Crowded Dems Primary (So Far) for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction

James Barrett

Since November 12th, when sitting Superintendent of Public Instrux, Republican Mark Johnson, announced he would not be running for reelection in 2020 but rather for lieutenant governor, a spotlight has grown on the several Democrats who will be competing in next March's primary to replace Johnson.

Here they are, in more or less the order of their announcements for office (and be assured, there are likely to be additional Democrats filing in December, not to mention a bunch of Republicans as well):

James Barrett served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board for eight years, including two years as chairman. He announced in early January of this year that he would not be running for reelection to that board but would be seeking the Superintendent's office instead. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system happens to have the highest local funding level in the state, and Barrett argues that every school system deserves equal funding. Barrett has said that "segregation is a huge problem that comes from school choice programs, so he’d require charter school applicants to have a plan showing how they wouldn’t further segregation. He’d also push for allowing local school boards to have the authority to approve their own charter schools." Barrett's working life has been spent as a corporate IT guy. He has no experience as a classroom teacher.

Michael Maher

Michael Maher, the assistant dean of professional education at N.C. State, announced in the last week of January. He started his career teaching high school science in Forsyth and Wake counties before moving to higher education. He currently serves as the president of the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators and also serves as vice chairman of the North Carolina Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission. He’s also on the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators. Maher has said he’s not an opponent of charter schools but is critical of a lax approval and renewal process. He is critical of voucher programs that help subsidize the cost of attending private schools. “I have a huge problem with using public dollars for private entities,” Maher said. “Our state constitution calls for a public system of education, not a taxpayer-funded private system.” Maher wants the state to eliminate school performance grades (A to F) because "they’re only measures of poverty at schools." He said it should be replaced with a system that includes "equity measures" showing whether a school is disproportionately suspending some groups and if it’s providing students equal access to academic opportunities.

Constance Lav Johnson

"Education consultant" and relentless self-promoter Constance Lav Johnson touts herself as an expert on education and political matters and as publisher of the online CityPolitical Magazine. She announced her candidacy for superintendent on February 1. She promotes herself as the principal force in something called the Johnson Burton Learning Center, which appears to exist mainly to offer events and seminars starring Constance Lav Johnson. She does emphasize eleemosynary concern for students who struggle in low-performance schools because too few public officials give a damn, but her claims of having been a classroom teacher and school administrator come without detail and seem mighty sketchy. She raised eyebrows at a Democratic candidate forum in Raleigh in early October by suggesting that school safety may require the deployment of National Guard troops. She ran in the Democratic primary for Charlotte mayor in 2017 under the name Constance Partee Johnson, participated in some but not all of the mayoral debates, received just a smidge over 300 total votes, and proved a very sore loser. Under the name Constance L. (Conny) Johnson, she ran for the NC Senate (District 34) in 2014 and took just under 34% of the vote against Andrew Brock.

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article235813317.html#storylink=cpy

Keith Sutton

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article235813317.html#storylink=cpy

Wake County school board vice chairman Keith Sutton announced on the Feb. 16 episode of “Education Matters,” a weekly show of the Public School Forum of North Carolina. Sutton is in his 10th year on the Wake school board and was board chairman when Wake County voters approved an $810 million school construction bond referendum in 2013. Sutton is an "education innovation consultant" with FocusED, LLC, a firm he started in 2017 to support organizations in improving and transforming education. Before then, he was excellence director for BEST NC, a business coalition focused on education. He has also served as executive director of the state NAACP and president of the Triangle Urban League. Sutton has said that charter schools are here to stay, but he’s against them in the current form because of “re-segregating” traditional public schools and taking funding. He’s against vouchers, saying they’re venues for families to get a privileged education. One of the changes the GOP-led General Assembly made was to require every public school to get an annual A through F letter grade that’s primarily based on how many of their students are passing state exams. Sutton points out that nearly every school with a D and F grade is in poor and minority communities. State leaders need to address the issues of race and poverty to help raise student achievement. “The leadership of our General Assembly has failed to acknowledge that race and poverty have a direct impact on student outcome and student achievement,” Sutton said.

