I traveled to Jamestown last night to watch the At-large School Board candidate forum. One of the members of ABC of Guilford County sent me a personal invitation, so how could I refuse.
The forum started off with the re-appearance of ABC's spritual leader Tim Mann. Bouncing back slowly from a recent car accident, Tim offered an emotional "thank you" to everyone for their never-ending support. Even though he is not yet near 100% recovery he said, "I'm going to take a back seat for a while longer, but I'm still in the car with you." Quite a guy, that Tim.
I concluded two things after listening to the presentations and answers from the six candidates in attendence vying for Dot Kearns' long-held seat on the Board.
- The overall quality of the candidates is extremely high for a School Board race
- Dot Kearns is a courageous woman of principle
A rundown...
- Gwendolyn Cartwright - A rising star. Cartwright is young, articulate, passionate, mother of three school age children and will acheive great things if she chooses to remain in politics. A little green for the job for which she is running but she will gain valuable experience through going the process. She will become one of Guilford County's finest African-American leaders if she stays involved.
- Jim Kirkpatrick - Very sharp and very expienced. He will be Kearns most serious challenge. A former Greensboro City Council member and County Commissioner, Kirkpatrick knows what to say and how to say it.
- Garth Hebert - Hebert came across to me as very sappy and haughty. He smirks way too much. I lost interest in Hebert when he spoke before the County Commissioners last month during which he stated that he had built three high dollar homes to avoid being redistricted. He kept moving to avoid whatever he considers to be "bad schools". I'd prefer someone who stays and fixes things instead of fleeing.
- Dot Kearns - Experienced, knowledgable and dedicated. One of the High Point Choice Plan's biggest advocates, Kearns defended her positions professionally and convincingly. Kearns was in hostile territory among the ABC folks but you would never had known it. I like to see how my elected leaders perform under duress and Kearns passed the test.
- E.R. VanDeusen - Funny and animated man but not electable. VanDeusen advocates separate schools for different ability levels and believes that students are predisposed to certain levels of acheivement.
- Debbie Maines - Tons of PTA experience and definitely knows what is wrong with the schools. She won't make the cut because of a lack of name recognition but, like Cartwright, could be a factor in later tries.
Kirkpatrick and Kearns will be the two who make the primary cut but a surprise could occur because of the expected low voter turn-out. As Kirkpatrick stated to the 300+ in attendance at the forum, "The people in this room could decide the outcome", and he was right.
Go out and vote.
9:26:58 AM 
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