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  

Board in Bellevue

By Kleinheider Posted on May 30, 2008 at 7:11 am

Amy Griffith surveys the most highly contested and politically excited school board race this cycle — the contest to replace outgoing chair Marsha Warden in Bellevue:

There are no run-offs in school board elections, meaning that a winning candidate for the District 9 seat could command as little as 20 percent of the total vote. Many education-watchers — including some of the District 9 candidates — say there are two anticipated front-runners in the race, Coverstone as well as Lee Limbird. Both are perceived to have solid relationships in the right places; Coverstone has already reported high success raising funds, and Limbird has earned the public endorsement of Warden.

But in an election with five candidates and no run-offs, there’s no writing off of the other candidates, Paul Brenner, Stephen Hicks and James Lech.

“The two front-runners, I think, may split off some votes. I hope so,” Hicks said Thursday. “I’m impressed with [all] the candidates.”

The five candidates have subtly different views as to what will drive the race.

Brenner, a retired MNPS teacher, says the factors most important to voters are “neighborhood-type schools,” safety and parental involvement.

Coverstone, a teacher and administrator at Montgomery Bell Academy and the parent of one MNPS student and one private school student, believes voters are looking for a board member who can help bring back “lost credibility” and improve communication between the district and parents.

Hicks, a former juvenile courts worker, says he thinks District 9 residents want a representative who is very familiar with day-to-day operations at schools, who will promote school safety and vocational education, and who is not swayed by certain “big groups” — he declined to name examples — with stakes in public education.

Lech, a city planner who recently earned a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University, believes neighborhood schools are at the forefront of voters’ minds, as well as teacher quality and its role in market share.

And Limbird, who has worked as a high-level leader at both Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College, says the biggest issues are “excellence” in each school, a willingness to study the addition of another high school to the district in keeping with the fast growth of the area, the implementation of career academies and increasing principal authority over individual high schools.

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Tags: Alan Coverstone, Lee Limbird, Metro Nashville, school board