Category: Politics

It’s time for one last post before putting our campaign to bed.

Since learning of our loss yesterday, many people have called or written to ask how I’m doing. I’m doing just fine, thank you. You can’t run for office if you can’t take defeat, and from the beginning it was clear that winning this race would be a heavy lift. I’m proud of the campaign we ran, proud of all of you who helped out, and proud of the trust you placed in me to advocate for what we know is best for kids.

During the campaign, I met hundreds of people and made many friends. I also learned some valuable lessons.

• People value high-quality public schools for all students, and they are looking for candidates with a positive vision for education and society.
• Despite the distrust that exists between different segments of our diverse district–as in society itself–we have more in common than we sometimes realize.
• You’re never too old to develop greater self-understanding. Campaigning taught me things about myself. This isn’t the place for specifics: ask me sometime, preferably over a pint.
• Regardless of their political persuasion, candidates–especially entry-tier candidates–are heroes. I met many wonderful candidates giving freely of their time, talents, money, and energy to make things better.
• “Commitment, service, and leadership” isn’t just a slogan: it’s a summation of what we should demand of officeholders in general and State School Board members in particular.

So, to answer the question several people have asked: If I had known a year ago that this would be the result, would I do it again? Oh, yes. I wouldn’t have missed it.

All of which doesn’t make losing less painful, but it helps to keep a sense of proportion. My race was just a small footnote in a much larger, historic election. If Campaign 2016 was a national tragedy, as I believe, then in that context my own setback will seem pretty small.

A lot of people are sad today. Let’s pray for our country and, especially, her children.

This post originally appeared on the website of my 2016 campaign for State Board of Education, http://bill4board.us.

As I write this, polls will open in ten hours. Twenty-four hours or so from now, we’ll know the result of this amazing adventure.

By tomorrow, this campaign will have taken up exactly a year from November 8, 2015, when friends from Warrensville Heights, Aurora, Bedford, and Twinsburg stood with me at Bay High School as I announced my candidacy for the State Board of Education.

Since then it seems that we have been on a treadmill, but I have never doubted the importance of the voters’ decision or the value of this effort.

Tomorrow we’ll see what the voters decide. I probably won’t write one of these columns tomorrow. Afterwards, there will be a time for thanks, and a time for reflection, and sadness or joy to express. But for now, let’s do our duty as citizens. See you at the polls tomorrow!

This post originally appeared on the website of my 2016 campaign for State Board of Education, http://bill4board.us.

Since early in this campaign, I have been emphasizing three themes: Commitment, Service, and Leadership. On Friday I wrote about Commitment; yesterday I wrote about Service; and today I’m taking up the third theme: Leadership.

When I attend a meeting of the State Board of Education, it seems clear that the people there–appointed and elected, Republicans and Democrats–are trying in their own ways to do the right thing for Ohio’s kids. They are generally conscientious and sincere.

But that doesn’t mean that they’re right. As Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” And some positions taken by some State Board of Education members are simply wrong.

The State Board of Education can play a role in upholding what works best for schools and kids. We can’t get there by talking only with people who agree with us. We need to point out when members are mistaken, persuade those who are persuadable, and unite those who advocate for responsible positions; and those are leadership skills.

My work as a leader of educators has taught me to work with a very diverse membership, the public, and lawmakers, and to reach across organizational divides. Fifteen months of observing State School Board meetings convince me that the Board needs those skills, and I look forward to bringing them to Columbus.

With the proper leadership, the State Board of Education can lead the way for things we know work for kids: consistency; patience; high expectations; and respect for learners, educators, and learning itself. And if we can do that, all of us will benefit.

This post originally appeared on the website of my 2016 campaign for State Board of Education, http://bill4board.us.