MCEA

ENDORSEMENTS:

PAPER TIGER, HEAR

IT ROAR!

The Montgomery County teachers union kindly informed me last evening that I would not be receiving its endorsement. As a result, Robert Dyer will not be on the now-infamous Apple Ballot. I am disappointed but only a little bit surprised.

The implications for the future of union negotiations in the county are far greater than the implications for my campaign. This is probably a year in which having your name on the Apple Ballot will hurt as much as it will help. The anti-union Washington Post has spent much ink criticizing the endorsement process, and has suggested that one must make a contribution to receive the endorsement.

I can say that at no time was I asked by the MCEA to donate funds. Beyond that, having not been endorsed, I can't tell you if the request is made after you have been endorsed.

But back to those union negotiations, and a major question: are the county's unions still a potent force in politics, that can punish councilmembers who vote against them, or are they just paper tigers?

I'm encouraged that the police union is making some noise, and actually protesting what's happening. I hope they will continue to do so, as the council has repeatedly disrespected county police officers by scapegoating them for the budget disaster the council itself created.

In contrast, the MCEA is in the paper tiger category. Why else would they endorse George Leventhal and Marc Elrich? Remember, Leventhal and Elrich both voted for a budget that violated the state's education Maintenence of Effort law, and contained further MCPS cuts. And they voted to prevent teachers from receiving raises and COLAs multiple times (despite having agreed to give them both in a legally-binding labor agreement when cash was more plentiful).

The council has broken any labor agreement it pleased to over the past 2 years, and for the MCEA at least, that is apparently not a problem. In reality, though, it is a problem. The council has pushed the unions, and they have given up some of what their members were legally entitled to. At some point, compromise and expediency will fail to quiet county employees who will have gone several years without COLAs or raises.

So a situation now exists where negotiations will be almost meaningless, as the executive and council can promise the world, and just take the world back after the election.

Does that situation also include a dynamic where the politicians who take back what they promised county employees are not punished in the next election?

Again, it does for the MCEA. Sure, they didn't endorse Nancy Floreen. But Duchy Trachtenburg withdrew her name from consideration. So that left two openings, and two incumbents who voted to hurt county employees to preserve their own political careers (even though they owed those careers to the employee unions [go figure!!]).

I'm anxious to find out what will happen next. What's the point of fooling voters that certain names will support education, when there are no consequences for defying the trust of teachers and voters in general? Leventhal and Elrich have gotten away scot-free, and are laughing all the way to the bank.

I made a strong case before the MCEA interviewers. If elected, I will still follow through on my goals for MCPS, including all-day Pre-Kindergarten for every eligible child, full MOE funding each year, providing equal opportunities in education regardless of race, income or disability, and transforming our lowest performing schools.

Of course, we still have to address waste in the MCPS budget. We'll have to address the teacher pensions in 2011, and possibly the health benefits as well. And, unfortunately, we simply cannot afford to pay teachers CEO salaries in Montgomery County. I am concerned that cities like D.C. and NYC are turning education into a game of greed. Not only is a passion for education being replaced by Powerball-esque salaries as the main motivation for entering the field of teaching, but now children are being paid to do their schoolwork(!!). It's beyond outrageous, and deeply disturbing. I can't imagine we'll follow that obscene model here, because - if for no other reason - our county is financially broke, thanks to our incumbent councilmembers.

Whether or not I had been endorsed, my approach to all of these issues would have been the same.

I'm committed to having equal opportunities for every student in Montgomery County, and to restoring the public's trust in our county's financial practices.

I don't mind being the Lone Ranger in doing so, because the voters are telling me every day that they are ready for Change Beyond Belief on November 2.