Keith Richmond Assesses Sonya Paterson's Chances
Over on his blog, School Board watcher Keith Richmond assesses Sonya Paterson's chances of winning re-election.
He misses a few key points: I suspect that Sonya's name recognition is very high for a Trustee (thanks in part to her work with VALTAC), and she has a track record of eking out close-shave wins (less than 75 vote margins in both her election victories). She wins these close ones because she works hard during campaigns.
However, not every School Board voter is a parent. Many voters weigh fiscal responsibility of a Board at least as highly as a child's right to a good education. Some of those people may not look at the decision to make Stafford a middle school in the same way Stafford parents do. And the majority of Stafford parents (certainly the most vocal ones) live in the City and are unable to vote for Trustee Paterson.
It will be interesting, but Sonya works and campaigns hard, and that's a big check-mark in her column. I think she is second only to Steve Burton in name rec. And, of course, a candidate's success depends partially on who else runs.
He misses a few key points: I suspect that Sonya's name recognition is very high for a Trustee (thanks in part to her work with VALTAC), and she has a track record of eking out close-shave wins (less than 75 vote margins in both her election victories). She wins these close ones because she works hard during campaigns.
However, not every School Board voter is a parent. Many voters weigh fiscal responsibility of a Board at least as highly as a child's right to a good education. Some of those people may not look at the decision to make Stafford a middle school in the same way Stafford parents do. And the majority of Stafford parents (certainly the most vocal ones) live in the City and are unable to vote for Trustee Paterson.
It will be interesting, but Sonya works and campaigns hard, and that's a big check-mark in her column. I think she is second only to Steve Burton in name rec. And, of course, a candidate's success depends partially on who else runs.
posted by Jordan Bateman @ 7:16 AM
