Sue Peters is an experienced journalist and parent leader who is running for Seattle school board. I have blogged about Sue because I have met her and I know how committed She is to strengthening the public schools of Seattle and standing up to the powerful corporate raiders.
These corporate forces, the ones who wield great power in Seattle, do not want her elected to the school board. They fear her brave and honest voice.
That is why I sent a personal contribution to her campaign.
That is why she was endorsed by the Network for Public Education. That is why I hope you will send her whatever you can afford to help her.
She was vastly outspent in the primary, but managed to get into a run-off with her main opponent.her opponent has a PAC that has run attack ads against Sue.
The Seattle Times, which genuflects to Bill Gates, has snidely put Sue down as a mere “parent activist.”
Sue is one of us, fighting our fight. Please go to her website and donate $5, $10, $20, $50, whatever you can.
Let’s take back our schools. You can help.
This is a letter from Melissa Westbrook, who was one of the leaders of the fight against the charter referendum funded last fall by Gates, the Bezos family, and the Walton family, billionaires all. It win by 1%.
Melissa writes:
“I wanted to send you a link to the Seattle Times (our only daily newspaper) that was an editorial wrap-up of the primary for School Board.
They seem to want to omit and/or denigrate Sue’s credentials but really what I wanted you to see was this about parent activists:
“Peters may give Dale Estey a run for her money. But the effort would have to begin with Peters broadening beyond the “education activist” description. Here’s why: Any parent volunteering in the classrooms, on field trips, attending school board meetings, raising money for education or in myriad other ways working to improve their local schools is an activist. So is Peters merely one of them? Or is the “activist” moniker code for membership in a small cabal of district critics who have not changed their reflexive oppositional stances since the early 1990s? Conversations leading up to the November general election should provide answers.”
Melissa continues:
“Here’s what I wrote at my blog, Seattle Schools Community Forum:
” Varner [the editorial writer who cheer leads for Gates-style reform] gets to define what an activist is? Broadly – and I mean very broadly speaking – she’s right. An “active” parent could be called an activist. Except that it usually means going beyond your own school. She knows that (or she should).
“Then she talks about “code” which is ironic given the use of ed reform code words she uses in her columns all the time.
“So there is a small “cabal” of district critics? Well, there’s an even larger -but much more selective and closed-off – cabal of ed reformers. And no one need apply because they only let the “right” people in. (I also have to laugh at Varner saying Peters may give Estey a “run for her money.” Money is right, given how much more Estey has and who she gets it from.)
That reference at the end is about a PAC – set up by two wealthy men in Seattle just for Dale Estey’s campaign. They are the ones sending the false flyers that you have written about.
I know that Varner’s words are to strike out at our blog because we command a larger readership and challenge ed reform every step of the way. By putting us down/marginalizing us, they hope to do the same to Sue.
I wanted you to know that these tactics are being used. The good news is that Seattle is a VERY independent-minded city and people here ask a lot of questions. The Times won’t be able to just say anything and have it received in silence.
Best wishes,
Melissa Westbrook
Seattle Schools Community Forum blog
Darn – now I have to put on my NON-Arm-Waving NON-Shouting-To-The-Rafters hat …
I saw a mailer that the rich guy$ backing Dale Estey sent out, it is a … gem.
First, I marvel at how certain Seattle “progressives”, to defend their 1% loving policie$, use the kinds of smear tactics that come from the creators of ads like Willie Horton or Swiftboat Veterans. While they strut about waving their credentials about not being racists or bigots or droolers stuck in the 13th century on family health care, their policie$ insure that when we all get that coveted seat at the table, the table will be the kidde table with made in china sporks, sippy cups, booster seats and bowls of mush. (I’m from Massachusetts – can I have the plastic Lobster Bib!? )
At the bottom of the mailer I saw, there was a quote from Dale Estey about not blaming teachers blah blah blah. What STRUCK me was how similar the quote was to what Gate$ has been peddling this summer about not blaming teachers!
How many of us thought the Ringwraiths of Sauron were just phantasy from J.R.R. Tolkien?
Ms. Ravitch’s blog has become a public commons for well thought out well researched well whatever-ed info on all things ed deform. I HOPE people recognize that the deformer Big Lie barrages aren’t founded on rational disagreement over the best ways to make PUBLIC education as good as our kids deserve. The foundations of what the deformers are doing come from The Prince, 1984 and any old generic empire manual on “How Elites Should Use Their Doormats, Serfs, Catch Farts and Cannon Fodder”.
rmm, seattle
Fri. 18 Oct and Fri. 1 Nov., 4:00 – 6:00 Seattle Teacher Sign Waving for Sue!
http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2013/08/sue-peters-sign-waving-seattle-teachers.html
“. . . can I have the plastic Lobster Bib!? ”
Being from the midwest, I wouldn’t have understood the reference without having lived in Worcester (pronounced Wustah) for some years. That’s a good one!
More about the Independent Expenditures in Suzanne Dale Estey’s campaign: http://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-profiles/publicola/articles/school-board-candidates-july-2013#
Suzanne Dale Estey’s materials state she is “progressive” , but her donations to Republicans and Mike McGavick indicate otherwise.
http://suzanne4schools.com/index.php?page=display&id=1
Vote for Sue Peters. She is the real deal. http://suepeters4schoolboard.org/
Done. I have some money to donate to advocates for public schools because I’m not donating to Democrats who don’t support public schools.
It’s not in my best interest to donate to people who treat my kid like a second class citizen because he goes to his local public school. Nothing from to me to the politicians who have abandoned public schools, the public schools that 95% of US kids attend. I’m going with 95% who are ignored.
They can ask Bill Gates and the Netflix guy and the Walton heirs for money. God knows they have plenty to pass out.
The Seattle Times is pretty worthless. Sad to say, but Sue Peters has way more qualifications for education writer Lynn Varner’s job than Varner does – which is probably why Varner likes to cut her down. Estey may well be a good person with her heart in the right place, but her associations with the rah-rah charter schools/privatize public schools crowd like DFER, LEV, and the rich boys such as Hanauer make me extremely wary. Sue Peters is a much, much better choice for Seattle School Board.
Just like big coal, corporate school reform is all about privatize the profits and socialize the losses.
Greed won’t save the earth or close the achievement gap. Greed is the cause of the ills, not the solution.
Thanks for ALL your help and support, Diane.
One other reason to help, Sue Peters. It’s the larger reason that Washington State has been very slow (for many reasons) to come to the ed reform table (and I’m proud of that).
We still have no charters (rules being hammered out AND a pending lawsuit to overturn the referendum).
TFA is on the ropes with fewer than 20 in the entire state (and costing the University of Washington a lot of money for a tiny program).
There are Gates Foundation astro-turf groups galore but most people don’t know (or care) them.
The one guy who was FOR taking over our schools in the mayoral race? Dropped out before the primary.
Garfield High School teachers and staff took a stand and refused to give a district-mandated test. They won.
If we can hold our ground – as the largest school district in the state – we can send a message state-wide and nationwide that NO, you do not have to toe the line. The tide is turning, my friends, but other states that are mired in ed reform need to see hope and leadership.