MoCo School Board Smackdown
Carey Apple, a recreation supervisor and political unknown, spent $25 on his campaign for the Montgomery County Board of Education. Yet last week he received 25,876 votes.
To candidates, some parents and other observers, the outcome of the school board primary was puzzling.
Alies Muskin, a longtime PTA leader backed by the influential county teachers association and widely expected to ultimately win the at-large seat being vacated by Sharon W. Cox, came in third and didn't advance to the general election.
The two top finishers, who will compete in November, were Philip Kauffman, the man Muskin was expected to beat, and Tommy Le, a protest candidate who, like Apple, spent virtually nothing on his campaign.
Apple, who garnered almost as many votes as Muskin, placed fourth. Rob Seubert, a former educator who was about as well-funded as Apple, received fewer than 10,000 votes and placed last.
Some see Muskin's defeat as evidence of a voter backlash against the teachers union and school board. That could explain the comparative success of outsider candidates Apple and Le, both of whom assailed the teacher union for exercising undue influence on the board and who criticized the board for being unresponsive to residents.
But voter antipathy would not entirely explain the strong showing for Kauffman, a deputy assistant general counsel in the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. Although not endorsed by the union, he has stressed the need to pay teachers competitive salaries and has been only mildly critical of the current school board.
Kauffman, Apple and Le all said they were surprised by the vote totals. Apple said he would have been happy with 3,000 votes. Le said he was never running to win, although now, headed to the general election, he might have to revise his goals.
Apple was essentially a one-issue candidate, motivated by anger over school boundary decisions affecting his Germantown community. His brother didn't realize he was running until a mutual friend told him, and many other friends told him they were surprised to see his name on the ballot on Election Day.
His showing prompted a theory on parent e-mail lists: Perhaps inattentive voters saw Apple's name on the ballot and surmised that he, not Muskin, had been endorsed by the teachers. The union's endorsement emblem is apple-shaped and widely known as the Apple Ballot.
There's another theory that could explain how residents cast their votes: Apple's name appeared first on the ballot, and electoral wisdom suggests that the candidate listed first gets an advantage, particularly when the candidates are unknown or the race is relatively unimportant.
Tom Israel, executive director of the teachers association, suggested that many voters made a choice in the school board race "based on not knowing much about any of the candidates," simply because they were already in the booth and it was an easy ballot.
"Do I think alphabetical placement on the ballot matters?" he said in an e-mail. "In races where folks don't know the candidates, yes."
Apple, Kauffman and Le were the top three names on the ballot, and three of the top four finishers.
But none of them gives the theory much credence.
"I truthfully believe that my message and what I stand for in my campaign identify with a lot of voters," Le said. "I'm an underdog, and not everybody is going to support me. But I know the public does."
-- Daniel de Vise
By Anne Bartlett |
February 21, 2008; 9:46 AM ET
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Posted by: Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty | February 21, 2008 10:45 AM
Philip Kauffman got the Washington Post endorsement, which probably influenced quite a few people.
Posted by: Joran | February 21, 2008 10:59 AM
I thought Muskin was a very qualified contender. I'd known her at Einstein, but normally I have no idea about school board races. I suspect the first names on the ballot theory has some truth.
Posted by: RoseG | February 21, 2008 11:35 AM
What Joran said. I'd forgotten we had to vote for School Board candidates until I saw the editorial, and then had to go do some quick research. I'll bet plenty of people didn't get that far.
Posted by: fs | February 21, 2008 11:43 AM
Quoth Mr. Le:
"I truthfully believe that my message and what I stand for in my campaign identify with a lot of voters," Le said. "I'm an underdog, and not everybody is going to support me. But I know the public does."
How is "everybody" in this context different from "the public?" Words mean something!
Posted by: Mel | February 21, 2008 12:15 PM
I did not vote for school board because I forgot to research the candidates and I don't know the issues. If I would have just "picked a name" (which is totally irresponsible, by the way), it would have been Kaufman because I have heard his name from other races. I also recognize Tommy Le, but would not have selected him because I've read his views in previous elections & disagreed with them.
I hate it when people say that folks at the top of the ballots get the votes. If you think you're at a disadvantage because your last name begins with a later letter, then do something to better publicize your candidacy.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 21, 2008 12:29 PM
I think what Mr. Le means is that the people at BOE are in the Tower of London, different from rabble like us. I've hesitated about voting for Mr. Le before because I wondered about his academic credentials This time, however, I did because he has street smarts, has lived on Georgia Ave. a long time and is true to his word. I felt Kauffman probably got better grades in school than Le, but that Kauffman talked out of both sides of his mouth and would go along to get along with any person he met at the dance. Plus the school budget has been way too extravagant. There is lots of waste.
Posted by: Disconnect | February 21, 2008 1:06 PM
I know many voters who who did not choose Alies Muskin because they did not want to have more of the same on MoCo Board of Education. They wanted a greater diversity of ideas and hoped for more accountability of board members to taxpayers.
--
Posted by: Danuta Wilson | February 21, 2008 1:09 PM
Who are these people? I live in Montgomery County and I have no clue as to who they are.
Posted by: Michael | February 21, 2008 2:40 PM
The teachers union (the apple people) gave just the absolutely lamest arguments for Muskin ("oh, yeah, she's an anthropologist, and ..."). As if her field tells me she has clue one about the school system. They didn't say she had worked in education policy, or that she understood the challenges of funding a school system in difficult budgetary times -- because they didn't care.
There wasn't even a flyer where I could learn something about her positions. Hey, union: If you want me to think you endorsed her for *any* reason other than "she says she'll give us a raise," make a little effort.
I voted for someone else. Anyone else. I didn't even care who. Just not her.
Posted by: suasory | February 21, 2008 4:35 PM
The union was pushing Muskin to get their contract funding. They have already forgotten her. Now they have come up with Navarro for Council in the special election to get their contract funding.
Posted by: Tommy Le for School Board | February 22, 2008 6:45 AM
Kaufman got my vote as I was walking to the polls. Campaigners handed me flyers for Kaufman and the "Apple Ballot." Kaufman's signature issue was listed as "less testing, more teaching." One look at the "Apple Ballot" showed nothing but "Teacher Union endorsed." Gotta do better than that, Teachers' Union. Unlike most of MoCO's voters, I go with the best candidate and ignore endorsements and political affiliation.
Posted by: K-Romulus | February 22, 2008 10:33 AM
I did vote for Carol Apple.
1) Yea bc she was 1st on the ballot.
2)Apple is a cool name.
3)Apples taste great.
4)I love apple juice.
Honestly, if she were named Carol Orange I WOULDNT have voted for her bc oranges are tart.
RIP Marilyn Prainser!
Posted by: lilkunta | February 22, 2008 1:54 PM
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Tommy Le let it be known that he wasn't going to support the 30% requested raise for the school system---17% over 3 years PLUS 3.5% annual step increases, while we are in an economic downturn and have already experienced Metro, water and electricity fee increases as well as sales, computer, income, car, and corporate tax increases. He knows that to pile a property tax increase on top of that would be unconscionable. He knows the Montgomery County Public School documentation indicates student population decreased 3076 during the 3 years FY2006 to FY2008 while adding more than 1000 new employees. He knows that there are hundreds of "teachers" that never teach a student. Muskin, on the other hand, came across as a lobbyist for the school administration who had no concept of the difficult economic times facing the average family. SAVE OUR HOMES!