Jen Mangrum

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article235813317.html#storylink=cpy

Jen Mangrum announced March 4. She started her education career as a classroom teacher, working from 1987 to 1999 in Onslow County Schools and later Guilford County Schools. She would go on to become a professor at NC State University, where she created the elementary education program. Mangrum achieved a good deal of prominence in 2018 for running against the most powerful Republican in the state, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, primarily on the issue of how badly public education has fared under Republican control. Mangrum has criticized vouchers as a “scary” development "because parents are using the money to attend private schools where the curriculum is not based on science or fact." She said she’s “anti-charter” because she said it causes resegregation and takes money away from traditional public schools. “Charter schools are a place for families to escape,” Mangrum said. “They’re white flight. They’re re-segregating our schools all over again.”  (I contributed to Mangrum's race against Phil Berger in 2018, and I have contributed to her current campaign for superintendent.)

Former state Department of Public Instruction division director Amy Jablonski had been another contender for the superintendent job until last Sunday when she dropped out of the race and endorsed Mangrum.

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article235813317.html#storylink=cpy

If You Underestimate This Race, We Will LOSE Public Education

Message from Jen Mangrum, candidate for Superintendent of NC Public Education:

Fellow North Carolinians,

So we are in a very bad place. There aren’t enough nurses, mental health providers, or social workers in our schools; our schools aren’t sufficiently safe or equitable; teachers are paying for basic supplies out of pocket; many personnel aren’t making a living wage and cannot retire with dignity; and young people aren’t graduating with the skills they need to survive in the current economy. And Mark Johnson doesn’t care to fix any of these problems, because he only has two years’ experience in the classroom, he turns his nose up at teachers and education experts, and his political philosophy boils down to investing LESS in our communities and MORE in corporations. 

In contrast, I am an educator -- a lifelong one. I have spent more years in the classroom than all of my opponents combined. Teachers are supporting me in the thousands, because they know I’m with them. I have a dream that every child in this state will one day have all the tools and support they need to be a healthy, happy, and productive members of their communities.

I really need you. And I need you now. March 3rd, 2020 (the date of the Democratic Primary) is approaching at what feels like warp speed. Mark Johnson, NC’s Superintendent, is on track to raising $1,000,000 for his reelection campaign -- and it’s no surprise. Phil Berger and the Republicans want to control public education so that they can starve it, promote private options, & influence what knowledge gets passed on to future generations (and at what price).

But I can’t save public education alone. While I’m far AHEAD of my primary opponents in terms of fundraising, I’m way BEHIND Johnson. That’s why I need YOU and your generous financial support. My team CANNOT beat Berger and Johnson without a full-time campaign manager and, eventually, TV ads. Raising money can be difficult at a time when there are so many other crucial political races going on. But I promise you, this race is just as crucial as any other in our state. Please consider donating what you can & tell everyone you know about the endangered state of public education in North Carolina. Young people deserve better, and democracy depends on better.

Sincerely,

Jen Mangrum

Quick link to Mangrum's donor page: https://www.jenmangrumfornc.com/donate 

More Democratic Hopes for the NC Senate

We posted yesterday about five Democratic candidates who could break the Republican super-majority (down-column) and who are running in districts considered either competitive or "lean Democratic."

Below are videos by some Democrats running in NC Senate districts rated "lean Republican" and "strong Republican," and several of them have already made a reputation as stars in the 2018 Democratic crown. Can they win? Yes. Especially in a year like 2018 has proven to be.

Phil Berger: Why He Won't Debate Jen Mangrum

The Boss of North Carolina, Senate leader Phil Berger, thinks if he ignores Jen Mangrum ... well, ignorance is bliss, right? Berger is not only refusing to debate Mangrum, his Democratic opponent. He even refuses to acknowledge her existence.

