Did we forget there’s a general election November 5th? The League of Women Voters of the Bridgeport Area will conduct a public forum featuring candidates for five open seats on the Bridgeport Board of Education October 24, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, corner of Park and Fairfield Avenues.
All eight school board candidates have been invited and have until October 3 to formally verify their participation, according to the LWV. There will be questions from the LWV moderator and also from the audience.
The Democratic nominees for school board are Andre Baker, Howard Gardner and Dave Hennessey. The Republican candidates John Weldon, Joe Larcheveque and Steve Best. The Connecticut Working Families Party has endorsed Baker, incumbent school board member Sauda Baraka and Eric Stewart-Alicea.
The November 5th general election will determine the balance of power on the school board as the Connecticut Supreme Court considers Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas’ legal certification to lead a state school district. Baker, Gardner and Hennessey, backed by a mighty Democratic registration advantage, are prohibitive favorites for election. They overwhelmingly defeated three Democratic Town Committee endorsed candidates in a September 10 primary.
Two of the five open school board seats are reserved for minority-party representation. Republican and WFP candidates will slug it out for those spots. The WFP currently occupies all three minority-party positions on the school board.
Barring two Republicans winning the minority-party slots, the Democratic insurgents who won the primary and WFP will have coalition control of the school board, a coalition not supportive of Vallas.
*** Why not the entire political slates and not just the BOE, ladies? *** Three shows if you’re lucky! ***