Get Out the Vote

Most of the people I know in D.C. are so preoccupied with who'll control the House and Senate following tomorrow's election, you wouldn't even know that we're also voting on several important D.C. government races tomorrow. That's partly an artifact of political class transience, and also of Democratic dominance in D.C. politics that means most of the major D.C. government races are already decided. (Adrian Fenty will be the next mayor.) But tomorrow D.C. voters have a chance to decide on three very important non-partisan offices that are still very much up in the air. Voters city-wide are voting on school board president, and voters in wards 5, 6, 7 & 8 are voting for school board members to represent their school board districts (wards 5 & 6 are on district, and wards 7 & 8 are another). These races are important because the D.C. school board has substantial power to impact education for children in D.C. And this year the race is particularly important because DCPS is at a critical juncture: with more than a quarter of the city's kids in charters, troublingly poor academic performance, an ambitious but slow-moving reform plan from Superintendent Janey, and incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty proclaiming his intention to take over the schools, the new school board is going to face some serious challenges and major decisions. So, if you live in D.C., take a second away from the national races to learn about the school board race and cast an informed vote tomorrow. I can't tell you who to vote for (like you'd listen to me anyway), but I will suggest you heed the advice of the Washington Post on this issue.