Kristi Bidinger

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Kristi Bidinger

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 4, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Middle Tennessee State University, 1999

Personal

Birthplace

Anoka, Minn.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Executive assistant

Contact

Campaign website

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Kristi Bidinger (independent) ran for election to the Williamson County Schools to represent District 6 in Tennessee. She lost in the general election on August 4, 2022.

Bidinger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Kristi Bidinger was born in Anoka, Minnesota. She earned a bachelor's degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1999. Her career experience includes working as an executive assistant.

Elections

2022

See also: Williamson County Schools, Tennessee, elections (2022)

General election

General election for Williamson County Schools, District 6

Incumbent Jay Galbreath defeated Deborah Pace and Kristi Bidinger in the general election for Williamson County Schools, District 6 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Galbreath (R)	36.8	1,250
		Deborah Pace (Independent)	33.8	1,148
		Kristi Bidinger (Independent)	29.5	1,002

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,400
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Williamson County Schools, District 6

Incumbent Jay Galbreath advanced from the Republican primary for Williamson County Schools, District 6 on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Galbreath	93.2	968
		Other/Write-in votes	6.8	71

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,039
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kristi Bidinger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bidinger's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Kristi Bidinger, and I am celebrating my 6th year as a mother to a Williamson County Public Schools student at Edmondson Elementary. I am running to protect public education from all the arrows being shot at them. I am running as an independent because I passionately believe that school board positions should be non-partisan.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Advocating to our local and state leaders the importance of fully funding our public schools.
• Increasing a safe, healthy learning environment for all students.
• Listening to parents and the community about issues that are important to them and finding transparent solutions.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Advocate for our teachers by creating a supportive environment and allow them to use their training, expertise, and passion for teaching our children. I am running as an independent because I firmly believe that school board positions should be non-partisan. Why invite political division into a work whose sole purpose is to focus on our children’s education, budgets, growth, and policy. School boards are a great place to show our children that the government can and does good work for the community.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

We have a state legislator in Tennessee named Gloria Johnson. For years she has stood up for the marginalized and stood up to bullies in our state that want to restrict, remove, and harm those that are different.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

When I was 12, my three-year-old brother died from a tragic freak accident where my older brother and I found his lifeless body suffocated from two treehouse step boards where he fell and got stuck. Unfortunately, my family could not find him in time to save him. This event changed my life but created a core memory to not take a moment of life for granted and leave this world a better place than I found it.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job after graduating college was working for Oldies 96.3 FM in Nashville, Tennessee as a promotions coordinator. I worked in this role for a year and a half until I left to earn more money as an Executive Assistant for General Electric, which is where my 15+ year career as an Executive Assistant started.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

They build the link between school and community by reporting district actions and progress to the public. In turn, they carry messages of support and concern from the public to the superintendent.

Who are your constituents?

Residents of Brentwood, Tennessee.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

Revise the school's strategy to include creating safe learning environments for students of all protected classes.

Be transparent and acknowledge reports of racism, and how the district is addressing racist incidences.

Currently, 4% of the WCS licensed staff to identify as part of a minority class. There are steps the district is taking to hire more diverse teachers but the needle hasn't moved enough.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

I will be targeting champions of public education which include; teachers, administrators, students, parents and staff.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

Absolutely, Institutional Partnerships - build relationships between the district and teacher preparation programs that enroll a diverse student population, such as alternative teacher preparation programs that typically serve people of color. Implicit bias training - train all staff members who are involved in hiring to recognize implicit bias and to use interviewing techniques that reveal candidate experience, knowledge, and strengths.
Relationship-based recruiting - Build personal relationships with students of color at institutions of higher education. Districts may wish to begin building relationships months before a job is posted and well before potential candidates decide to apply.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

I have multiple avenues for voters to communicate with me and if requested I will make phone calls, answer emails, and participate in community meetings. I also author a monthly email that includes notes, data, and announcements from the school district and state.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

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Candidate

Williamson County Schools, District 6

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