Dayton’s most popular elected official not running again
Stacy M. Thompson, who was appointed to the Dayton Board of Education in 2006 and got more votes than anyone else in the 2009 election, has decided not to run for another term. This leaves at least one vacant seat to fill in November, with petitions due in August with 350 valid signatures (sorry, I don’t know the turn-in deadline– and can’t find it online- Aug 7 by 4 pm).
Other seats up for re-election this cycle are Ron Lee, Yvonne Isaccs and current school board president Joe Lacey. There are several people who have taken out petitions (see list below), but as we all know, this means nothing until the signatures are verified by the Board of Elections. Last time, they had to pull a rabbit out of a hat to find an extra 4 signatures for Nancy Nearny, who didn’t appear to have enough on initial turn-in.
Stacy has been one of the few people who has been wiling to stand up and speak out without fear of censure. She was vehemently against the 30-year tax break for General Electric and was outvoted by the staunch Democratic block of Sheila Taylor, Joe Lacey, Ron Lee and Nancy Nearny.
It’s unclear is Yvonne Issacs, the sole remaining “Kids First” board member, will run again as well.
Stacy was very clear to me, the decision was hard, because she didn’t want to let our kids down, but, with the level of insider politics on the board and lord Joe at the helm, she felt her energy could be better put to use elsewhere. She’s also in charge of her father’s care, and wants to make sure she gets to spend more time with him.
Stacy’s voice will be missed on the campaign trail as well as on the school board.
She’s the only elected official ever to endorse me publicly. For that, I’ll always be one of her number one fans.
Best of luck Stacy. Thanks for your service to our community.
The board of elections has the following list of candidates who’ve taken out petitions, but so far, only Hazel Rountree has filed:
[…] County Board of Elections hasn’t certified the signatures on the petitions yet, however, as reported earlier on this site, incumbent Stacy Thompson will not be seeking reelection, nor will the most senior member of the School Board, Yvonne Isaacs, leaving 2 empty seats. […]