MYFOX8 down in the Triad (WGHP in High Point) tried to set up a debate between Mangrum and Berger, a live on-air debate. Station General Manager Jim Himes set a deadline for both campaigns to agree. (A grudge match like this one would take careful scheduling.) According to the notification Himes sent Mangrum yesterday (posted on her Facebook page), Berger never acknowledged the request. Didn't bother to respond even after Himes extended the deadline.

That's not just Berger arrogance. That's Berger flop-sweat. Jennifer Mangrum's candidacy (which I have stalked since late last year, and full disclosure, I'm a repeat contributor), Jen Mangrum has rattled the man, who can doubtless read the atmosphere like a hygrometer. He knows the polls. He fully understands the growing resistance. Which makes him a man in a hurry. Push those rewritings of North Carolina government through quickly. Rush those constitutional amendments to the public, and label them what they're not, and if the voting public votes yes, you'll have all the power forever. 

He'll play dirty to defeat the resistance. He sent spies to poke their noses in Mangrum's closets, after she moved to Reidsville in order to stay in the race against him. Pretend buyers of the property that Mangrum was renting tried to prove she wasn't really a resident of Berger's district. That didn't work. The State Board of Elections upheld her qualification to run, and the episode just made her stronger. 

Jen Mangrum, center

When she posted the Himes email about Berger's stonewalling, she added, "This is important. North Carolina is controlled by a bully and dictator! Hold him accountable!" She's subsequently published Berger's office phone number and asked people to call him to beg him to debate.

It'll never happen. There's no advantage in it for Berger, and traditionally, incumbents who are perceived to be well ahead of their challengers rarely agree to debate. Whether that's true of Berger, he wants to project that image -- too big to fail. And why confer status on a challenger? Why give them the stage, even if you could wipe the floor with them because of your decades of government experience? (Surely Berger thinks that!)

But 2018 isn't ordinary. Jen Mangrum isn't ordinary. She's got the fire, the smarts, and the guts to keep getting up in Berger's grill. Refusal to debate can be a political practicality. It can also be fear.

Jen Mangrum's New Campaign Button

Than Which There Is Nothing More Important

Tim Moore and Phil Berger

The ousting of these guys. These power-mad corrupters of good and fair government, these twisters of fact, these concealers of truth, these enemies of fair and open government ... these Tim Moore and Phil Berger, bosses of their respective chambers in the North Carolina General Assembly and would-be dictators and stackers of the judicial system and overlords of all levels of administration.

Jen Mangrum v. Phil Berger
I've written here about Berger's Democratic opponent Jen Mangrum many times (use the search box, upper lefthand corner, if you doubt it). She's giving Berger the shakes, a good case of flop sweat, and everything his minions have thrown at her has backfired and made her stronger. She's much more famous now after they tried to eliminate her.

Our favorite Jen Mangrum quote: “I’m a third-grade teacher at heart. I’ve dealt with playground bullies before.”

David C. Brinkley

David C. Brinkley v. Tim Moore

Speaker of the House Tim Moore's Democratic opponent is less well known. I did write about him here on March 6th, and laid out the case against Tim Moore's manifest corruption. In a period of notorious and ballooning official scandals in the DJT administration -- self-dealing of the most repulsive sort -- Moore is right up there with the most flagrant of them. It's clear he's in it for himself and his best buds.

Back in March I worried that Brinkley had decided that attacking Tim Moore's record would be off limits for his campaign, and that still seems to be the case. He wants to lead "Team Purple" -- never be partisan, which to me is leading a calvary with no swords. It gives me a case of political prickly heat. I've assumed since last March that Brinkley harbors a negative stereotype of politicians and won't be talked into attacking Tim Moore's record of self-dealing because he thinks it's "negative campaigning." But you don't win against an entrenched incumbent without drawing a clear distinction, and there is nothing in God's blue heaven against telling the truth about a corrupt public official. Brinkley's nicer way -- "the purple way" -- takes you under the bus that just rolled over your torso.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'll pray for that.

