Lech Loves Limbird

By Kleinheider Posted on July 22, 2008 at 7:49 am

The City Paper’s Amy Griffith was one of the few journalists to actually witness 9th District school board candidate James Lech eleventh hour endorsement of one of his well-financed opponents:

At a Bellevue press conference attended by few journalists but many Limbird supporters, Lech said he faced a tough decision in choosing whether to endorse Limbird or Steve Hicks, another opponent. Though he knows that his name will still be on the ballot, Lech said he does not believe he will win.

Lech said he supports Limbird because of her experience managing very large budgets, her scientific experience and ability to assess data and studies, and her choice to educate her children at Metro Nashville Public Schools. Limbird worked for years as a high-level administrator at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her children are now adults.

Limbird is pleased to have Lech’s support, she said, as well as his assistance with her campaign.

“I’m delighted, although I’ve lost a provocative competitor,” Limbird said. “There’s a lot of walking that has to be done. … Even for parents with kids in schools, there’s not a full awareness that this election is going on.”

SEE ALSO: The Lech release

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Tags: Alan Coverstone, James Lech, Lee Limbird, school board  

Is James Lech Fixing To Pull A John Edwards?

By Kleinheider Posted on July 20, 2008 at 8:56 pm

The Tennessean is reporting that 9th District school board candidate James Lech may announce he is dropping out of the race at a press conference Monday. The earnest young Lech has been overshadowed by the two leading candidates in the race Lee Limbird and Alan Coverstone, primarily due to their successful and substantial fundraising efforts.

The question I would pose is why drop out now? Early voting has started and the ballots are all printed up. Even if he is out, he is in. Is his aim to try and help one of the other candidates with a last minute endorsement or is he pulling a John Edwards, assembling everyone to a press conference only to announce he is soldiering on?

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Tags: Alan Coverstone, James Lech, John Edwards, Lee Limbird, school board  

Not Yet Out Foxed

By Kleinheider Posted on July 18, 2008 at 7:07 am

Amy Griffith reports that the big money being raised in the District 9 school board race is by no means a record - yet:

Alan Coverstone has raised more than $32,000, as of the end of June, according to publicly released figures. Lee Limbird has raised $23,000. Even Paul Brenner — who with about $8,000 comes in third in District 9 in terms of dollars raised — is working with significantly more than candidates for any other Nashville school board race this year.

Those aren’t necessarily record-setting figures, at least not yet. In 2006, for example, Hillsboro school board member David Fox, by his own account, raised about $63,000 in his campaign to unseat incumbent Kathleen Harkey.

Coverstone, for one, says his level of fund raising is a matter of wanting to operate a professional campaign. He referred to a conversation with former Board of Education chair Betsy Walkup, in which he says he was advised to run a campaign serious enough to reflect the importance of public education.

“Schools are every bit as important as Congress and every other level of government,” Coverstone said.

SEE ALSO: Extended WSMV interviews with the school board candidates.

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Tags: Alan Coverstone, David Fox, James Lech, Kathleen Harkey, Lee Limbird