Anyone who can prove the following statement wrong gets a case of Dogfish Head 90 IPA and a no-prize.
Never before in the history of Maryland have two incumbent Congressmen and a MoCo Apple Ballot school board candidate gone down in the same primary night. Go ahead, start doing the research to prove me wrong!
And here is the strangest question you will ever see on a political blog: what do MCEA-backed school board candidate Alies Muskin and my tailbone have in common? Answer: both of them were done in by an ice storm.
MCEA's Apple Ballot, the WMD of county politics, relies on mass volunteering for distribution. Back in 2006, the Teachers fielded at least six Apple Ballot ladies in shifts at my precinct. Yesterday, only one Apple Ballot lady showed up. She left when the flurries started at 11 and no one replaced her. The rain started falling around 2, and a couple hours later, a thin sheet of ice covered every hard surface. I found this out the hard way when I fell down my front steps, ba-BUMP ba-BUMP ba-BUMP. Thus the considerable sympathy in my bruised tailbone for Ms. Muskin's plight. (Worry not, D18 legislators: I can still handle a shovel.) Philip Kauffman and Tommy Le, each of whom had run for school board before, edged out Muskin probably on name recognition alone.
I tell you, people, you can't get election analysis like this on CNN!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Freak of the Week
Monday, February 11, 2008
Alies Muskin for School Board
I'm supporting Alies Muskin for School because she is committed to making sure that all students have the opportunity to succeed. This goal is an important one in a school system facing new challenges in maintaining its traditionally high level of academic performance not just among students who would perform well in any school system but among all students. I'm particularly impressed by her commitment to students with mental illness and who face challenges at home.
Here are reasons another person identified for voting for Alies:LEADERSHIP: For 20 years, Alies has advocated for our schools and our
children. She has been PTA president, Area Vice President for the Einstein,
Blair, Kennedy and Northwood clusters, Cluster Coordinator, and a member of
many committees at the local, county, and state level.
FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE: As the Chief Operating Officer of a national
nonprofit, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Alies knows what it
takes to scrutinize a budget and understands the complexities of multiple
funding streams, contracts, and balancing budgets.
COLLABORATION: Alies knows that nothing gets done with just one person.
She has been an integral part of many committees, as both member and chair.
She has also participated on many selection panels for principals through
MCPS administrators.
COMMITMENT: Alies is tireless. Her two daughters are successful Montgomery
County Public School graduates. Yet Alies still believes she has work to do
in the system. She has been involved in improving the MCPS system for 20
years. She is committed to asking the hard questions.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Besides that Pesky Presidential Primary. . .
Montgomery County voters can cast ballots in congressional and school board primaries on February 12th. Even independents can vote in the school board races. Despite holding her campaign kickoff just before the Redskins game, Alies Muskin attracted a good crowd to her campaign kickoff on Saturday for the seat being vacated by Sharon Cox.
The Washington Post reports:All three seats are up for election next year. Because the contests are nonpartisan, the top two vote-getters for each seat in the February primary advance to the general election in November. . . .
I hadn't met Alies Muskin before the event and had a chance to talk with her for a few minutes. When I asked why she was running, she said her big passion was making sure that the system works for all students and expressed concern about the rapidly rising share of low-performing students in high schools. In her remarks to the crowd, she also expressed concern about addressing the needs of students with anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses.
Muskin faces four opponents, including Philip Kauffman, a government lawyer from Silver Spring who collected the endorsement of The Washington Post -- but not of the teachers association -- in a failed bid to unseat Navarro last year. Also running: Tommy Le, an engineer and former teacher who was defeated last year by Shirley Brandman (At Large); Carey Apple, an aquatic-facility supervisor from Germantown; and Rob Seubert, a loan officer and former middle school science teacher from Silver Spring.
Active in PTAs since 1992, Muskin is a longtime advocate of Albert Einstein High School and its feeder schools as well as the Downcounty Consortium of schools. She was instrumental in building the annual college fair at Einstein into one of the largest such events in the region.
Besides MCEA, Muskin has been endorsed by SEIU Local 500 which represents school staff and the MCPS Student Government PAC.
