The Washington Post on Saturday released its endorsements for the Montgomery County Board of Education election, picking Lynne Harris for the hotly contested at-large seat and incumbent Shebra Evans for District 4.
From the pool of 13 candidates bidding for one at-large seat, the Post’s editorial board chose Harris, highlighting her experience leading the Montgomery County Council of Parent Teachers Association and advocacy work with the school district.
Harris, of Silver Spring, is a former lawyer, nurse and a teacher at Thomas Edison High School of Technology.
The at-large seat is now held by Jeanette Dixon, who decided to not run for re-election.
In its endorsement, the Post criticizes fellow at-large candidate Stephen Austin, who they say has “spread fear and misinformation about the board’s launch of a much-needed study of school boundaries.”
In a Facebook post, Austin wrote that the Post “undertook the effort to also take a swing at me in the piece (and mentioned no other candidate) on a very unfair claim.”
In January 2019, the school board began a comprehensive countywide review of school boundaries. The study created tension in the community as some questioned its objectives and the school board’s transparency.
Austin, of Bethesda, has said he became engaged in education advocacy because of the boundary analysis. He is the creator of the Facebook group Montgomery County MD Neighbors for Local Schools, a group of more than 8,000 people who either oppose or have questions about the analysis and its process.
In a post to the page on Saturday night, Austin wrote that the characterization of him and the group is unfair.
Prior to the endorsement, Austin wrote, the Post asked him several questions to inform their decision. One was whether he feels he is “fearmongering” in the group, to which Austin explained “why I felt like I’m not.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I would say this feels like another level of the ongoing character assassination I have been the subject of,” Austin wrote, adding that he plans to send a letter to the editor in response to the endorsement.
The Post does not name any other at-large candidates or their positions on the boundary analysis.
The other candidates in the race are Mitra Ahadpour, Anil Chaudhry, Sunil Dasgupta, Paul Geller, Jay Guan, Collins Odongo, Dalbin Osorio, Cameron Rhode, Darwin Romero, Pavel Sukhobok and Lumpoange Thomas.
In the District 4 race, the Post endorsed incumbent and current board President Shebra Evans over her challengers, Steve Solomon and Ehren Park Reynolds.
Evans was first elected in 2016. The Post endorsement said she is “thoughtful, collaborative and focused on addressing the inequities that have disadvantaged students of color and others at risk.”
The top two vote-getters in the primary will advance to the general election in November.
The Post did not address the race for the District 2 seat on the board. There are two candidates in the primary — incumbent Rebecca Smondrowski and Michael Fryar — and both will advance to the general election.
The nonpartisan primary election is scheduled for June 2 and will be conducted primarily by mail-in ballot due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All eligible voters in the county can vote for all races.