Endorsements of LAURA STEWART, NATALIE ZIMMERMAN, and RITA MONTOYA for the Montgomery County Board of Education
In 1996, in the aftermath of Bill Clinton’s reelection as president, right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ political operative Ralph Reed said, “I would rather have a thousand school board members than one president and no school board members." The right-wing has targeted Montgomery County in the past, without success. We are a progressive community when it comes to LGBTQ+ matters, including caring for and embracing all of our students. So it is vital that the electorate knows which candidates are supportive of this diversity, and which are not.[1]
There are three seats up for election on the May 14 primary ballot: One At-Large seat, and the seats for District 2 and District 4. While the District candidates must live in those districts, everyone in the County may vote in all three contests. The top two vote-getters in each contest will proceed to the general election in November.
The last year has been a tumultuous one for MCPS. Problems emerged within the MCPS bureaucracy regarding the selection of a new high school principal who apparently had a long history of sexual harassment complaints. This system breakdown led to the separation of the Superintendent, and has raised questions as to the effectiveness of the current Board members in providing effective oversight of MCPS administration.
At the same time, a different controversy arose from MCPS's (and the Board of Education's) wise ongoing efforts to provide curriculum and educational materials, like storybooks, which support the diverse groups who make up the school system -- and, indeed, our wider community in Montgomery County. The extremist group Moms for Liberty sought to make a cause celebre of these efforts, and right-wing groups like the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom Liberty and America First Legal (an organization led by former President Trump's close advisor Stephen Miller) brought lawsuits against MCPS. The principal lawsuit alleged that MCPS's decision to not allow parents to opt-out of such materials was illegal. In July, I co-authored a Guest Commentary in Maryland Matters, explaining why the MCPS decision was sound and why the suit had no merit. Plaintiffs sought an injunction to block the no-opt-out policy, but in August the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland rejected the injunction in a 60-page decision. (Plaintiff filed an appeal, which is pending in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.)
So, in my view, there are two fundamental issues in the primary election:
1. Which candidates fully support the wise diversity policies developed by the Board and MCPS over the past decade.
2. And of those candidates, which candidates are best able to oversee and guide the administration of the bureaucracy which serves the 160,554 students in 211 public schools in Montgomery County.
After reviewing the responses to the detailed candidate questionnaire developed by the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG, listening to candidate forums, and having conversations with some candidates, I am convinced that the following candidates would continue to support the wise diversity policies:
District 4: Shebra Evans (incumbent) and Laura Stewart.
District 2: Rebecca Smondrowski (incumbent) and Natalie Zimmerman.
At-Large: Lynne Harris (incumbent), Melissa Kim, Jeffrey Long, and Rita Montoya. (I do note that Ms. Kim did not respond to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire until April 17, and before that time gave problematic answers to questions that it turned out she did not understand.)
The other candidates are problematic, at the least. See this footnote.[2]
For the reasons set forth below, I endorse Laura Stewart, Natalie Zimmerman, and Rita Montoya.
NOTE: THESE ENDORSEMENTS ARE IN MY PERSONAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS REPRESENTATIVE OF ANY ORGANIZATION.
I endorsed Ms. Smondrowski and Ms. Evans in their earlier successful runs for the BOE, and I have been very happy with their actions on, and commitment to, LGBTQ+ matters. I have likewise been please with Ms. Harris. I endorsed Ms. Harris' November 2020 competitor, not because of any doubts about her qualifications or substantive views, but because I thought her competitor was particularly exceptional.
Being a member of the Board of Education is challenging. One could make a very strong case that bringing in new blood (four of the seven elected non-student members are not up for re-election this year). Ms. Smondrowski has served for nearly 12 years, and Ms. Evans has served for nearly 8. Ms. Harris has served for nearly 4. In the campaign forums, I have not heard persuasive, concrete arguments about how the present members of the Board would do a better job of oversight, so that disasters like the one involving the promotion of a principal who had a long history of sexual harassment, that was known to many in the system, could not happen again. I fear that this incident has led many people to question the competence of the incumbents. I, personally, am not in a position to judge, but it is significant that the the teachers' union, the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) has endorsed challengers in all three races: Ms. Stewart, Ms. Zimmerman, and Ms. Montoya. (On the other hand, the union representing support staff at MCPS, SEIU Local 500, has endorsed the incumbents.) All things being at least equal, I believe it would be best to bring in new people.
DISTRICT 4: I am confident that the best choice for District 4 is Laura Stewart. This is not because I have any specific criticism of Ms. Evans, but because Ms. Stewart provides an energy that would be very helpful to the Board, and very possibly make it more effective. Ms. Stewart's years of MCPS and PTSA advocacy, both at the local and state levels, have shown energy, wisdom, and commitment, which led to her endorsement by the MCEA and a range of other groups. I have been particularly impressed with her dogged, public advocacy in support of sound BOE/MCPS policies that have been under attack from outside right-wing advocacy groups. Along with former BOE member Jill Ortman-Fouse, Ms. Stewart spearheaded the effort to mobilize people to back MCPS when it was under attack, and, to be frank, MCPS was not doing a very good job explaining the wisdom of its policy. The letter signed by more than 3,000 residents of Montgomery County helped to turn the tide of public opinion when demonstrations in front of MCPS headquarters threatened to monopolize the conversation. Similarly, her participation in drafting and signing the above-referenced Guest Commentary in Maryland Matters ("We can't opt out of diversity in our schools and communities") helped advance the discussion, and dispelled, I believe, some of the misconceptions that were creeping into local media.
