Press Release -- Wake County Board of Education Election

It's been a while since I posted here, but as I received some inquiries as to why my name was not on the mail-in ballot. This statement was released (but distributed less widely than I had hoped) early last week, and is reproduced here:


Raleigh, NC -- August 17, 2016 -- Statement from Mr. James McLuckie:

Due to the recently reversion of the Wake County Board of Education districts to their 2011 lines, Mr. McLuckie will not be filing to run for a seat on the Wake County School Board. Christine Kushner has filed for re-election in District 6.

Mr. McLuckie is of the position that it would be inappropriate to run in District 6: "I am unwilling to pursue a seat against Mrs. Kushner -- she has not only been friendly, polite, courteous, and professional in our interactions as candidates, but is also infinitely more familiar with District 6 than I am. Although I am possessed with the desire to serve the public, replacing Mrs. Kushner would not be beneficial to the residents of our district; as such, I withdraw from the race, and wish to extend my warmest congratulations to Christine on her position as District 6 representative during the upcoming term"

"I commend Mr. McLuckie for his interest in public education and public service, and I am grateful for his support," said Mrs. Kushner. "I am honored to serve on the School Board, advocating for our 176 schools and 160,000 students. I am committed to continuing to serve in that role."

With thanks to, and regard for, the citizens of Wake County,

-James McLuckie 

Policy Statement: Triangle Labor Council

After the jump, a questionnaire from the Triangle Labor Council, as well as my positions. I suspect question #6 will address my position regarding Common Core.

Let's Talk Politics

So, the 4th Circuit maintains that this election is non-partisan in name only.

Okay, let's talk politics -- As of Monday, August 1st, I'll be taking one to two questions per week from ISideWith.com, and posting my position on the answer I would choose. I will happily answer (and prioritize) any questions that you want to ask.

Question for the week of 8/1:

- Do you support Common Core standards?

This Is Why People Get Frustrated With 'The System'

So, some of you have noticed that I haven't been posting recently, and I'll address that after the jump.

First, though -- I am trained to work within the bounds of 'The System'. Heck, I'm decent at navigating bureaucracy. But this is getting ridiculous! Are we in Wake County going to end up in the Supreme Court, or are we simply not going to have elections?

Did the 4th Circuit Decide Wrongly in This Case? (Part III-D, Part IV, Part V, & Concluding Notes and Your Opinions)

Did the 4^th Circuit Wrongly Decide Raleigh Wake Citizens Association?

If you have no legal experience… perfect! This is a great “getting your feet wet” case for reading legal decisions! This post series will analyze the recent ruling by the 4th Circuit section by section. For those who are not experienced reading a legal decision:

-I have tried to keep the legal jargon to a minimum.

-Where possible, you’ll see bulleted lists like this one. 

-For this post series, I’ll also critique the majority opinion as necessary

Did the 4th Circuit Decide Wrongly in This Case? (Part III-C)

Did the 4^th Circuit Wrongly Decide Raleigh Wake Citizens Association?

If you have no legal experience… perfect! This is a great “getting your feet wet” case for reading legal decisions! This post will analyze the recent ruling by the 4th Circuit section by section, while referencing the dissent as well as the majority opinion. For those who are not experienced reading a legal decision:

-I have prefaced my analysis with a brief explanation of each section of the decision and why it’s important

-I have opted to use simple page numbers as citations, rather than proper legal format

-I have tried to keep the legal jargon to a minimum.

-And, where possible, you’ll see bulleted lists like this one. 

-For this post series, I’ll also critique the majority opinion as necessary

Did the 4th Circuit Decide Wrongly In This Case? (Part III-A and III-B)

Did the 4^th Circuit Wrongly Decide Raleigh Wake Citizens Association?

If you have no legal experience… perfect! This is a great “getting your feet wet” case for reading legal decisions! This post series will analyze the recent ruling by the 4th Circuit section by section, while referencing the dissent as well as the majority opinion. For those who are not experienced reading a legal decision:

-I have prefaced my analysis with a brief explanation of each section of the decision and why it’s important

-I have opted to use simple page numbers as citations, rather than proper legal format

-I have tried to keep the legal jargon to a minimum.

-And, where possible, you’ll see bulleted lists like this one. 

-For this post series, I’ll also critique the majority opinion as necessary

Did the 4th Circuit Wrongly Decide in This Case? (Table of Contents for Part III)

Did the 4^th Circuit Wrongly Decide Raleigh Wake Citizens Association?

