Qualifications for office
On Wednesday’s Bill LuMaye Show, Bill and Democratic political strategist Perry Woods chatted about the run-off election between Wake County school board candidates Heather Losurdo and Kevin Hill. Mr. Woods pointed out that Losurdo lacked “qualifications” for the office, whereas Hill had been employed by the district as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal.
According to Article VI, Section 6 of the NC Constitution, “Every qualified voter in North Carolina who is 21 years of age, except as in this Constitution disqualified, shall be eligible for election by the people to office.” This applies to §115C‑37 of the NC General Statutes, which addresses the election of school board members. Why did the Framers of the NC Constitution eliminate barriers to elective office? Obviously, they did not want to disenfranchise certain groups. More importantly, it is an implicit acknowledgment that experience and credentials do not guarantee competence. It promotes the powerful idea of citizen-politicians.
If you ask me, diverse perspectives and experiences strengthen elected bodies. Groupthink is efficient (see North Carolina State Board of Education), but it also discourages creativity, innovation, and enterprise. It stifles vision.
That is not to say that all citizen-politicians are good and all others are bad. But it does lead one to consider what it means to “qualify” for office.
5 comments
Terry,
Thanks for listening. Let’s have a debate about this.
The Wake County Public School System is the 17th largest in the nation with over 146,000 children, 18,000 employees, and a 1.5 billion dollar budget.
Certainly any citizen is ‘qualified’ to be on the ballot, and ‘citizen-politicians’ are generally a good thing, but you are not suggesting that just anyone is ‘qualified’ to serve on this extremely important Board for our community, our economy, and our future?
Lay people serving on this Board can be very valuable, but they need to bring something to the table. For example, Superintendent Tata, although not an educator, certainly brought strong management credentials to the table. Jennifer Mansfield, who finished third in the District 3 race, is a lay person who had been involved for years with Wake County schools on these issues. Although I do not agree with her on most things, she was eminently ‘qualified’.
Ms. Losurdo brings nothing of the kind to the table. In fact, who is Heather Losurdo? Despite her claim of working for ‘8 years’ on education here, she has only lived here 3. I’m surprised frankly her husband’s federal pleading isn’t more of an issue for you.
She lists her educational background as being trained as a mechanic for the Air Force. Now, I would not want an educator fixing my plane, but you should demand more than ‘President of the Northern Wake Republican Club’ as the primary ‘qualification’ for this office.
It is somewhat ironic that you believe ‘diverse perspectives and experiences strengthen elected bodies’. I agree, but why wouldn’t the same be true for our ‘student bodies’? Ms Losurdo and you apparently do not believe in that.
A ‘diverse’ Board is a ‘strength’, but Kevin Hill is the only member with experience as an educator in Wake County at the elementary, middle and high school level, and the knowledge of how Board decisions effect our students, teachers, and staff. That 35 years of experience and relationships he has built with those who have dedicated their live for our schools is a nearly irreplaceable perspective this Board sorely needs.
Anyone can apply for a job, but that does not mean they are ‘qualified’ for it. Ms. Losurdo I am sure is a lovely person, and mother, with fine intentions, but she is woefully under ‘qualified; for the position she seeks.
Respectfully,
Perry
Thank you, Perry. First, let’s get this diversity thing out of the way. Do you believe that elected bodies are the same as student bodies? I don’t.
What does it take to be qualified to serve on the WCPSS Board of Education? If Heather is “woefully under qualified,” you must maintain a standard by which some are qualified and others are not. If it is subjective, then who gets to decide?
Moreover, does the size of the school district and its budget determine who is qualified to serve on the school board? Does that mean that smaller school systems can elect citizen-politicians because there is not as much money involved, fewer children? If so, what is the tipping point where voters need to elect an “expert” to a school board? School boards are important for the community, economy, and future of every county in North Carolina, so I question whether voters in Wake or Mecklenburg county should play by different rules than a smaller county.
I am glad you used the job search analogy. Job postings come with a list of minimum qualifications. In this way, it is easy for an applicant to determine, in advance, whether they are qualified or not. So, should the General Assembly to pass a law dictating that all school board candidates – in districts with 50,000+ kids – must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and a minimum of three years of experience in an education-related field. Would you support this?
Terry
The answer to ‘who decides’ is simple, the voters. There need not be different qualifications or any new laws for different size school districts, although every one has unique challenges.
You should not have to have a batchelor’s degree to serve on a School Board, but it likely is helpful, and I acknowledged lay people can make good Board members, but they generally bring other qualifications and skill sets to the table.
Other than she is eligble for the ballot, you would be hard pressed to make a case that Ms. Losurdo is qualified to serve on a School Board of any size. You still do not atempt to do so here.
You indicated the lack of diversity brings about ‘groupthink’, which ‘discourages creativity, innovation, and enterprise. It stifles vision.’ Yes, the same could be said for educational environments.
Well, my original post was not designed to defend Losurdo’s qualifications. That is her job. Rather, your conversation with LuMaye made me want to think through the idea. I appreciate your willingness to continue the conversation.
Thanks Terry, and I appreciate the conversation. I just wanted to make clear the context of my point on ‘qualifications’.
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