Montgomery County Teachers Union Issues School Board Endorsements // MCEA Picks Two Candidates in Saqib Ali's Race

The Gazette recently reported that Montgomery County's teachers union (MCEA) has issued endorsements in the Board of Education Primary election. Voters across Montgomery County will weigh in on three school board races this year. The April Primary Election will feature an At Large race and a District 2 race. The District 4 race only has two candidates, so both will automatically advance to the November General Election.

Notably, MCEA endorsed incumbents in the At Large and District 4 races. The District 2 seat is being contested by former Delegate Saqib Ali, but the teachers union has endorsed two different candidates in that race. See The Gazette's commentary below:

Incumbents Christopher Barclay (Dist. 4) of Takoma Park and Phil Kauffman (At-large) of Olney received backing. In the race for District 2, Fred Evans of Rockville and Jeanne Ellinport of Gaithersburg received backing. Current District 2 member Laura V. Berthiaume of Rockville has announced she will not seek re-election.

The recommendations are for the primary election only.

Maryland Juice is unfamiliar with MCEA's history with endorsing two candidates for the same seat. However, I have worked races on both sides of the Apple Ballot (ie: candidates endorsed and not endorsed by the teachers), and all of my candidates are in office right now. :)

The Apple Ballot definitely has a large impact in Montgomery County, but it isn't always decisive.  This year's school board race may be more interesting than in past years!