If you have no legal experience… perfect! This is a great “getting your feet wet” case for reading legal decisions! This post series will analyze the recent ruling by the 4th Circuit section by section, while referencing the dissent as well as the majority opinion. For those who are not experienced reading a legal decision:

-I have prefaced my analysis with a brief explanation of each section of the decision and why it’s important

-I have opted to use simple page numbers as citations, rather than proper legal format

-I have tried to keep the legal jargon to a minimum.

-And, where possible, you’ll see bulleted lists like this one. 

-For these posts, I’ll also critique the majority opinion as necessary

Part III – Analysis

This is the heart of the case, where the court explains its legal reasoning. I’m not going to detail everything in this Part of the opinion, because affirming a lower court is essentially the appellate court saying “They got this right / didn’t get it wrong, so we’re not changing anything.” It’s the time-consuming part of following a legal opinion, as you’ll see after the jump. Keep reading, though – this is also the fun part!

Did the 4th Circuit Wrongly Decide In This Case? (Summary, Fact Statement, and Standard of Review)

Did the 4^th Circuit Wrongly Decide Raleigh Wake Citizens Association?

If you have no legal experience… perfect! This is a great “getting your feet wet” case for reading legal decisions! This post will analyze the recent ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit section by section, while referencing the dissent as well as the majority opinion. For those who are not experienced reading a legal decision:

-I have prefaced my analysis with a brief explanation of each section of the decision and why it’s important

-I have opted to use simple page numbers as citations, rather than proper legal format

-I have tried to keep the legal jargon to a minimum.

-And, where possible, you’ll see bulleted lists like this one.  

KEY ISSUE TO KNOW BEFORE CONTINUING

-The key issue in this case is apportionment and population deviation. High variance between the population of the smallest district and largest district (The Maximum Population Deviation) is not ideal.

-10% variance in Maximum Population Deviation is a key number, and the recently redrawn Wake County districts are under 10% MPD.

Upcoming Guide to the 4th Circuit decision

Government Lab will have a guide to the recent decision, including the facts and reasoning, posted this week.

I may not be able to consider myself a politician currently, but I can still explain legal reasoning in non-legal terms. I'll keep you posted!

Presented Without Comment

Lawyers break everything, including elections.

"It's unclear when the next school board election will be held and what maps will be used in lieu of the ones  now declared unconstitutional"

Read T. Keung Hui's article on this situation, read the opinion here, and keep your fingers crossed!

Media Coverage and Campaign Needs

It's strange how we go through life believing that the life-changing experiences that will shape us come with a flashing red light, or an attached note that says "This is serious!"

North Carolina Campaign Finance Made (Relatively) Easy

The time it takes to make a campaign transparent interferes with the time it takes to actually run the campaign -- things like filling out disclosure and reporting forms to the Board of Elections, for example, which is what caused such a long delay in getting this post up! I thank everyone for being patient.

Here is the long-awaited overview of how North Carolina Campaign Finance works. All citations come from the most recent (2015) North Carolina Board of Elections Candidate Campaign Finance Manual unless otherwise noted or linked.

For ease of reading, I have selected a traditional question & answer format. The first section explains the candidate perspective of campaign finance, while the second section examines donors and donations.

Policy Position Overview, and Soliciting Feedback

Since I need a break from putting together the Campaign Finance post, I thought I would take a moment to outline some of my goals in pursuing this office, as well as solicit feedback both from Wake County residents and other interested parties anywhere who want to contribute:

Making Campaign Finance Easy is Difficult

... and so I ought to have an explanation of the nuances of state campaign finance law posted over the weekend.

-J. McL

Campaign Finance and Regulation Made (Relatively) Easy

North Carolina provides Campaign Finance Training for campaign treasurers. This is a good thing, given the penalties and sanctions that the treasurer can be liable for, and doubly so when one is functioning as one's own treasurer.

Tuesday, June 21st, is Campaign Finance Training Day. By Wednesday or Thursday, I'll have the skeleton of a Beginner's Guide to Complying With State Election and Finance Regulation Or Else! 

The Race: Wake County Board of Education (Background and Process)

When Government Lab decided to explore politics, it was on the small scale: a local, non-partisan election. Why and how?

Meet the Candidate

If we're going to go through this process together, I should share a little about my background:

Welcome to the Government Lab!

If you're reading this, you've either gotten desperately lost on your way to another website, or you have an interest in government. Either way, welcome to the great experiment! This blog will be a combination of a personal campaign platform, and a narrative of the electoral process at the local level. In essence, this is a 'ride-along' for those who are curious about politics... an overview, from start to finish, of what a political campaign looks like from the perspective of the candidate.