Phil Berger Looking for Something -- ANYTHING! -- To Use Against Jen Mangrum

Very obviously, NC Senate overlord Phil Berger -- or someone closely allied with him -- has hired the opposition research specialists at America Rising to dig up any dirt they can find on his Democratic challenger Jen Mangrum.

Mangrum just got reaffirmed as Berger's legitimate challenger by the state Board of Elections last Thursday, so Berger's team is upping its game.

America Rising was started by Mitt Romney's campaign manager after Romney's failed 2012 presidential run. It specializes in opposition research on Democrats its clients consider annoying. For example, it recently conducted research on career employees of the Environmental Protection Agency who had criticized Trump's policies and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's behavior.

Jen Mangrum got notice from the provost at UNC-Greensboro that the university has received a Freedom of Information Act request for a long list of documents relating to Mangrum's employment at the university. Can a demand for all her email be far behind?

You can rest assured that this is only the beginning of the fishing. Probably isn't even the beginning but somewhere in the middle.

Jen Mangrum Gets Okay from SBOE To Run Against Phil Berger

I was in that hearing room yesterday in Raleigh, but because of the state Board of Elections weird policy blocking WiFi access for the public, I was unable to post live updates. Here's the bottomline news, courtesy of the NewsandObserver:

RALEIGH -- Jen Mangrum, a former teacher and first-time candidate, turned back a challenge to her district residency on Thursday, opening the way for her to continue her campaign against state Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County — one of the most influential politicians in North Carolina.

The state elections board, in a 5-4 vote, overturned a decision by a local panel which decided against Mangrum, a Democrat, in a party-line vote in May.

Billy Cushman, a Republican travel agent from Rockingham County, challenged Mangrum’s residency, claiming she had not moved permanently from Greensboro to Reidsville, a town in Berger’s district. The state election board’s four Democrats and its unaffiliated member voted in Mangrum’s favor, while the board’s four Republicans voted against her.

Mangrum said she was happy with the result, but disappointed that the vote wasn’t unanimous.

“The facts are, I moved,” she said. Mangrum said Berger had been challenged only three times in nine elections, and she felt it was important for voters to have a choice. “I decided that someone needed to stand up to Sen. Berger, and I was going to be that person,” she said....

The local panel used a standard to judge Mangrum that it would not apply to a man, said Stella Anderson, a state board member. One of the local panel members, according to the record, was not convinced that Mangrum and her husband wouldn’t reconcile. 

“That is irrelevant as it relates to the law,” Anderson said. “This panel chose to impose on her a requirement that is not a requirement of the law.”

Jen Mangrum's a fighter, and the attempt to get her disqualified because she moved in order to run, has given her greater name recognition and a growing army of willing volunteers. Phil Berger has every reason to be nervous.

Question remains: Will the man who challenged Mangrum's eligibility (Billy Cushman of Eden) now appeal to the NC Court of Appeals. My understanding is that he has just two days to do that, once the action yesterday is finalized in a formal order. Considering Berger's nervousness and the ample money that seems to be available to pay Cushman's team of high-priced lawyers, I'm betting he will appeal.

If so, they will not have learned that every hurdle thrown in Jen Mangrum's path just makes her stronger.

Full disclosure: I am now a repeat contributor to her campaign.

Jen Mangrum -- Strong Today, Stronger Tomorrow

Jen Mangrum, the former Republican who has become overlord Phil Berger's nemesis this year, will see her eligibility to run against Berger litigated by the full state Board of Elections tomorrow. I intend to be there as a witness.

You may recall that Mangrum, a professor at UNC-Greensboro, announced her intention to run against Berger back in 2017. She was a Republican-turned-Democrat who decided she was fed up by the ruthless power-grabbing of Berger and his boys in the General Assembly. She attracted a lot of positive attention from supporters and a lot of negative energy from Republicans.

