those who believe the so-called business/economic development community is inherently conservative should rapidly disabuse themselves of that notion. There was also a discussion in the paper this morning about a large volunteer base working for the bond campaign. I know I received a mailing at home.

And Stormy, apathy and ignorance are a major problem. It is precisely why we get the educational product we see in Guilford County.

[Joe Guarino]

Stormy, another point. The way this played out also reflects poorly on the County Commissioners. Remember that they washed their hands of the school financing issue by placing the bond issues on the ballot. They could have directly engaged the school board and school administration about school construction issues, but instead elected to pass the buck to the voters. They had a fiduciary responsibility, and just like the school board, they shirked it.

[Kime Johnson]

grow up kids, any one who looks at the counts will tell you crawford total blows the doors off EC Huey and Alan Hawkes, but you got to give Hawkes a (yes) also he did not put out one ad or yard sing and he total blows the doors off Heuy (Huey was the joke of the race) not crawford look at the votes your see! did you know the rep party was putting out crawford idems and none of Heuy due to Heuy is a nut! Heuy also had no way in hell of a win if crawford had only got one more voting poll in greensboro off windover his vote would had put him over mike. freak on that one!just one voting poll! if you ask me due to the votes alot of you dont get the point crawford blows of EC Huey and Alan Hawkes away & if your that dume not to know it the votes tell the story! 10 to 1 crawford will kill mike in the city council race next year due to if you look at his polls he lost last year he took total this year so look as if mike barber could get his but kicked this year comming up by alot.

[mike johnson]

sorry but EC Huey and Alan Hawkes should had never wasted the cash to run the votes show it and so did the people! both EC Huey and Alan Hawkes was jokes and never broke the news. the 3 top dogs was picked! the votes tell us this! now if crawford can get the same turn out next year all i got to say is crawford for mayor, the votes he got this year would had done it, dave froget city council go for the tops and your votes show you can!

[Sam Lee]

Crawford for Greensboro Mayor? you know he did get a crap load of votes, more that he would need to do it, some one call him and ask him to run! no joke he did have the votes to do it.

[Tim Rice]

Crawford as Mayor you say... who started this idear? dave or who? he did have a kicking turn out and his voting points are 3rd and over what johnson got alone. holy crap this sounds fun! ill call dave tonight and see if he will do it!

[Joe Guarino]

The last four comments link back to the GOP.com website, so I assume they are a prank. I can't be sure if they were perhaps written by the same person.

[Jelee]

I am disgusted by the misspelled words, run on sentences and the lousy grammar presented here. No wonder you didn't vote Huey not Heuy but Huey. You obviously received or didn't receive your degree in the GCS system. This is was one of the problems EC was trying to solve. Thanks for the laughs....

[Roger Greene]

Joe, I can almost guarantee that wasn't the real Tim Rice posting.

[Bubba]

Keep going, E.C.

You know you're having some effect when you get marginalized by those who don't want you and your ideas to gain any support.

It's a frequent occurrence in our local blahgosphere among those who have no real academic or intellectual integrity.

[Just Saying]

I'd have to agree with most of what's been posted here. The vast majority of people just don't do their homework before voting.

They don't understand that voting for all these bonds is the same as voting for a tax increase. They just think they are "Voting for Kids" and that somehow, the bills will get paid.

In addition to the bonds, I'm quite disappointed in the school board race. Erik Huey and Alan Hawkes both brought some common-sense, solution-oriented ideas to the table. Instead, the voters went for more of the status quo.

I'm sure Alan Duncan is happy. He'll have another puppet on the board come November. But we, the citizens, lost out on the chance for some real change in the school system.

[Joe Guarino]

Thank you, Jelee, for pointing out what I did not want to point out.

Roger, Tim Rice is probably a fairly common name. But in this instance, I agree with you. That was not him.

Bubba, you are right. The gratuitous shots taken are part of a larger pattern.

And Just Saying, thanks for the comments. Yes, this was a missed opportunity for Guilford County citizens.

[Brenda Bowers]

I was happy to see Pat McCrory make it. The others were ....well I voted for some and against some for various reasons. And will be very happy to have Wendell Sawyers voice on the Commission. We need to really get his name out there.

But I am totally dumbfounded by the voters on the bonds and school board! I was waiting to read what Hammer said about it. I suppose I was hoping he would have some sane explanation as he generally does have some ideas why what was done was done even if it is just to call it plain old stupidity. But he is flummoxed.
Flummoxed is not a whole lot better than dumbfounded. BB

[Tony Wilkins]

Brenda Bowers, you know I get sensitive when you don't visit me and I haven't seen you in a while.
You get two votes on the Commissioners At-Large and it's important to me to get you on board with the Larry Proctor campaign. Check out his website http://www.larryproctor.com (Brenda and others) and let me know if you have any questions for Larry.

[Joe Guarino]

Brenda, you are right. Flummoxed is an apt word with respect to some of the results Tuesday night.