The day before the Kansas City Missouri School Board election Joseph Jackson didn't quit door-knocking once the sun set.
The candidate for Subdistrict Four was determined to get campaign literature in the hands of every single area resident who had voted in the last election. On Monday, he walked six different routes through his subdistrict neighborhoods. Once it got dark, he busted out the flashlights.
"I did everything I could do," he said. "I didn't leave anything on the table."
Like the other members of his team, Jackson got out the vote and blew away his opponent.
The mood last night at the packed Conspiracy Room was more anticipation than anxiety. A crowd equally black, white and brown showed up to celebrate the election results with the team of candidates endorsed by Kansas Citians United for Educational Achievement, a group created by current school board member Airick West.
From the very first returns, a little after 8 p.m., it was clear the slate of Jackson, Crispin Rea and Kyleen Carroll had little to worry about.
When West finally appeared from backstage, he gave a pep talk that would have sounded cheesy and trite coming from just about anyone else. "This was an improbable journey," he said. A journey that proved, when people come together, anything is possible.
When West announced the final results, the crowd gave the candidates a standing ovation. Nobody came close to challenging the KCU4EA slate. Rea and Carroll received four times as many votes as their nearest competitor in the at-large race. In Subdistrict Four, Jackson bested opponent Linwood Tauheed by a margin of three-to-one.
So before the speeches: a victory dance. The stereo blared a song promising "It's a New Day." Carroll busted a move with her mom. West threw up his hands and hit the floor, too. He couldn't do much dancing, though, given the parade of students and supporters pulling him into a hug to offer their congratulations.
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Congrats to all the new school board members. When the party is over at Uptown be prepared for the tab. Hug, hug, kiss, kiss, but when those sponsors remind you of the good time and ready to cash in their vouchers I hope you don't sale out our kids. Get ready for the purchase of all the closed school for either charter schools, which will collect the money for the kids, but kick them back to the very public system you all called failed. Or get ready for the new lofts or knock down the school house for the land to build something for profit. The sad part, not being a sore loser, but for the 180 Team I hope you all realize that the VERY people you fight for everyday will not support you the same. Those folks are parasites they what to live off of you and your efforts, but put forth very little (sad turnout at the polls).
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