John Egan (Maryland)
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
John Egan ran for election to the Baltimore County Public Schools to represent District 3 in Maryland. He lost in the primary on June 26, 2018.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Baltimore County Public Schools, District 3
Incumbent Kathleen Causey defeated Paul Konka in the general election for Baltimore County Public Schools, District 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kathleen Causey (Nonpartisan) | 75.4 | 32,085 | |
 | Paul Konka (Nonpartisan) | 24.1 | 10,243 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 219 | ||
| Total votes: 42,547 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Baltimore County Public Schools, District 3
The following candidates ran in the primary for Baltimore County Public Schools, District 3 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kathleen Causey (Nonpartisan) | 51.5 | 8,603 | |
| ✔ | | Paul Konka (Nonpartisan) | 10.9 | 1,817 |
| Michael Voelker (Nonpartisan) | 9.9 | 1,656 | ||
| Joan Magnani (Nonpartisan) | 9.5 | 1,588 | ||
 | John Egan (Nonpartisan) | 6.0 | 1,004 | |
| John Lang III (Nonpartisan) | 4.9 | 826 | ||
| Michael Petrella (Nonpartisan) | 3.8 | 636 | ||
| Paul Evitts (Nonpartisan) | 3.5 | 583 | ||
| Total votes: 16,713 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
John W. Egan participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on May 30, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and John W. Egan's responses follow below.[1]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Transparency of Board and School Administration |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Primary Education - The need for: motivated students, competent teachers, and an engaged communityCite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[3]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. John W. Egan answered the following:
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
| “ | My favorite “political” author is Thomas Sowell. While his books may not be specifically about policy, there are underlying political themes. My favorite Sowell book is "Conquests and Cultures" but my favorite Sowell book that has a stronger political orientation is "The Vision of the Anointed." This book powerfully critiques the failures of many of our social policies by arguing that these policies (addressing topics such as education, the family, crime, and others) were created through a political correctness lens rather than a basis of actual facts. This political correctness of politicians, who think of themselves as enlightened and intellectual, discourages / prohibits the full exploration of these critical topics and results in policies that cannot achieve their desired goals because they are not based on hard data or facts. I am powerfully moved by Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." Frankl was a Holocaust survivor of the death camps and wrote of his experiences and learning from this experience. Of most importance is what he refers to as our "last human freedom" which is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. Lastly, as an historian by avocation, I believe all Americans should honor the founders of our nation who put their lives and fortunes at risk to fight for the American principles of liberty. Rather than recommend a book, I would instead suggest that every American read about the sacrifices and contributions of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and the many other patriots.[3] | ” |
| “ | The singular most important characteristic for an elected official is humility. Likewise, the singular greatest fault is ego. An elected official's focus should be on the people he/she serves and not personal self-interest. The question that must always be answered is what is in the best interests of my constituents and not what is in my best interests.[3] | ” |
| “ | I wish to serve on the Baltimore County School Board because I believe the Board needs a strong, leadership voice. I know that our school system can be exceptional. Up until now, however, I am convinced that our system has failed to live up to its fullest potential. Our system has the resources to be literally world class, yet it seems as if there has been a general desire to just be ‘good enough.’ My experience as an organization development consultant has prepared me for the School Board because of my understanding of leadership principles. I work closely with senior executives across a broad spectrum of organizations across the United States to help them leverage their human resources potential to increase organizational effectiveness and improve bottom-line results. The focus of my consulting practice includes: the design and facilitation of leadership development programs, support for reengineering / change management initiatives and executive coaching. I wish to serve because the School Board has failed to provide necessary oversight in the past and must improve in this area. With my knowledge, experience, and commitment to education, I can help provide that necessary oversight. I wish to serve to represent an under-served segment of our school population – our most talented and exceptional students in both science and the arts. I want to make sure we are providing the resources and the opportunities to enable these students to maximize their talents. For much of my career I worked with people helping them develop to their fullest potential. This experience gives me insights into the development of our exceptional students.[3] | ” |
| “ | My favorite thing is a cheap coffee cup. My mom purchased it as one of the necessities as I prepared for college life. If I knew how important it would become, I would have chosen a better design or color (it is I guess a salmon color). Used in college as the convenient cup for all drinks, it became my bathroom cup for brushing my teeth upon graduation. The reason for its value to me....this is an item that I have touched on most every day of my life spanning six decades. So while of no monetary value, it is a physical connection to most of my entire "life story." That silly coffee cup has been with me for most of my journey and has seen all the many changes in its owner.[3] | ” |
