House, school board hopefuls meet the voters
With just four days to the start of early voting, several candidates for the Hamilton County Board of Education and the Tennessee House of Representatives took part Monday in a candidate forum sponsored by the Chattanooga chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Hopefuls from three of the five contested school board seats introduced themselves and answered questions along with all six House District 28 candidates — five Democrats and one Republican — and the Democrats hoping to unseat GOP incumbents in districts 27 and 29.
Moderator Wade Hinton asked the questions, some prepared in advance and some submitted by the audience of 200 or so seated in the community room at Orchard Knob Missionary Baptist Church on Third Street.
Hinton asked all the candidates why they are running. He asked statehouse candidates what their top priorities would be and what to do about health care and education, among other topics.
HOUSE DISTRICT 28
Yusuf Hakeem, former city school board member and city councilman, noted he’s been endorsed by retiring incumbent JoAnne Favors and said his platform is “making hope in District 28 a reality.”
He said his first act in office would be to look at school funding and make sure Hamilton County gets its fair share. He also urged the school board to move forward with a task force on equity, calling the present climate “a form of 21st Century Jim Crow, keeping us where we are as opposed to allowing people to move forward.”
Melody Shekari, a lawyer, said she believes in “opportunity for all, health care for all and justice for all.” That includes workforce development for the 21st century, expanding Medicaid in the state and reforming criminal justice, which she called “a corporate, privatized system that profits from putting black and brown bodies in cages in our community.”
Jackie Anderson Thomas has spent more than 30 years as a life coach, helping people resolve problems and become
productive citizens. “I’m running because I want to be the change I want to see,” she said. Her issues are educational opportunity and a second chance for criminal offenders to be able to re-enter society.
Dennis Clark said he has the experience for the job, having worked in Georgia and Tennessee in legislative policy areas and served on the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth under former Gov. Phil Bredesen. “I’ve done it and I’m ready to do it again,” he said.
Brandon Woodruff said he prepared himself for service, earning degrees and working in the state capitol for four years. “I know what it takes to be efficient and effective,” he said. Seeing his disabled mother struggle to get health care, he added, “I know what it feels like to live under a monstrous health care system that dictates what it will and will not pay for.”
Lemon C. Williams Jr., the only Republican in the District 28 race, said he agrees with the Democrats on the need to improve health care, education and job preparation but differs on the means. Rather than grow government and levy more taxes, he said, “one of the biggest levers is to work with the community to bring more money in our community and keep more money in our pocketbooks. … I think my way of doing it and my ability and my skill to get it done is what sets me apart.”
HOUSE 27 AND 29
Brent S. Morris, a retired pediatrician and Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Patsy Hazlewood. He said he would fight for better health care, common-sense gun laws and better treatment for women in the workforce.
“At this point in history, the state level of representation is extremely poor,” he said. “No longer can we be apathetic about people above at the federal level taking care of us. It’s not going to happen. In fact, the reverse has happened.”
Democrat Tammy Magouirk is seeking to unseat Republican Mike Carter in District 29. A veteran middle school teacher, Magouirk’s focus is on education and health care. “We need to make sure our kids are educated, trainable and ready to take really great jobs” as they develop.
To a general question about what separates her from her opponent, Magouirk said, “Well, my opponent isn’t here,” drawing chuckles from the crowd.
SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES
Board of Education races are nonpartisan. Most of the candidates agreed on the need for more money for schools and better academic and career preparation for students.
Mental health professional and community advocate Miracle Hurley, challenging Joe Smith in District 3, advocates for “wraparound services” for the total well-being of children and families. Smith did not attend.
Hurley spoke for most of the candidates when the question of arming teachers was raised.
“If a teacher carries a gun, they have to choose between one life over another,” she said. “That’s a level of trauma we don’t ever want to put in the hands of a teacher.”
Only Michael Henry, running against Jenny Hill in the open District 6 race, said school administrators should be able to decide if teachers want to take firearms training and carry a weapon in class.
Henry said Tennessee is “shooting ourselves in the foot” by not paying teachers enough, and he wants to bring business to the classroom to teach children about entrepreneurship.
Hill did not attend the forum.
District 5 incumbent Karitsa Mosley is seeking a second term. “I’ve been accessible, I have been accountable and I have been an advocate for the students not only in District 5 but in Hamilton County,” she said, citing particularly her work to keep the state from taking over low-performing schools.
Her challenger, Ann Pierre, said she has an undergraduate degree in business education, and that her years as a businesswoman, mother and grandmother qualify her for the post.
To a general question about support for charter, magnet and other school choice options, Pierre said, “Charters take away money for public schools,” but options within public school systems have a place.