South suburban officials line up for Bailey

Matthews Mayor Pro Tem Paul Bailey,  one of three candidates seeking the District 6 school board seat,  rolled out a roster of endorsements Tuesday from four state legislators and 15 local officials from the southern suburbs.

Bailey

"Most of these people I have long-term relationships with and have worked with on Matthews town council,"  said Bailey,  who's serving his ninth term.  "I asked and everybody said yes.  It was a surprise to me,  but a pleasant surprise."

Bailey worked with political consultant Larry Shaheen to kick off his campaign with the lineup of support.  On his list:  State Sens. Jeff Tarte and Bob Rucho (both Republicans); N.C. Reps. Bill Brawley (R) and Tricia Cotham (D);  Bill James, a Republican serving his eighth term representing roughly the same district on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners; Tim Morgan,  who was elected to the District 6 school board seat in 2009 and moved into an at-large seat in 2011; Matthews Mayor Jim Taylor and all five members of the Matthews town council; former Matthews Mayor Lee Myers; Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers and all four Mint Hill town commissioners.

The announcement jump-starts what has been a fairly low-key school board campaign so far.  I don't recall seeing a lineup like this in district school board races,  especially coming all at once in the early days of a campaign.

Bailey's two opponents,  first-time candidates Bolyn McClung and Doug Wrona,  are running very different types of campaigns.

Wrona

Wrona, a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher and tutor,  is a self-described progressive Democrat running in a heavily Republican district  (party affiliation isn't on the Nov. 5 ballot,  but we all know it  plays a role).  He couldn't be reached for comment on Bailey's endorsements,  but he has said he won't raise or spend more than $1,000 on his campaign.

Bolyn McClung,  a Pineville Republican,  said Monday he has decided not to seek donations or endorsements,  though he'll be doing  "heavy advertising"  with his own money.  He said he wants to run on his own record,  which includes co-chairing the successful 2007 bond campaign,  serving on CMS advisory boards and regularly attending school board and committee meetings.

McClung

When told about the names on Bailey's endorsement list,  McClung replied:  "There's some people on that list that are really great supporters of CMS."

But after pondering the legislators who are backing Bailey,  McClung emailed an additional response:  "In these hard economic times,  I have decided against actively seeking financial support or personal recommendations for my campaign.  My record for public education is long and strong.  However,  if I were to ask for support,  it would not be from those in Raleigh who are responsible for cutting public education."

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Two newcomers in CMS board race

Byers-Bailey

Thelma Byers-Bailey filed for the District 2 seat on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board today, bringing the total to four incumbents and two newcomers.  It's only Day 2 of filing,  which runs through July 19.

Byers-Bailey,  a lawyer,  CMS grandparent and daughter of the educator whose name graces Walter G. Byers School,  is the first candidate to file for the westside District 2 seat.  Incumbent Richard McElrath hasn't said whether he'll seek a second term.

Bailey

Paul Bailey, mayor pro tem of Matthews,  filed Friday to run for the south suburban District 6 seat.  Amelia Stinson-Wesley, appointed to that seat two years ago when Tim Morgan won an at-large seat,  also hasn't revealed her plans.  Like Morgan,  Bailey is active in Boy Scouts.  He has spent 16 years on the Matthews Town Council  (he doesn't have a campaign web site yet,  but his bio is on the town site).

As expected,  the incumbents have filed for re-election in the other four districts:  Rhonda Lennon in District 1, Joyce Waddell in District 3,  Tom Tate in District 4 and Eric Davis in District 5.  Keep up with filings at the Mecklenburg Board of Elections web site.  See a map of voting districts here.