| “ | The primary job of a school board member is to provide oversight to school administration.[3] | ” |
| “ | My primary constituents are the children within our school system. We have a responsibility to provide for them the highest quality of education possible. In supporting the children, my constituents include parents, care-givers and the community at large - all whom have much at stake in creating a quality educational experience.[3] | ” |
| “ | First, the Board needs to assume a more proactive role in including the community at large in the conversation regarding BCPS initiatives and priorities. I will require that half of our School Board meetings be held at various locations throughout the county, to encourage greater attendance/participation. I want the Board to sponsor monthly town halls throughout the county to increase transparency and improve the general public’s access to information regarding school matters. I would require Board members to each attend at least four of these town halls over the school year. Third, BCPS needs to establish an ombudsman position. This person will field and address issues and questions from the entire community and will allow citizens greater access to the inner workings of the school system. I do not think this needs to be a new hire. I am confident that we can transition a current administrator into this new position.[3] | ” |
| “ | BCPS has a responsibility to fairly allocate resources across the entire spectrum of the student population. A fair allocation, however, does not mean an equal allocation of resources to each student. Clearly some students need additional resources and within our abilities, BCPS should attempt to address these needs. But, these special needs should not be addressed without considering the potential harm that may be created by denial of resources to other students. I am concerned that in prioritizing resources to address the needs of the minority and low-income population, we overlook the need to provide additional resources to support the rest of the student community. Contrary to the current prioritization, I want our schools to provide greater resources to those students who have the potential to be exceptional. We need to identify these students and give them the resources and encouragement to excel. Carver Center for the Arts has done a superb job of supporting our students in the arts. We have an equal responsibility to provide comparable resources dedicated to academic excellence in both the social sciences and STEM. One idea I offer to support this segment is to establish Genius Grants for our exceptional students. This program, designed for high school students, will combine elements of both the MacArthur Fellowship Program and entrepreneurial start-up grants. Talented students with exceptional potential (in both science and humanities/art) would be eligible to receive monies to further develop their ideas. I would seek partnerships with local firms to fund these grants.[3] | ” |
| “ | If you consider the STAT (Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow) initiative most broadly, I believe in blended learning. I do not, however, believe that providing 133,000 laptops to all students and teachers is necessary to provide quality education to our children. More specifically, I believe that the money to purchase these laptops could be much more effectively allocated. Based upon my experience, there are three essential elements in providing quality education: an engaged learner, a competent teacher, and supportive parents (care givers). Every other educational initiative is secondary to this critical formula. I know that children learn in many different ways and that the more teachers utilize a variety of teaching styles and techniques, the more successful the students will be. I support, therefore, integrating online digital media with traditional classroom methods. My concern is that if all students were given laptops, there would be extreme pressure on teachers to use this technology. To justify the expense of providing laptops, teachers will actively seek activities and exercises that use laptops – for the primary purpose of using technology, rather than determining what is the best method to support the specific learning objectives. The BCPS administration has not offered convincing arguments that proving laptops for all will improve the quality of the learning environment. They offered anecdotal stories of improved education using technology but provided no objective, causal and verifiable evidence to justify equipping all with laptops.[3] | ” |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "John W. Egan's responses," May 30, 2018
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Baltimore County Public Schools elections in 2018 | |
| Baltimore County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | Primary Election: June 26, 2018 • General Election: November 6, 2018 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Deborah Arnetta Cason • Pete Fitzpatrick • Matt Gresick • Lisa Mack • Echo Prana Salisbury • Richard Young District 2: • Anthony Miles Glasser • Cheryl Pasteur District 3: • Incumbent, Kathleen Causey • John Egan • Paul Evitts • Paul Konka • John Lang III • Joan Magnani • Michael Petrella • Michael Voelker District 4: • Gaston Horne • Tara Huffman • Makeda Scott • Regina Ann Smith • Autrese Thornton • Kathleen White District 5: • Incumbent, Julie Henn • Peter Beilenson District 6: • Edward Kitlowski • Lily Rowe District 7: • William Feuer • Rod McMillion • Eric Washington |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
