School Board Elections in Scott County

• Tuesday elections in Scott County.  Voting only at your precinct, too late for absentee. Polls open 7:00, close 8:00 PM
• Voting will take about as much time as buying a quart of milk at a Kwik Shop
• For the Davenport Community School District we endorse David Reke and for the open positions in other communities, the Republican candidate who has not been endorsed by a rent-seeking union.

First we repeat our wish over the years that the Scott County Republican Party consistently hold its own candidate forums for school board and municipal elections, the so-called non-partisan elections, and use its auspices to survey the candidates on platform matters including education, taxation and social issues.  But again that was not to be. The extent of the low voter turn-out in such elections is in part a reflection of this failure by the party to do so.  It is a failure of local conservatism not to aggressively pursue these elections as candidates and voters.  The state of the public schools is also a reflection of these  shortcomings.

Given our resources, the best Veritas can generally do as a service to readers is report on party affiliation.  We all know such is not reliable in particular but may, without other relevant information, in an overall trend, as a result of electing Republicans, produce more likelihood of improving the education environment than electing Democrats!

We have information from one candidate which we believe is adequate for an endorsement over others who did not come to our door, — most rely on union endorsements and indirect contact through the mail, or a few yard signs. We are also relying on newspaper reports of who the unions are endorsing. That is a thoroughly negative indication this election.  The state legislature’s welcome decision to limit public employee contract bargaining power, limiting hegemony over tax payers means that the profile of unions at all levels is high, as they try to maintain power, and therefore particularly worrisome.

Take the few minutes necessary to vote, however cloudy the glasses, even if it means just basically showing up and writing in a plausible candidate, (we have failed in this ourselves over the years).  Eventually the message filters through to candidates, that conservative people vote, not just the local rent seekers — the public education related union membership, the union apparat in solidarity with them, and liberal big government types in general.

Davenport School Board

Six candidates running for three openings.

We support David Reke because of his financial background, and his support for voucher systems, charter schools, that he is not in favor of Common Core, IS pro-teacher and their ability to be rewarded for superior performance and supported in discipline matters. He said he is pro-life (our hoped for implication on that score is that he would be in favor of rooting out Planned Parenthood type sexology and promiscuity as taught in schools). He came to our neighborhood and our door soliciting a vote.  No one else did. He is registered no-party but voted in the Republican primary in June of 2014.   We suggest a bullet vote for him or with possible write-ins for the remaining two positions.

Bruce Potts is a registered Republican BUT according to the QC Times received the endorsement of the Davenport Education Association. That is compellingly negative information.

Candidates Beck, Blackwell, and Grier  are registered Democrats and have received the endorsement of one or another union.

Candidate Mayfield, the only incumbent running,  is a registered Democrat, but apparently did not receive any union endorsement. That is interesting and if I had to vote for a Democrat, which I do not and is against interests in general, he might be considered after more information.

Bettendorf School Board

Seven candidates running for three openings.

There are only two Republicans running for the school board in Bettendorf!! How pathetic.

Candidates who are registered Republican are Andrew Champion and Adam Holland.  All others are registered Democrats — Goins, Lynch, Marinaccio, McEnant and Trahan (if Sara E Trahan is the same person as “Pepper”).

According to the QC Times: The Bettendorf Education Association recommended three candidates for the Bettendorf School Board: Andrew Champion, Maxine McEnany and Pepper Trahan.

So maybe bullet-vote Adam Holland if he meets your standards after giving him a phone call.  Show up and show the flag so to speak by voting. Write in someone when there is no one who deserves your vote, even comparatively.  Champion, though a registered Republican, has a big albatross around his neck as to any reliability on protecting the taxpayers and limiting union influence.

North Scott Community School District

Four candidates running for three openings.

Candidates Nick Hansel and Tracy Lindaman are registered as Republicans.  Candidates Mark Pratt and incumbent Donn Wilmott  are registered no-party.   We have no information on union endorsements but that is worth checking by phoning the candidates and asking about that and about the following issue —

There is a ballot measure  for North Scott School District voters which reads:

Shall the Board of Directors of the North Scott Community School District in the County of Scott, State of Iowa, be authorized for a period of ten (10) years, to levy annually, as determined by the Board, a voter-approved physical plant and equipment property tax not to exceed ninety-seven cents (97¢) per one thousand dollars ($1,000) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property within the school district commencing with the levy for collection in the fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2018, to be used for any purpose or purposes now or hereafter authorized by Iowa law?

If we lived in the NS school district that would be a big HELL NO.

Pleasant Valley Community School District 2

Two candidates running for one opening.

Brent Ayers is a registered Democrat.  We were unable to locate any information on candidate Deborah Kepple-Mamrios.  We have no information on union endorsements but that is worth checking by phoning the candidates.

Other school board races in Scott County

Other races are uncontested. We will try to provide party affiliation of the sole candidates soon.

Contact the candidates:

Contact information for all candidates, including address, phone and email, can be found here, at the Scott County Auditor website.  Precinct voting locations can be found here.

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