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Barney Michel
Barney Michel was a candidate for the District E seat on the Harford County Board of Education in Maryland. He lost election against incumbent Arthur Kaff and challengers Rachel Gauthier and Stephen Eric Macko in a primary election on June 24, 2014.
Biography
Michel earned a B.S. in government and politics from the University of Maryland-College Park. He later received an M.S. in systems analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology. At the time of his candidacy, Michel was working as an independent defense consultant.[1]
Elections
2014
The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included primaries for Districts B, C, D, E and F with the top two vote recipients in each primary advancing to the general election on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Robert "Bob" Frisch and challenger Laura Runyeon defeated Greg Johnson in District B. District C incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy and challenger Joseph L. Voskuhl advanced to the general election by defeating John Anker. Nancy Reynolds faced challenger Mike Simon in her bid for another term in District D after defeating challengers Chris Scholz and Tishan D. Weerasooriya in the primary. The primary race for District E resulted in board member Arthur Kaff and newcomer Rachel Gauthier defeating Stephen Eric Macko and Barney Michel. Macko dropped out of the race after the withdrawal deadline which meant his name still appeared on the ballot. District F incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick and Michael R. Hitchings squared off in the general election after defeating Joe Fleckenstein in the primary.
The District A race advanced to the general election without a primary as newcomers Frederick A. Mullis and Jansen M. Robinson were the only candidates to file for the seat.
In the general election Jansen M. Robinson won District A, incumbent Robert "Bob" Frisch was returned to District B, challenger Joseph L. Voskuhl defeated incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy for District C, incumbent Nancy Reynolds won District D, newcomer Rachel Gauthier defeated incumbent Arthur Kaff for District E and incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick won another term in District F.
This was the first time that county voters selected members for these seats on the Harford County Board of Education. Board members were appointed by the governor prior to a 2009 state law that turned six of the nine board seats into elected positions. There were board elections for two-year terms in Districts A, B and D in November 2010. Victorious candidates in the general election took office in July 2015 along with three newly appointed members.[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Rachel Gauthier |
43.3% | 1,874 | |
| Nonpartisan | Arthur Kaff Incumbent |
24.8% | 1,072 | |
| Nonpartisan | Barney Michel | 17.8% | 769 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stephen Eric Macko | 14.1% | 612 | |
| Total Votes | 4,327 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County," July 17, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Michel reported no contributions or expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections.[3]
Endorsements
Michel received no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2014
Michel explained his themes for the 2014 race in an interview with The Baltimore Sun:
| “ |
Q: How will you address the budget issues that each year leave Harford County Public Schools millions of dollars short of what school system officials say they need to operate? HCPS have been systematically underfunded for years. This has led to a structural deficit in education funding that cannot be addressed overnight. All stakeholders must participate fully and openly in a collaborative effort to identify, validate and prioritize the current and future funding needs and sources. Education must not continue to be treated as an expense to be minimized. We need a new approach that recognizes education as an investment in our human capital for our community's future. Q: In the wake of years of tragedies committed in schools across the country, please explain your position on school safety and security and what, if anything, should be done in Harford County Public Schools. I do not believe it is possible or realistic to plan for every contingency. HCPS strikes the proper balance between providing for the safety and security of our students and educators while not interfering excessively in the daily operations of our schools. Q: What is your position on two controversial cost savings measures – ending bus transportation waivers for students who live close to school and having tiered schedules in elementary schools to save on the number of buses needed. Both these measures, while well-intentioned, have had unforseen effects and together do not generate enough savings to warrant the negative impact on our students. I suggest we consider a more comprehensive, system-wide approach to maximizing our student transportation efficiency. We need to include our bus contractors in this process, leveraging their insights to achieve this. Q: How will you address student achievement in all ages in the various testing programs? I do not understand this question. Q: How has HCPSS performed in implementing the Common Core state standards? Should anything be done differently as the school system continues its implementation? Overall, I would give HCPS a grade of "B." The basic work has been done but there is room and need for improvement. The fact that it was rolled out at the same time as the new teacher evaluation system has resulted in oversaturation for both teachers and administrators. The system needs to fine tune the process based on best practices identified from lessons learned.[4] |
” |
| —The Baltimore Sun, (2014) | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Barney + Michel + Harford + County + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Baltimore Sun, "Barney Michel," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Five Harford school board members run for election; four don't," February 26, 2014
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed October 21, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2014 Harford County Public Schools Elections | |
| Harford County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District A: • Frederick A. Mullis • Jansen M. Robinson District B: • Robert "Bob" Frisch • Greg Johnson • Laura Runyeon |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
