The SECB nails it again! Thanks for being the Anti-Times. Sue's election is a great boon for our students!

What burb said

Christian Sinderman, consultant to Etsey, should be ashamed. So should Etsey for that matter. The tone of those sleazy mailers and puhleeeeease don't pretend that the PAC supporting Etsey had no contact with the campaign, was an insult to this city.

What gator bait said. Unrepudiated sleaze is a way to lose my vote.

I hope Sue Peters is not just another activist who wants to second-guess the superintendent at every turn; I've voted against those sorts also. As the victim of sleaze, I gave Peters a reluctant vote, this time.

Everyone reporting on this race (which admittedly are few) underestimate the power of a Cliff Mass endorsement. This is a mistake where it's an issue of local public education.

The Dale Estey campaign (and "unaffiliated" PACS) barraged me with mailers. I got the super sleazy one (just before election day, of course) and what amazed me most was the gall it takes to claim your opponent is crazy for saying you are bought by Big Money in a mailer paid for by Big Money. They were really trying to rile up the stupid and I'm glad it didn't work.

Peters was on the district committee that selected Banda as the new SI. The last thing she'll do is second-guess him. The "micro-management" non-issue was and is bunk. It arose from when the interim SI, Susan Enfield was asking for carte blanche authority if we wanted her as the permanent SI, and the board, having just fired a corrupt SI who'd bullied her way through the district for 3 years said, "Not so fast, Susan. Bad Timing for such a request, don't you think(?)," which she responded to by taking her ball and going off to Highline. That turned out to be a win-win, as Enfield got a smaller district and Seattle made a clean break from the Goodloe-Johnson administration. Peters understands balance and oversight, but is also experienced and nuanced enough to know that one man's micro-management is another man's due diligence. As always, there's two sides to every story, but you'll only get one from the Ministry of Propaganda aka Seattle Times.

Thank fucking non-existent god. One more small reprieve against the Gates Foundation hanging SPS on a steel hook in their meat locker.

Reposting from above hidden anonymous comment, but note as pertains to below - CASE also = The Alliance for Education (some of us call it The Borg) self-proclaimed "critical friend" to SPS. It throws hissy fits when it's Corporate Ed Reform push is pushed back on.

Hanauer, Griffin, Larson = snotty-attitude (you have to see them in person to understand) megabux Charter School pushers. Hanauer threw an infamous snit fit re: education during the Guv's race. The 3 are so polarizing that they now lose voters for candidates where they throw money. Their 6-figure PAC for a school board candidate did nothing but give Estey grief.

Here's the anon post above:

Democracy is alive and well.

Shame on Matt Griffin, Christopher Larson, Nick Hanauer and Seattle's Chamber of Commerce CASE for forming a PAC called Great Seattle Schools. The PAC was funded at $100K and these dollars were used to mail dishonest mailers to tens of thousands of individuals. These are the same individuals that want to "lead" our educational system.

Sue Peters beat a campaign and PAC funded at a quarter of a million dollars.

Estey has a credibility problem. She had no problem telling audiences that she "ran" Gary Locke's office. Records indicate she served a 3 month term in Locke's office as a temporary paid intern. We need elected officials that are wiling to be open, honest and transparent.

Glad we have the wisdom of the voters and The Stranger to deliver the truth; We certainly can't depend on The Seattle Times.

Democracy is alive and well.

Shame on Matt Griffin, Christopher Larson, Nick Hanauer and Seattle's Chamber of Commerce CASE for forming a PAC called Great Seattle Schools. The PAC was funded at $100K and these dollars were used to mail dishonest mailers to tens of thousands of individuals. These are the same individuals that want to "lead" our educational system.

Sue Peters beat a campaign and PAC funded at a quarter of a million dollars.

Estey has a credibility problem. She had no problem telling audiences that she "ran" Gary Locke's office. Records indicate she served a 3 month term in Locke's office as a temporary paid intern. We need elected officials that are wiling to be open, honest and transparent.

Glad we have the wisdom of the voters and The Stranger to deliver the truth; We certainly can't depend on The Seattle Times.

Other big big big losers in this race outcome: ex-LEV co-founder (with Hanauer) of LEV Lisa McFarlane. She also contributed to the sleazy-mailer PAC. She now runs the Charter-Pusher WA branch of DFER "Democrats for Education Reform."

LEV's current CEO Chris Korsmo runs with the Hanauer-McFarlane crowd. LEV's exlobbyist Frank Greer publicly endorsed Etsey.

Bill and Melinda Gates people? All were pushing Etsey behind the scenes.

Love the idea that all are as frustrated as a dog with fleas by the race's outcome.

I'm not surprised that SLOG and one other blog are the only places online I've read of this concession. Seattle doesn't have any daily newspapers reporting on closing moments (i.e. concessions) of all election races.

As a long-time public school activist and having worked on several School Board campaigns, I was fairly sure that Dale Estey would lose. Why? Big money does not understand what voters want in a School Board member and it's not some mid-level bureaucrat who does not know our school district and its communities.

And, they'll keep losing as long as they continue to think - see Christian Sinderman, Lisa Macfarlane, etc. - they are the smartest people in the room.

Here's hoping they don't get wise because we keep winning with smart-thinking candidates like Sue Peters (who no, will not micromanage but yes, ask the hard questions that protect students AND taxpayers.)

Glad to see Seattle's school board seats are not for sale! Now if DFER and LEV would just go away and take their neoliberal Ed deform fantasies with them, public schools would stand a better chance of staying just that - public.

To "Evani" (comment #17) what "personal agenda" of Sue Peters are you speaking of? Given that she never spoke of a personal agenda, nor were there any articles written on it, perhaps you could enlighten the rest of us, since you imply that you're privy to such information?

Funny how people have turned the word "agenda" around to make it sound so awful, so suspicious: would "goals" and "objectives" make some people feel better than if you, God Forbid, have an "agenda". (Gasp!)

The only "agenda" I'm aware of on the part of Sue Peters are her convictions regarding here strong support for our public schools and keeping them public. This means keeping our hard earned tax dollars out of the hands of private companies who are often exclusively concerned with expanding market share and profitability as opposed to what most benefits our kids.

Her agenda also includes keeping charter schools out of our district, making sure that all Seattle Public Schools teachers have more than a few weeks of "training" before entering a classroom, respecting the work of teachers, protecting the private data of students and making sure parents have a say in everything that concerns their child.

I agree with this "agenda". So do most parents of people with children in public schools, regardless of political ideology.

Welcome, Sue Peters. You'll be a fine addition to a board that is constantly improving.