Sue Peters - Seattle School
Board Director-Elect -
Thanks NPE Members for
Contributing to Her Victory
Dear Diane and members and supporters of the Network for
Public Education,
Once again, I am pleased to extend my thanks to you
and NPE for your invaluable support and endorsement of my grassroots
candidacy for Seattle School Board. I am thrilled to announce
that we won - convincingly!
On Election night, we
led by 51-48 percent, and that lead has only grown with every new
vote tally. We are now approaching a 9-point margin, at 54-45
percent. That is nearly a 14,000-vote lead.
Why Our Win Matters:
This is a victory not only for my campaign, but for
communities, families, and educators everywhere who are the key
stakeholders in public education, but whose voices are not always
heard in the national debate over education reform, or in our own
local school district.
This is also a victory for authentic, grassroots
democracy. Seattle voters did not allow a small group of moneyed
interests to buy this election.
My opponent's campaign and political action committee
(PAC) spent a record-breaking $240,000+, much of it on negative
campaigning, most of it bankrolled by a small group of wealthy
proponents of corporate ed reform and charter schools.
The PAC attacked my candidacy four times throughout the
campaign with progressively more mendacious and offensive mailers.
The attacks focused almost entirely on defending the Gates
Foundation, in a bizarre and unsuccessful attempt to discredit me,
and completely ignored the important issues facing our school
district like overcrowding, inequity of resources among our schools,
excessive testing and low teacher morale.
This amount of money and such tactics are unprecedented
not only in Seattle but Washington State for a school board race.
Thankfully, voters were not fooled by the distortions
and diversions.
I am proud of my authentic, fiscally responsible,
volunteer-driven campaign, which remained focused on the issues and
maintained its integrity.
I am also grateful to everyone who helped us counter the
barrage of misinformation, and to those of you who promoted my
candidacy personally. I want to particularly thank Dr. Diane
Ravitch, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education and national
education historian, who recognized that my campaign represented a
national battle over the integrity and future of public education.
Her support gave important legitimacy to our campaign and to my
efforts over the years to engage on education issues, as both a
journalist and parent.
I believe my near decade of experience with the Seattle
Public School District resonated with voters, as well as my clear
commitment to keeping the public in public education.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Sue Peters
Parent, journalist, public education advocate,
and Seattle School Board Director-Elect
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