Election results update

King County has posted its latest ballot count, and in Seattle School Board District 6, nothing has changed from last night – looks like it will be Steve Sundquist (left) vs. Maria Ramirez (right) for the West/South Seattle school board seat that Irene Stewart is giving up.Ã‚Â After today’s count, Sundquist has 51.8% of the vote, Ramirez has 24.1%, with Dan Dempsey at 17%.Ã‚Â The unofficial SeattleÃ‚Â Public Schools BlogÃ‚Â notes that more people voted in our district than in the other district with a primary battle, North Seattle District 2, and also notes that while the primary votes were by district, the entire city votes for all school board races in the fall, so Sundquist and Ramirez (along with other school board candidates) will have to campaign citywide. One other WS note from the election: King County Councilmember Dow Constantine lopsidedly (91%-9%) beat his eclectic fellow Democrat primary challenger Goodspaceguy Nelson, and now goes on to a general-election race against Republican John Potter (who doesn’t seem to have a campaign website).Ã‚Â

chas redmond August 23, 2007 (1:18 am)

Steve and Maria are a tough choice. Wish we could have both. I think one has a powerfully strong head and the other I think has a powerfully strong heart. If we were to have city council by district, I wonder what the West Seattle district candidates would be like? I’ve never been a fan of at-large except as part of the mix. But I digress…

huindekmi August 23, 2007 (7:04 am)

I’m thinking about voting for Maria solely because I’m sick and tired of all the Sundquist phone calls!!! His organization called our house five times in the days leading up to the primary – three of those around 9PM. Leave me alone! I don’t like getting spam telemarketer calls. I don’t care if political calls are exempted from the “do not call list” restrictions. We even asked to be taken off their call list, and the calls kept coming. ARGH!!!!

Dis August 23, 2007 (1:57 pm)

I would like to know how the two candidates view the APP and Spectrum programs in SPS. If any candidate’s primary interest is minority populations, she needs to also protect that vanishing minority. Those are the kids who are rushing to private schools. And by the way, I’m so so so disgusted with the edu-babble like: eliminating the achievement gap. what does that mean? the easiest way to eliminate the achievement gap is to eliminate the high achievers. And the school district has done a good job of that.

Dis August 23, 2007 (1:58 pm)

no. let me correct that: the school district has done a fabulous job of it.

Jan August 23, 2007 (3:56 pm)

Dis…my daughter (who is now 26 and making more money than me – hehe)….tested in the top 1/2 percent in the Seattle School system when she was in third grade. There was no way I could possibly afford private school, and all that it entails, so she went theu Madison, and then West SEattle Highschool. She ended up being a B-C student…never challenged, always bored, except in art class. Now she’s making 50K a year at a big employer downtown…fashion industry..high school education…just 2 promotions in he last 5 months, and has only been there a year.

I watch as the “underachievers ” walk to Admiral Safeway, or hand out in the alley behind my apt. building at 10am…and wonder what the hell is up in the schools…I agree…statements like eliminating the achievement gap mean nothing…

The House August 24, 2007 (8:48 am)

I have a 4 year old and there is no way I would send him to a public school in his formative years (Seattle or any other city). Although I am a product of public schools and my parents were PS teachers, I believe that public schools are just like every other government entity…INEFFICIENT.
I also believe that any school (public or private) should be an enhancement to what is taught by parents. It should not be viewed as the SOLE entitiy to educate our kids or as a day care, which is unfortunately how the majority of our population views it.
It’s also a shame that if you truly examined many of the teachers (definitely not all) out there, they themselves are “underachievers”. I observed this firsthand while my parents were in the PS systems and when I was in college.
I might also add that it’s INSANE that if you chose to send your child to PRIVATE school that you are not allowed to take a tax break.

I’m off my soap box.

Jan August 24, 2007 (12:15 pm)

hmm…my guess is…private school, House? I have always felt that tenure should not be the criteria for keeping a teacher. Longevity does not mean excellence. Just as with any other “industry”…if you’re not producing, you don’t get to work there….

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