DISTRICT 2: I agree with the MCEA's endorsement of elementary school teacher Natalie Zimmerman. While the current BOE members have a range of experiences that complement each other, at the moment there are no BOE members with experience (and current experience, at that) as an MCPS elementary school classroom teacher. Ms. Zimmerman has that experience. And she has been thoughtful and impressive at campaign forums. Her perspective could be extremely useful going forward. Twelve years is a long time, and Ms. Smondrowski has made some very good contributions as a BOE member. But I believe it is time for newer people who share similar values in these positions.
AT-LARGE: I find this one the most difficult. Incumbent Lynne Harris has a wealth of useful experience, and is less likely to be burned out after one term. On the other hand, her handling of the storybook controversy could have been less confrontational. And it might be better to have three, not just two, new BOE members. Significant is the MCEA endorsement of challenger Rita Montoya, who has useful personal and professional experiences as a PTA president, parent of elementary school children, juvenile public defender, and work with underserved communities, and thus could add useful perspectives to the BOE. Neither Ms. Kim nor Mr. Long appear to me to be viable candidates. For me, this is a close call, but, on balance, I think Rita Montoya would be the best choice.
[1] Every two years, around this time, I get questions about for whom to vote for the Montgomery County Board of Education. This is where I am coming from on MCPS issues: I have been involved in MCPS matters since 1984, when I was co-president of the Rosemary Hills Primary School PTA, working for needed resources for this magnet integration school. Later, I was public affairs director for the Gifted and Talented Association of Montgomery County, working to secure appropriate education for students and seeking ways to widen the net with respect to GT identification and opportunities; I subsequently, as a PTSA Board member at Richard Montgomery High School, I worked to protect needed resources for the Blair, Richard Montgomery, Takoma Park, and Eastern signature secondary schools. Beginning in 2002, after my children graduated from MCPS, I became active in working to secure appropriate health education and other MCPS policies regarding LGBT+ issues, and continue in this area (in which MCPS has made great progress) to this day.
A list of my related BOE election-related posts going back to 2016 may be found here.
At-Large candidate Sharif Hidyat stated in his thoughtful responses to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire that he opposed the no-opt-out policy for storybooks in the general curriculum, but hoped a satisfactory resolution could be found that would satisfy both the interests advanced by MCPS and parents who wished to have that option; he has not, however, suggested any such resolution. Significantly, in the campaign forums I have seen, he has not indicated any appreciation for the perspectives of those who support the existing policy, even though I discussed with him these perspectives thoroughly in a phone conversation he initiated after he read the Guest Commentary I co-authored in Maryland Matters.
At-Large candidate Fitzgerald Mofor has given jumbled and often contradictory responses both to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire and in candidate forums. For example, he states his belief that all mentions of LGBTQ+ people should be limited to the Family Life and Human Sexuality unit of the health education curriculum (as to which there is an opt-out), but then states that he fully supports DEI initiatives. Of course, if you cannot discuss LGBTQ+ matters, or even the existence of LGBTQ+ people outside of the opt-out available human sexuality curriculum, the it seems he would not include LGBTQ+ people in DEI initiatives. Mr. Mofor also recently asserted that the current school board has “spent over a million dollars litigating a case on inclusive curriculum, shoving and ramming ideology down the throats of parents and students.”
District 2 candidate Brenda Diaz also opposes the MCPS policy. In her response to Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire, she asserted that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg's characterization of the Florida "Don't Say Gay" law is "disingenuous"; that is certainly a red flag.
District 2 candidate Ricky Mui, who also opposes the MCPS policy, provided wordy responses to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire that, at best, portrayed a lack of understanding of the issues and what MCPS policies and actions are.
District 2 candidate Aby Thioye strongly expresses her opposition to the opt-out policy, and declined to even respond to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire.
District 4 candidate Bethany Mandel, like Ms. Thioye, declined to respond the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire, which typically is a sure sign that she is not supportive of LGBTQ+ students. In campaign forums, Ms. Mandel has vigorously expressed her opposition to the MCPS storybook policy regarding opt-out, and goesfurther, attacking what she refers to as "woke" approaches to education. She has six children, and home-schools those who are school age; she has no experience with MCPS. In one forum, she said that she wants MCPS to follow her advice about education because her children will someday have to deal with children who have graduated from MCPS. Ms. Mandel, who has the support of the right-wing Moms for Liberty was active in the 2023 Moms for Liberty rally in Philadelphia featuring Donald Trump and Ron De Santis, and is a fairly well-known commentator in right-wing circles, as recently documented here.
