First Draft (III) – Binge Writing, Binge Reading

The Howard County Board of Education is losing a great deal of institutional knowledge, with the decisions of Cynthia Vaillancourt and Sandra French to not seek re-election.  Moreover, with Dr. Bess Altwerger opting to not run for a second term and with Ananta Hejeebu (appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the Christine O’Connor resignation) also not appearing on the ballot in 2018, there will be four newcomers to the Board this year.  This is worth emphasizing given that the other Class (the three Board Members elected in 2016) is comprised entirely of first-termers.

I am not going to delve into substantive issues or my BoE preferences at this point, as more research is required; although I will acknowledge that Robert Wayne Miller will probably receive one of my votes in the Primary Election.  Beyond that, he and Vicky Cutroneo are most likely the only two near-mortal locks to finish in the top 8 in the primary (and thus move on to the General Election).  Beyond those two, and in alphabetical order, the Spartan Considerations Wisdom of the Hour ™ deems it likely that the following candidates will move on to the General Election:

-       Danny Mackey

-       Anita Pandey

-       Saif Rehman

-       Sabina Taj

-       Chao Wu

Yes, I know that adds up to seven.  I don’t know yet who is most likely to round out the field.

Note: this is not an endorsement of anyone for BoE (except for Miller) …so don’t read it that way.

Democratic Central Committee (Female)

I am extremely high on Maureen Evans Arthurs and Candace Dodson-Reed.  Smart and hard-working, they bring some serious mettle to the electoral battlefield.  Both women receive my unqualified support.

I will also be supporting several other distinguished candidates for the Committee:  Mae Beale, Ethel Brown-Hill, Mary Catherine Cochran, Jennifer Jones, and Margaret Weinstein. 

Democratic Central Committee (Male)

There are several well-known names with established credentials along with some new-comers who have entered the fray.  As of this writing, I can’t say I have many strong preferences, but the candidates who I believe are most likely to be elected or re-elected include:

-       Bill Adams

-       Najee Bailey

-       Rich Corkran

-       Jeremy Eldridge

-       Bob Ford

-       Josh Friedman

-       David Grabowski

-       Pravin Ponnuri

-       Shahan Rizvi

-       Dhaval Shah

-       Peter Spann

Wait, that is 11 of the 18 men running…and only 10 can be elected.  Correct.  Someone on this list will find himself sans chair when the music stops. Who? Stay tuned.

In solidarity.