Stand for Children Tennessee is committed to electing smart leaders capable of advancing education policies that ensure every child has access to a quality education. This election cycle, Stand for Children Tennessee endorsed 19 education champions in 16 races – 12 of those candidates won their races. These candidates were spread out over Metro Nashville School Board, Shelby County School Board, and State legislative races.
In Nashville, of the 4 races Stand endorsed candidates, 3 won. Stand Nashville endorsed winning candidates- Anna Shepherd in District 4, Tyese Hunter in District 6, and Mary Pierce in District 8, and are thrilled with their wins.
In Nashville’s four school board races the critical issues being discussed were: pre-k expansion, the role of charter schools in expanding school choice, and the hiring of the next Director of Schools.
Of the 6 races Stand endorsed in Memphis, 5 won. In Shelby County, Stand endorsed winning candidates- Chris Caldwell in District 1, Stephanie Love in District 3, Scott McCormick in District 5, Shante Avant in District 6, and Miska Clay Bibbs in District 7. We congratulate them on their wins.
The newly elected, 9-member school board comes to the Shelby County School system at an important time. The district has gone through many changes in the last few years with the merger and demerger. It will need strong, forward thinking leaders as it turns all of its focus back to graduating more of our young people prepared for college and career attainment, by providing a quality education to all students.
“All of our endorsed candidates made it clear during their campaigns that they would serve as leading voices for providing high quality education to all of our children,” said Cardell Orrin, Memphis City Director for Stand for Children Tennessee. “We couldn’t be happier to share in their victories and work together to fight for what is best for all students. Together, I’m confident we will move forward sound policies and initiatives that will ensure we reach our shared goal of making sure all children graduate from high school prepared to access college and career opportunities.”
“Stand looks forward to building on our efforts in Nashville and Memphis, working with school board members, other policy makers, education advocacy organizations, teachers, and families to give all children the quality education they deserve to keep both cities moving forward” said Ben Jordan, a Stand Tennessee Organizer.
In addition to school board races, Stand had victories on the State level for the first time. 4 of the 6 State level endorsements were wins. Stand endorsed candidate Lee Harris in the 29th Senate District Race in Memphis and Jeff Yarbro in the 21st Senate District Race in Nashville. Patsy Hazelwood for State House District 27 and Ron Travis for State House District 31 were also endorsed. All were successful in their primaries. The issues considered at the state level included support for Common Core State Standards, pre-k, and charter school expansion.
“It is critical we have elected leaders to the legislature that will put Tennessee’s children first, period, end of discussion. We got that with these people.” said Betty Anderson, Stands Executive Director.
Stand’s complete 2014 endorsements with winners listed in bold.
Nashville School Board
District 2 – Bernie Driscoll
District 4 – Rhonda Dixon &
Anna Shepherd
District 6 – Tyese Hunter &
Cheryl Mayes
District 8 – Mary Pierce
Shelby County School Board
District 1 – Chris Caldwell
District 3 – Teddy King &
Stephanie Love
District 5 – Scott McCormick
District 6 – Shante Avant
District 7 – Miska Clay Bibbs
District 9 – Roshun Austin
State Legislative Races
State Senate District 21 – Jeff Yarbro
State Senate District 29 – Lee Harris
State House District 4 – Judy Veeneman
State House District 27 – Patsy Hazelwood
State House District 31 – Ron Travis
State House District 45 – Len Silverman
