MCEA Starts its Recommendation Process

The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) is starting its recommendation process for state and local candidates. At stake is the Apple Ballot, rated by most Montgomery County politicians as the county’s most valuable endorsement.

MCEA offered the following description of how its process worked in 2006. The process this year will be virtually identical.

MCEA Candidate Recommendation Process

MCEA conducts one of the most thorough candidate screening processes of any organization in the county.

MCEA contacts all incumbents and all announced and rumored candidates for office. We also run ads in both major party county newsletters soliciting candidates to participate in our screening process.

All candidates are asked to complete a detailed questionnaire. All candidates are invited to participate in a personal interview with a team of rank-and-file MCEA member-volunteers from the Political Action and Legislative Support (PALS) Committee. This year alone, the PALS Committee has conducted more than 90 candidate interviews. Each candidate is asked a set of structured questions. The interviews are all taped. The PALS Committee then discusses the interviews, reviews the questionnaires, and makes a recommendation to the MCEA Board. A 58% vote by the PALS Committee is necessary for a recommendation. The Board then reviews the recommendations, considers the broader political contexts, and makes its own recommendations; again with a 58% majority requirement. Those recommendations then go to MCEA’s final decision-making body, the Representative Assembly. At the RA, typically more than 130 elected MCEA Reps from schools all across the county discuss and debate the candidates. Approval of final recommendations of candidates again requires a 58% majority vote.

Criteria

MCEA bases its recommendations on a number of factors, including:

1. Voting Record
For County Council and County Executive, primary consideration is given to votes approving funding for our contracts and votes on tax issues to provide adequate funding for the public school system. For Board of Education, primary consideration is given to votes approving our contracts, as well as votes on other educational policy issues that affect the working conditions of MCEA unit members. For the General Assembly MSTA [the state teachers] compiles a voting record. For example, during the last legislative term, the MSTA scorecard includes 12 votes in the Senate and 15 in the House over the four year term. In some situations the listed votes were unanimous. In other situations there were multiple votes on the same bill. Listed votes included numerous tax issues related to ensuring adequate funding for education, as well as votes on use of public tax dollars for private schools, as well as high profile votes on the Thornton school funding plan, the pension enhancement, and the proposed state take-over of 11 public schools in Baltimore.

2. Written Responses to Questionnaire
For the General Assembly, MSTA distributes a questionnaire. Consideration is given both to the “yes/no” answers on support for MSTA’s positions as well as the extent and quality of the written comments elaborating on their positions. For the County Council, County Executive and Board of Education, the questionnaires are developed by MCEA. All questions require written explanations and they are evaluated based on the extent and quality of the written comments.

3. Interview Quality
The interview is an essential component of the screening process. Candidates are evaluated based on their understanding of the issues, their ability to communicate effectively, and their positions on the issues.

4. Communication with MCEA and its Members
It is important to MCEA that we not elect candidates who only think about us when they need our support for re-election. Elected officials who communicate regularly with MCEA’s elected leaders earn additional consideration. Those who only contact the organization when they want our support for re-election do not. We also want elected officials who are responsive to our members as well. Candidates who are accessible during the legislative session, who are willing to meet with delegations of members (when asked) on lobby visits, and the quality of those visits, are relevant as well.

5. Participation at MCEA events
MCEA annually sponsors a Legislative Breakfast to give our members the opportunity to meet informally with their elected representatives (county officials as well as members of the state delegation) and to provide an opportunity for those representatives to learn more about the organization’s priority. Those who participate earn our support.

6. Effectiveness as an Elected Official
It is important to MCEA that the representatives we support be effective in getting bills passed. It is not sufficient to be on the right side of issues if you are unable to build the coalitions and provide the leadership to actually make things happen. The record of elected officials in actually getting bills passed, in making things happen, is a consideration as well. Elected officials who move up to positions of leadership, be it in the General Assembly or in county government, can exert more influence and clearly have support from among their colleagues. While one cannot expect first-term politicians to assume leadership positions; over time whether an elected official moves into positions of leadership (ex. committee or subcommittee chairs) is another measure of their effectiveness.

7. Diversity/ Union Membership
MCEA makes no apologies for wanting to promote more diversity among the elected leadership of our increasingly diverse county. MCEA also believes that the election of active union members to office is good for our organization, the labor movement, and working families in general. As a result, we strive to support candidates of color and candidates who are active union members.

8. Campaign Viability
Being right on the issues isn’t enough. A candidate must be able to run a competitive campaign. Consideration is given to the quality of a candidate’s campaign plan, their ability to raise the money they will need, the extent of endorsements they have from prominent community leaders and organizations, early poll numbers (if available), and the nature of their opposition. For incumbents, their record of communication with their constituents and their visibility in their districts are also relevant indicators of their campaign’s viability. Incumbents who communicate regularly with their constituents and who regularly attend community events in their district are more likely to have a base of support among voters. Those who do not enter their re-election campaigns without the same viability.

9. Support from Allies
A candidate’s positions on education issues is primary to MCEA. However a candidate’s positions on other issues that MCEA, MSTA and NEA may have policy positions on, are also relevant (for example, raising the minimum wage, protecting collective bargaining rights, etc.). Consideration is given to candidates’ responses on questionnaires, and their support or lack of support, from the Central Labor Council and other similar organizations.

