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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > November > 06 > Entry
Dayton’s school board race — what’s your prediction?
The results of the Dayton school board race tonight should be very interesting. The possibility exists for a big change in the constitution of the board and a shift in the balance of power. The vote also could send a strong signal of support to the current board as it manages its way through troubled times.
Who is going to win? It’s always hard to say. Tell us what you think. Who will the four winners be?
Here are some of the electoral plusses and minuses of the candidates going into today’s vote.
In the race for three four-year terms:
Mario Gallin: Gallin is the only candidate in the race with proven electability, having been elected to the board twice before. She also has high name recognition after playing an active role on the board for eight years. That could be good for her, or bad, depending on the mood of the voters. Those that are angry at the board may identify Gallin more easily as an incumbent.
Jeff Mims: Mims is a first-time candidate but is very well known in the community for his work as a teacher, union president and administrator in Dayton schools. He has a wide network of friends and supporters that could make him a formidable candidate. On the other hand, he has been a politician for all of a couple months and there is no guarantee that his name recognition within the education community will translate to votes.
Lee Massoud: It will be interesting to see what happens with Massoud. She is very well known in the Dayton business community but not well known in the wider community. She declined to screen for endorsements from political parties and labor unions because she felt the race should be non-partisan, which some observers thought could be a fatal blow to her chances. But she raised a large amount of contributions, campaigned very hard and has run the most professional campaign of all the candidates. She also has been on the board longer than anyone in the race except Gallin, which may help her name recognition. As with Gallin, it could hurt her, too, if there is an anti-incumbent vibe at the ballot box.
Shelia Taylor: Taylor is a formidable challenger with strong support from the Democratic party and labor unions. But it remains to be seen if she can translate that backing into enough votes to win. She does not have wide name recognition in the community at large and, unlike Massoud, she does not have a high powered job, a huge treasury or prior experience in school management (although she did run a day care business). And it could come down to Massoud vs. Taylor for the third seat.
Nancy Nerny: Nerny has two things going for her — she is a retired teacher an she is an active volunteer in the school district who has a good sense for what is going on in the schools. She knows a lot about school issues and has generally impressed other board members when she applied for open board seats twice in the past. Of course, she did not impress them enough to actually be picked to join the board. She raised very little money and does not have wide name recognition, which could work against her.
And in the race for the two year seat:
Stacy Thompson: Thompson is a graduate of the district and works at Key Bank, so she has some name recognition and natural community support. She has been on the board for more than a year, so that also gives her a somewhat higher profile, although she is one of the newer board members. And she has worked very hard on her campaign, raising the most money after Massoud.
Shirley Crisp: Crisp is not widely known, having never run for public office before, and her campaign was bare bones. She didn’t raise any money by the first campaign finance reporting deadline. But she is connected in the preservationist community, having launched her run in party because of her desire to save Wilbur Wright Middle School from demolition. The question is whether that constituency is enough to propel her to a victory over Thompson.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By steve
November 6, 2007 9:36 PM | Link to this
I was glad to see Nancy Nerny win sad to Gallin go…Mims is a rubber stamp as is Thompson, Taylor rode the coat tails of the DDP and labor unions of which I am not by any stretch of the imagination feeling good that she will think independently. My hope is that Nerny will be the catlyst to force change, and Lacey is on the carpet. I have yet to receive a straight answer from him on anything. (I’m still waiting Joe) I guess I going to have to miss my own organizations’ meeting to make the school board meeting. I also want to see more work from Clayton (rubber stamp) Luckie(it’s been almost 3 weeks and no reply from his office) and a push to truthfully and earnestly address school funding in Ohio. To the winners…Get to work!!! To those that lost…I appreciate your efforts and just because you lost doesn’t mean you don’t stay involved.By Jefferey
November 6, 2007 7:55 PM | Link to this
I have to second the comments about “more analyses” on election results…not just for the school board races but for election returns in general. The DDN could do a better job of this.By jamesSS2
November 6, 2007 7:50 PM | Link to this
I believe the current board will survive after the DDN threw its support against the 2 new challengers and Lacey. DDN has to take some responsibility for the lack of efficient actions on the part of the board. I realize the bigwigs tend to think other bigwigs are all okay, but there was a turning point open here for the school board and DDN blocked it. Mary has a very good point: just the numbers and spare the adjectives that sound like a British newspaper.By Eve
November 6, 2007 5:38 PM | Link to this
apparently nobody wants to take a chance and be proven wrong, Scott :) I did my homework before making my choices, optimistically I hope most voters have done the same, but experience has taught me that’s an overly optimistic view.By Who 2 Believe?
November 6, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this
The big winners will be incumbents and incumbent-friendly hacks. The big losers will be the kids and the city of Dayton as a whole.By Concerned Mom of 3
November 6, 2007 3:58 PM | Link to this
I don’t have any predictions, but I hope whoever is elected is up to the task. The district employees and the Board are faced with a daunting task of turning things around for the students of Dayton. I hope everyone can get over the “Ludlow thing” and move forward in a positive direction. The mistake has been made. Move on. All the bickering, whining,and moaning isn’t going to get the money back. Keep the focus on the students best interests… Textbooks, Art, Music, PE, Lower student/teacher ratios, and hold people accountable for the jobs they are supposed to be doing. (Students, Parents, Teachers, Administrators, and the many departments/offices within the district.)What’s that popular saying??? “Git R Done!”By Mary
November 6, 2007 3:33 PM | Link to this
No prediction, just a plea, Scott. When you submit your articles on election results and probably someone else writes the titles, spare too many adjectives like “strong” support, “landslide” vote and give more analysis about the number of votes and percentages. I think some of the descriptions can sometimes be misleading to the public that is slow to play around with the math. Even if a candidate or issue wins or looses by say 20% margin, all it takes is for 10% to have voted differently to tie the vote and put the vote in a recount. This way, the public realizes how important even 10% of the voters are, and how informed they may or may not be.