So what did the Republicans in the General Assembly do? They redrew Berger's district and cut out Mangrum's residence. What did Mangrum do? She leased property and moved so that she could be in Berger's district again. You don't put Jen Mangrum in a corner.

But Berger's allies weren't done. They challenged Mangrum's residency, and a 3-2 panel of Republican and Democratic elections officials ruled against her on party lines. Their need to protect the empire of Phil Berger was palpable.

Her appeal to the state Board of Elections comes tomorrow in Raleigh. She will win on the facts, and the concerted effort to keep her off the ballot and out of Phil Berger's face has only served to make her stronger.

Republican-Dominated Review Panel Disqualifies Phil Berger's Democratic Opponent

No really.

Jen Mangrum at Thursday's residency hearing.
Photo Joe Dexter/RockinghamNow

An elections panel composed of three Republicans and two Democrats voted 3-2 to disqualify Democrat Jen Mangrum from running against NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger this fall. Mangrum teaches in Greensboro, leased a house in Reidsville expressly to run against Berger while keeping her house in Greensboro. A Rockingham Republican complained, and on Thursday the Republican majority on the hearing panel agreed.

Mangrum will appeal to the State Board of Elections (SBOE).

Bob Rucho of Charlotte did the same thing -- rented an apartment in Mooresville expressly to run in a different senate district. A similar elections panel in the Rucho case let him stay on the ballot. He lost, badly.

Challenging Mangrum's residency is meant to knee-cap her with the homeys. People often don't like "carpet-baggers" coming into their districts to cause trouble, and apparently Jen Mangrum was becoming trouble for Berger. She has attracted strong support and was "bringing it" to Berger. With the atmosphere in North Carolina turning so acidic toward the current Republican dictatorship in the NC General Assembly, Berger needed to remind everyone that Mangrum is a trouble-making outsider.

If Bob Rucho passed muster, then Jen Mangrum will be certified to run by the SBOE.

Has this hurt her? Yes, without a doubt. And that was the sole motivation.

Jen Mangrum, Facing "The Arrogance of Power" in Phil Berger

Jen Mangrum with
NC Gov. Roy Cooper

Jennifer Mangrum, who is running in NC Senate District 30 against Phil Berger, the Darth Sidious of the General Assembly, is one brave woman. She knows very well the reputation of the Bossman of the NC General Assembly, his "arrogance of power," as fellow Republican conservative Luther H. Hodges Jr. described Berger's methods, but she's unafraid, she's determined, she's tough and informed and razor sharp. No one thinks she can win, but what everyone else thinks does not deter her.

"Public education is the core of our democracy," Mangrum says, and Phil Berger has presided over the systematic dismantling of that core in North Carolina. Mangrum has spent her entire life in classrooms, 15 of those years as a public school teacher. She's now teaching at a higher level at UNC-Greensboro, helping to train young people for the classroom. She recently earned the endorsement of the Network for Public Education, which called Phil Berger "the worst enemy of public education in the North Carolina General Assembly .... Berger has used his position as leader of the Senate to promote the privatization of North Carolina’s public schools. His policies have been harmful to the dedicated teachers of the state."

The Network for Public Education is a nationwide organization opposing high-stakes testing, the privatization of public education, the mass school closures to save money or to facilitate privatization, the demonization of teachers, the lowering of standards for the education profession, and the for-profit management of schools. In one way or other, Phil Berger and his minions in the General Assembly have promoted all those goals and have covered up the effects those goals create with gas lighting about how much money they've been throwing at schools.

(I wrote about Jen Mangrum way back in the middle of October, the first new Democratic candidate I featured in my on-going investigation of the 2018 Blue Wave that's building. I had a lot more to say about my beef with Berger.)