10. Past Support from MCEA
Whether or not a candidate has received MCEA’s recommendation in the past is a relevant factor as well.

11. Assistance to MCEA in other ways
MCEA on occasion asks incumbent elected officials, and aspiring candidates, to assist the organization in other ways. Frequently we seek support from others for our recommended candidates for the Board of Education. Recently we sought support on our successful pension campaign. Incumbents and candidates who are responsive and support the organization in other ways also earn additional consideration.

MCEA has circulated the following questionnaire to Senate and House candidates. The questions are prefaced by requests for basic identifying information, like the candidate’s name, address, contact info, district and campaign committee info.

1. While our members recognize the fiscal challenges faced by the state, they are concerned about the possibility of shifting pension costs to the counties and how that would have an impact on local funding for schools systems. How would you ensure that solutions developed to deal with spending priorities, including pensions, do not hurt students and education employees?

The following are MSEA [state teachers] position statements on critical issues in the MSEA Legislative Program. For each issue, please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the MSEA position. Be certain each comment clearly indicates your position. There is space provided for you to elaborate on your positions.

Agree with the MSEA position statement – Would support legislation that reflects the MSEA position.

Disagree with the MSEA position statement – Would oppose legislation that reflects the MSEA position.

2. The existing Maintenance of Effort law dealing with a minimum level of local funding for public education is intended to reinforce the shared responsibility between the state and counties for adequate funding of our public schools. MSEA is opposed to efforts to reduce or weaken the minimum funding requirement. Do you agree or disagree with MSEA’s position?
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

3. The Thornton Commission recommended an adjustment in State Education aid to reflect regional differences in the cost of providing educational services, called the Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI). MSEA believes GCEI is an integral part of full funding for the Thornton plan and should be included in the State’s school finance system.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

4. Public schools accept and educate all students who enter them. Diversion of public funds from public schools jeopardizes this mission. Therefore, MSEA opposes draining funds from public schools through private or religious school vouchers, direct state funds for programs, textbooks, technology, direct state aid to non-public schools at risk of closing, or tax credits for private school tuition.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

5. As we look ahead to the next four years, we realize that budget and revenue changes are inevitable. To raise additional revenues, MSEA supports full utilization of existing revenue producers (homestead tax credit and local income tax), spreading the base (combined reporting for corporations and sales tax on services), and reform of the state’s income tax brackets. Would you consider these options and do you have suggestions for additional revenue producers?
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

6. MSEA opposes contracting out, to the private sector, management and/or delivery of goods and services traditionally provided by public school employees.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

7. MSEA opposes public funding of religious and private for-profit charter schools and kindergarten programs. MSEA does not oppose public charter schools that meet the following criteria.
• Are under the control of local school boards
• All students are eligible
• Are held to the same standards as other public schools
• Staff members have the same collective bargaining rights as their counterparts in mainstream public schools and
• Must be qualitatively different from what is available in mainstream public schools and not just an avenue for parental choice.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

8. MSEA supports increased funding and resources at the national, state and local level for meaningful professional development for school personnel.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

9. MSEA supports a comprehensive system of assessment and accountability that relies on multiple measures of student achievement and prohibits the use of a sole test for high-stakes decisions. High-stakes decisions about students and schools should not be made on the basis of one test.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

10. MSEA supports a single salary schedule to insure that all educators are fairly compensated. Any system that provides additional compensation beyond the single salary schedule should meet the following criteria:
a) The design of the system must be collectively bargained.
b) Additional compensation must not be based solely on student test scores.
c) The criteria to determine eligibility for additional compensation must be clearly stated and subject to objective measurement.
d) The system should not directly or indirectly limit the number of education employees who are eligible for the additional compensation. All education employees should have the opportunity to meet the standards and receive the extra pay. The system may recognize and reward additional knowledge and skills the employees have acquired over the course of their careers.
e) Full funding should be available to sustain the system.
f) The system should not diminish the professional status of those education employees who do not receive the additional compensation.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

11. School buildings are the place of learning for 843,861 children and are the workplace for over 80,000 employees. The state Interagency Committee on School Construction currently has a $900 backlog of requests for school construction projects. MSEA supports continued state funding of at least $250 million annually for school construction.
________Agree with MSEA position
________Disagree with MSEA position
Comment:

Leadership positions in civic and community organizations:

Please share with us what you consider to be your most significant achievements:

List your top three priorities for Maryland:

Please return the completed questionnaire by Sunday, April 18, 2010 at midnight. to MCEA, 12 Taft Court; Rockville, Md. 20850, (attention Jon A. Gerson) or via fax at 301-309-9563 or email your response to jgerson@mcea.nea.org

MCEA is interviewing Senate and Delegate candidates in most districts this week. Its Representative Assembly will vote on the endorsements on May 5 and the announcement will follow immediately. MCEA will interview state legislative candidates in Districts 14 and 16, as well as all county-level candidates, in May and announce its endorsements in those races on June 2.

MCEA is as open as any group in the county about how its endorsement process works. In fact, your author attended a meeting of the Montgomery County Civic Federation back in 2006 at which then-MCEA President Bonnie Cullison and union strategist Jon Gerson explained their decision-making and distributed questionnaires. If the Washington Post decided to supply similar details about its endorsement process, we would be happy to run them on this blog.