DO STARK COUNTIANS PURDY OR ROSS-FREEMAN HAVE A CHANCE TO BE ELECTED TO STATE BD OF ED?

(Extract:  Stark BOE website)

(Photos added)

VIDEOS

KATHLEEN PURDY

CANDIDATE FOR STATE BD OF EDUCATION

8TH DISTRICT

IDA ROSS-FREEMAN

CANDIDATE FOR STATE BD OF EDUCATION

8TH DISTRICT

Can Stark Countians Kathleen Purdy or Ida Ross-Freeman defeat  a"shopworn"  Mahoning County Democrat in next month's general election?

Probably not.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY FAVORITE
ROBERT F. HAGAN

The "big guns" in Ohio Democratic politics went out and got 27 year (between serving in the Ohio House/House) legislator (Robert F. Hagan ["Bobby" to his political insider friends] ) of the Youngstown area to run for the State Board of  Education (SBOE) seat currently held by Lake Township's Deborah Cain.

Cain is being term limited out and has signed on as a candidate in a "sure to lose" Ohio House challenge in

the 50th House District (gerrymandered heavily Republican) currently held by incumbent Republican Christina Hagan of Marlboro Township.

The likely winner in Ohio 8th State Board of Education District - the SCPR thinks - is going to be Robert Hagan (no relation to Christina) who is another "political hanger-oner" who is leaving the legislature because of term limits.

He is perhaps Ohio's most "liberal" Democrat.

STARK COUNTIAN (ALLIANCE)
KATHLEEN  PURDY

And that perception in the largely rural 8th might provide an opportunity for a more politically moderate candidate such as Kathleen Purdy of Alliance to pull an upset.

A 26 year middle school teacher in the Plain Local Schools, Purdy, in a video interview with the SCPR, was beside herself that the Ohio Education Association (OEA) endorsed Hagan over her.



Purdy, who has served on the Stark County committee which selects from Stark County candidates for various offices for  the OEA's endorsement, seemed shocked that she did not get the endorsement over Hagan.

All her amazement tells the SCPR is that she does not understand the symbiotic relationship between the Ohio Democratic Party and the state level Ohio Education Association.

A tipoff on the relationship is a blog on the Plunderbund website which gives this description of the "political" importance of who gets elected to the SBOE:

When the Ohio General Assembly passes legislation regarding education-related policies, most of the components direct the State School Board to interpret and implement the changes.  As a result, electing members that truly support public education is an important and often overlooked step that Ohioans can take to help to ensure that public schools have the best advocates making these decisions.

And here is a LINK to a page on Plunderbund which includes a list of Plunderbund endorsed candidates for the SBOE which includes none other than the wife of the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) chairman Chris Redfern:

Although George T. Maier, the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee "appointed" sheriff was willing to have his picture taken with her at a recent political function, his brother and Stark County political operative extraordinaire Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (a friend of Redfern and former Stark Co. Dems chairman) was unable to get the state Dems to  endorse Purdy over Hagan, if he tried.

Knowing Johnnie, the SCPR is skeptical that he would buck the state party for a run-of-the-mill Stark County Democrat.

Though the Ohio Department of Education website presents the SBOE as the non-partisan entity it is as a matter of Ohio law, to wit:

Don't believe it!  Who gets appointed to the board by the governor is highly political.

Ohio voters do get elect 11 of the members.   And the Columbus-based Ohio Democratic Party is challenging in 7 of the 11.  The Ohio Republican Party is putting on an "all-out" fight to - with the addition of most of Republican Governor John Kasich's 8 appointee - to control the implementation and interpretation that the aforementioned (above) Plunderbund quote.

STARK COUNTIAN (CANTON)
IDA ROSS-FREEMAN

Ida Ross-Freeman did surprise nearly every Stark County political pundit in getting elected to the Canton City Schools Board of Education (CCS-BOE) two years ago.  There were two seats up for election.  She came in second in a three person race.

The SCPR's perception is that she has been somewhat of a controversial board member.

Were she to win in the 8th would surpass her surprise win in 2011.

Don't count on it.

The SCPR spoke with her at the Stark County Foundation Community Engagement Candidates Forum this past Monday.