Jen Mangrum's campaign announcement video is worth watching for a taste of her intelligence and commitment to the race but also for the presence of Luther H. Hodges Jr., famous in North Carolina because of his famous Democratic father, but also famous for his switch to the Republican Party and his large campaign donations recently to conservative Republicans like Virginia Foxx. As conservative as he is and as dedicated as he's become to the North Carolina Republican Party, he's had his fill of Berger's "arrogance of power" and he wants to see Jen Mangrum win.

As do we all!

You can contribute to Mangrum's campaign (as I have): https://act.myngp.com/Forms/-786361854017533184. Her race is more than a local race. She's running for us all, those of us who want to see North Carolina's progressive reputation restored.

NC General Assembly: Flipping the Beast

Currently, the NCGOP holds a 75-45 majority in the North Carolina House and a 35-15 majority in the Senate.

Do the math. Democrats need to flip 16 House seats and 11 Senate seats in November to take back the General Assembly, a goal most conventional and casual observers consider beyond reach. Maybe. Maybe not.

But ending the veto-proof Republican majorities in either chamber, which would force Republican boss Phil Berger to negotiate with Governor Cooper -- that earthquake would require flipping only four House seats and six Senate seats.

Flippity dippity do!

That's not just doable. In the current climate, and with Democratic recruiters closing in on a candidate running in all 120 House seats and all 50 Senate seats, getting rid of the veto-proof Republican

Jennifer Mangrum, the
teacher who is running
against Phil Berger in 2018

majorities seems likely. 

Putting a stake through the GOP's veto-override would be something of note, something to celebrate, though putting Phil Berger out of a job would be even better.

That's more important than anything else in your world, if you live in North Carolina and have suffered under the illegitimate power-grabbing of Phil Berger & Company. 

The Teacher Who Is Running Against Phil Berger

NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger is the acknowledged dictator of North Carolina. He runs the NC Senate, which means he runs North Carolina. He ran over Republican Governor Pat McCrory for four long years and is partially responsible for making the "toe-stepping" McCrory a laughingstock. And just to show him who's Boss, Berger's crippled the governorship of Democrat Roy Cooper.

Berger wanted to make Phil Berger Jr. a congressman in Washington, his greatest failure to date. Still, he could make Junior a judge as consolation, and now Junior sits on the bench.

No one can beat Phil Berger for his NC Senate seat, which includes parts of Guilford and Rockingham counties. At least that's the conventional wisdom. In fact, to oppose Berger or his lieutenants can figuratively land a horse's head in your bed, so to speak, and according to Greensboro News&Record Editor Allen Johnson.

Jennifer Mangrum

But lookie here at who's rising up to challenge Berger, not because she thinks she can win but because sometimes you just have to stand up to abusive power, no matter the odds.

Jennifer Mangrum is the child of two public school teachers and a lifelong educator herself. She taught elementary school in North Carolina for 14 years, and for the last nine years she's been teaching other public school teachers how best to teach (as a professor of education at UNCG).

She was until recently a lifelong Republican. The power-madness of King Berger (among other actions) changed her mind:

“I’m open. I was a Republican, I need to tell you that. I had a father who fought in World War 2, Vietnam and Korea, and when I registered to vote in the ‘80s, if you were military then the Republican Party was the party that you felt was going to take care of your family .... The party has changed so much since I registered. I’m also really embarrassed that leaders in the Republican Party represent us in the way they do, but I was a voter who looked at the person.” (The Carolinian)

I've only just started following her on Twitter (@jrmangru), and she doesn't appear to have launched a Facebook feed yet (though she's promised one), so I don't yet find a lot of "platform" on-line. But I did find this:

...why do we allow Phil Berger to remain in power? He does not work to insure that all men are created equal. In fact, he does the opposite. He creates laws that discriminate, he defunds schools so that children don’t have the same opportunities when they grow up, and he rules the NC Senate as though he were King, grabbing power from our executive branch and ignoring the consent of the governed.

Mangrum is just beginning to find her political voice, and we hope she'll campaign. That'll take money.